For the Toronto premiere of the robot boxing flick Real Steel, Disney hosted an after-party that transformed the Distillery District's raw Fermenting Cellar into something futuristic and industrial. Some 350 guests—including lead actor Hugh Jackman—attended the party after watching the film Tuesday night.
5th Element Events produced the after-party and got to take a lot of creative license with its design. "I think the cool part of working with a creative company like Disney is that they want your take," said Aaron Kaufman, creative director at 5th Element, who worked with Jessica Shain, manager of marketing at Walt Disney Studios, Motion Pictures Canada. "She let me have fun with it."
The 20- by 30-foot, 360-degree bar and DJ booth were certainly the highlight of the decor. The large cube was constructed out of truss and simulated the fighting ring in the film. There were more than 60 lights mounted to the truss structure, including eight movers and 52 LED PAR cans and colour blasts, which made the structure emanate blue light. Aluminum-top cocktail tables, stools, and silver couches kept with the industrial theme, without taking away from the raw feel of the venue.
The truss cube took a full day to build, and Kaufman was adding details up until the event began. “When you get to have some ownership of an event, you want it to look spectacular,” he said.
