It was a busy week for Overture Films' Tonya Toone. After producing a V.I.P. screening of the studio's new movie Traitor in Los Angeles on Monday, Toone hopped on a plane headed for New York on Tuesday to finalize last-minute details for the film's official world premiere last night.
Held at the Regal Union Square—which Toone chose because of its central Manhattan location—the film screening garnered some 450 attendees, who filled up a two-story theater. The after-party took over the normally raw (some might even say dingy) Fillmore at Irving Plaza, where the look was more girly than espionage-themed.
“We wanted something that was reminiscent of Chateau Marmont in L.A. or the Bowery Hotel’s candle-filled bar here in New York,” said Toone. To create that vibe, she worked with MKG’s Lauren Austin and Tina Malhotra to wash the venue in strong red lighting—a tactic that succeeded in masking the dinge, but also had guests rubbing their eyes and squinting a bit as they entered.
Inside the Fillmore—conveniently located just two blocks from the Regal theater—the party took over a bilevel concert space, where the film's stars gathered in a center lounge area made up of eight red suede chaise lounges and three-foot-tall flowering branches (which were actually laurel branches wrapped with orchids, as flowering branches are currently out of season). "We wanted to create some height and drama in the room and pull the eye to that center lounge vignette," said Austin. "The room itself is a very raw concert venue, so we wanted to hide the walls and ceiling and pull your eye to what we created instead."
Unlike at most movie premiere parties, the film's stars actually hung around, with Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce mingling in the central lounge. As midnight neared the crowed thinned, and Toone was already moving on to her next project: next month's Righteous Kill premiere, which will bring nearly 1,000 guests to the Ziegfeld and Terminal 5 on September 10.
