Call Sheet #184: SAG Awards Preview, Super Bowl's Social Media Command Center, Lessons From Plancast’s Demise

BIZBASH CALL SHEET — #184 — Tuesday, 01.24.12

Compiled today by Chad Kaydo and Jana Schiowitz in New York
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* INCOMING *

1. SAG AWARDS PREVIEW: From L.A. bureau chief Alesandra Dubin: Next stop on the award season train is the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild awards, taking place January 29 at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center, and simulcast live nationwide on TNT and TBS. Event supervisor Andrea Wyn Schall of A Wynning Event is pulling together the dinner with producer Kathy Connell, executive in charge of production Benn Fleishman, and the SAG awards committee. Keith Greco will design the grand entrance and showroom decor, with classic Hollywood-inspired tabletop flowers from C.J. Matsumoto & Sons. Lucques Catering, under the direction of chef Suzanne Goin and front-of-the-house pro Caroline Styne, will cater the camera-friendly fare.

The Shrine's east parking lot will house the tent for the post-awards gala hosted by People magazine and the Entertainment Industry Foundation. Tony Schubert of Event Eleven will design and produce the gala, with a style inspired by the '30s. A massive diamond-shaped structure that spans 100-feet long was custom made to serve as a dramatic ceiling treatment. Look for metallic tones and mirrored details.

2. OSCAR NOMS ANNOUNCED: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Tom Sherak and academy member and actress Jennifer Lawrence announced the nominations for the 84th Academy Awards this morning. They unveiled the noms in 10 of 24 categories at a news conference at the academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, where hundreds of media representatives from around the world gathered at 5:38 a.m. Pacific time. The big show will take to the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center February 26.

3. SUPER BOWL COMMAND CENTER: This year's game will have its first-ever 2,800-square-foot social media command center with a team of strategists, analysts, and techies to monitor fan conversation on platforms like Facebook and Twitter from January 30 to February 5. Fans will be tweeted directions, parking information, Indianapolis attractions, and more. Mashable:
http://on.mash.to/zdQkPE

4. PLANCAST POST-MORTEM: Mark Hendrickson, the founder and C.E.O. of Plancast, a social site for event planning, has decided to stop working on it full-time. In a guest column for Tech Crunch, he offers an explanation for its probable downfall, and describes what he has learned about how people share events information—or don’t—on social sites:

* People don’t have as much to share about their event plans as other types of content. “With social networks, this is sometimes a case of self-awareness (such as when people say they don’t know what to tweet), but often they’re simply telling the truth; many Plancast users don’t have any interesting plans on their calendars.”

* “People also don’t proactively seek out events to attend as you might suppose.”

* “[M]ost people resist making advanced commitments before they absolutely need to make them.”

* “Sharing plans, unfortunately, doesn’t present the same opportunity to show off and incur the same subsequent happy feelings [as posting photos and other things].”

* “[T]he most engaging events on Plancast are those that are open in principle and don’t solicit attendees primarily through invitations, such as conferences and concerts, where the attendance of one’s friends and peers is a much less important consideration for their own.”
http://tcrn.ch/yhm9bP

5. MENSWEAR SHOW LAUNCH: The British Fashion Council announced over the weekend that a new three-day set of fashion shows called "London Collections: Men" will launch June 15-17. GQ editor Dylan Jones: "And the reason we're doing it this season is because this year, London is the gateway to the world thanks to the Queen's Jubilee, the Olympics and all the activity in London between. This year, all eyes are on London and we want all eyes to be on our industry too."
http://bit.ly/zrKmfe

In other fashion-related news: Francesco Vezzoli, an Italian video and conceptual artist, is launching a 24-hour pop-up museum today at the Palais d'lena in Paris. Prada is funding the exhibition, which begins with an invite-only dinner and then transforms into a private nightclub and party, which will be streamed online for the public to watch at www.24hoursmuseum.com. The public can then view the celebrity sculptures through tomorrow. Flare.com:
http://bit.ly/AiUkOk

6. CHANEL EXHIBIT: From contributor Jim Shi: This weekend, Chanel hosted a no-expense-spared event in Las Vegas to celebrate the launch of its by-invitation-only Numeros Prives exhibit at the Wynn Las Vegas, flying in 200 guests via private planes from New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Designed by the Chanel team in Paris and executed by Keith Baptista, the former senior vice president of production at KCD who left in November to pursue his own projects, the affair included a 10-room tour of the black-and-white exhibit, a seated dinner—an Asian theme to coincide with the Chinese New Year—and a performance by Imelda May.
 

* LOCAL NEWS *

COAST TO COAST: Driftwood Hospitality Management has signed two new hotel management contracts, one for the Holiday Inn Express Tampa-Brandon and the Courtyard by Marriott Dallas NW Hwy. at Stemmons/I-35E. The company will also be renovating five hotels in its portfolio including the Crowne Plaza Hotel Chicago and the DoubleTree Hotel Downtown Wilmington Legal District.
http://bit.ly/AbMAuT

BOSTON: Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club in Cape Cod has announced a $5.3 million room renovation on the 100-year-old Mansion side of the property. Phase one of the renovation will wrap April 1, and will result in an overhaul of 90 guest rooms. The hotel has a 4,500-square-foot event and meeting facility.
http://bit.ly/8xsWY2

CHICAGO: The Lyric Opera of Chicago will present "Showboat" from February 12 to March 17. Groups of 15 or more get a 20 percent discount on ticket sales for matinee and evening performances Monday through Friday.
http://bit.ly/bBic3b

For a quick weekday lunch, David Burke's Primehouse has a soup and sandwich promotion through February 14. Poured table-side, the soup of the day can be paired with Fried Egg, B.L.T., chicken, or Mediterranean tuna salad.

The Grand Chefs Gala and Jean Banchet Awards for Culinary Excellence, a benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, takes place at the Fairmont Chicago Friday. It has a "Havana" theme.
http://bit.ly/gkVDVY

LAS VEGAS: In celebration of Lunar New Year, Caesars Palace headliner Celine Dion hosted the grand opening ceremony for the resort's new Octavius Tower. Dion participated in the customary lion dance at the private ceremony Sunday evening.

Mayor Carolyn Goodman will participate in the opening ceremonies for the first-ever downtown Chinese New Year celebration to be held at Fremont Street Experience this evening. The Las Vegas Lohan School of Shaolin will perform a dragon dance as part of the festivities.

LOS ANGELES: The 19th annual E.I.F. Revlon Run/Walk For Women will take place May 12 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at Exposition Park. About 40,000 participants are expected.

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA: The Global Seafood Market Conference runs through Thursday at the Trump International Beach Resort Miami in Sunny Isles Beach. Companies are using the event as an opportunity to generate seafood donations, an effort coordinated by SeaShare.
http://bit.ly/Ag1XLb

A temporary park, Grand Central Park, has opened at the former site of the Miami Arena. The space is doubling as a concert and event space. NBC Miami:
http://bit.ly/wHu4Pj

Proprietors of two Miami Beach restaurants with similar names and menus, Mr. Chow and Philippe by Philippe Chow, have brought their fight to court with one accusing the other of ripping off his name and concept. Miami Herald:
http://bit.ly/zXLHlJ

NEW YORK: Kelly McCauley has joined the Council of Fashion Designers of America as director of PR and special events.

Architect and developer John C. Portman Jr. will receive a "Legend for Life" honor at the Gift for Life's 20th annual "Party for Life" event January 29 at the Boathouse at Central Park.

Jersey City is scaling back Puerto Rican Day festivities. The parade will be a one-day event in mid-August. Hudson Reporter:
http://bit.ly/AAlkYp

ORLANDO: The Peabody Orlando is offering new incentives for meeting planners as part of the hotel's 25th anniversary celebration. Groups booking through March 31 can choose one of the following offers: complimentary internet connectivity in meeting space, a three percent rebate of room revenue back to the master account, or complimentary round trip transportation to an organized activity.

SAN FRANCISCO: Steve Viscio of Larkspur Hotel Union Square has been named "Outstanding General Manager of the Year" by the California Hotel & Lodging Association.

TORONTO: Geared toward children aged 2 to 12, Family Day Fest features an indoor amusement park, complete with carnival games, interactive entertainment, and rides. The three-day festival takes place over Family Day long weekend, February 18-20, in both Toronto and Niagara Falls.
http://bit.ly/hQuXFX

Lucid Cocktail and Kitchen is slated to open at the end of the month on Queen West. The resto-bar will include a 100-item cocktail menu and will seat 76 guests. The Grid:
http://bit.ly/zF4xEC

WASHINGTON: At Wednesday's "Big Miracle" premiere after-party co-hosted by Sequoia restaurant, more than 700 people will sample salmon dishes from chef Robert Wiedmaier. 
 

YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected]. 

With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, Carla Warrilow in Toronto, and Jana Schiowitz and Anna Sekula in New York.

BizBash Call Sheet is the must-read daily digest of event industry news from BizBash.com. 

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