Hollywood or Bust

Zipping through Universal Studios on your own personal golf cart, it’s hard not to get caught up in the magic of Hollywood. To your left is the soundstage where “Crossing Jordan” is filmed. Ahead, the New York street from “Bruce Almighty.” As you stop to admire Spartacus Square (yes, that Spartacus), trams of families down from Universal Studios Hollywood pass by, feigning disinterest as they keep an eagle eye trained for celebrities. A little ways up the hill lies a suburban street that looks like it was cut out of Iowa and pasted onto Universal’s back lot. It’s the set for outdoor scenes in a show you may have heard of — “Desperate Housewives.”

Admit it: You’re at least slightly intrigued to see where “Oceans 13” is being filmed. You wouldn’t be particularly opposed to seeing the bays where ambulances pull up to “ER”’s County General Hospital. And if it really came right down to it, you could stand a jaunt down Wysteria Lane.

Not everyone is lucky enough to pass over the ground where Brad Pitt may one day (or may already have!) set foot. That’s what studios have security for. But a growing number of them are taking down the velvet rope for event planners and their attendees. So put on your shades. It’s time to head to Hollywood.

Any Mission is Possible

When holding an event at a movie studio, “you get to utilize the imagination of people that actually do movies,” says Lisa Garvey, who is in the special events department at
The Culver Studios (www.theculverstudios.com), based in Culver City, Calif. “Everything is a possibility.”

You want to borrow a set designer who worked on “Mission Impossible”? Not a problem. You want to use the clock tower from “Back to the Future”? Sure. You want the animatronic dinosaur from “Jurassic Park” next to the dance floor? It just so happens to be in the prop department.

Indeed, when it comes right down to it, movies and events have a lot in common. They both create scenes aimed at engaging an audience, using lighting, sound, props and sets to bring new worlds to life, or recreate old ones. And they even both have to feed people. Additionally, studios have experience in events, as they have their own to produce — little things like movie premieres or holiday events for 18,000 studio employees.

Studios that are in the event market may offer a commissary, back lots and/or soundstages for events.

“The advantage of a soundstage is that it’s a blank canvas with rigging points,” says Diana Corral, manager of special events with Raleigh Studios (www.raleighstudios.com), an independent studio with locations in Hollywood, Manhattan Beach and Playa Vista.

Although movie studios’ first priority is film and television production, they’re not opposed to boosting their bottom lines, while offering your attendees a peek behind the Hollywood curtain. Studios open to events include NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Studios, Paramount Pictures, Fox Studios, Raleigh Studios, The Culver Studios and since May, Warner Bros. Studios.

“The challenge with any studio is working with production,” says Hillary Harris, director of special events at Warner Bros. (www.wbspecialevents.com). However, she says, at her studio, production and events work closely to accommodate each other’s needs whenever possible.

Based in Burbank, Calif., Warner Bros. has a number of areas open for events. Commissary Park, the Commissary Fine Dining Room, the Steven J. Ross Plaza, Brownstone Street, the lobby of the Steven J. Ross Theater and the Warner Bros. Museum are the easiest spaces to secure.

Hennesy Street, originally created for“Annie,” is also popular, and other available areas are Midwest Street, New York Street and The Jungle. Harris works with planners to create a shortlist of your top three locations if you’re interested in one that is in higher demand for production, and one of those will be guaranteed for your event.

On New York Street, the set of “ER,” Harris has held behind-the-scenes events in which an accident is staged and a special effects team is brought in to show attendees how the many different injuries that pass through County General are created.

The Museum is another special treat for attendees, as two of the most popular ways to see it are through a VIP tour or a special event. You can also have cocktails and tray-pass hors d’oeuvres — just don’t spill anything on George Clooney’s scrubs or any other priceless memorabilia.

Geriann McIntosh, senior vice president, administration, for Warner Bros. Television, used New York Street and another area, Embassy Courtyard, for an event with more than a thousand attendees. Harris created a family-friendly carnival atmosphere, bringing in everything from a Ferris wheel and merry-go-round to cotton candy, laser tag, jugglers and game booths.

Hillary and her team “bend over backwards to help your event be the most spectacular event, no matter what your budget is,” she says.

Harris’s team also offers team-building activities with movie and “Amazing Race” themes.

Due to production schedules, availability for special events is at its peak from April through mid-July or on weekends.

Make Your own Movie

At over 350 acres, NBC Universal (www.nbcuni.com/studio) has ample space for special events. And also for its own post office, dry cleaners and shoe polishers.

The studio has reserved the 6,000-square-foot Stage 6 as a turnkey event space. Although it is already fully dressed for a Hollywood theme, it can also become a
blank canvas.

Other areas include the The Studio Grill (where you can have the Starbucks counter or Häagen-Dazs open during your event); The Studio Café; Hollywood Terrace, which offers a broad view of the valley; and, of course, the back-lot movie sets.

Among these locations are Courthouse Square, the largest seating area; Denver
Street, which allows you to take your guests to the Old West; Spartacus Square, which takes them even farther back in time; European Street if you’re feeling continental; and the popular New York Street. And to complete these themes, you can shop in the studio’s prop department.

As New York St. is the most popular area for both events and production, there are plenty of other back-lot options available just in case, says Laura Chambers, director of special events and customer relations.

In April, Universal launched its “Make Your own Movie” team building program in conjunction with Feet First Eventertainment.

“The reason we like to work at Universal is they have the actual sets that movies and TV shows are shot on,” says Warren Press, director of corporate events for Feet First. “There’s no better feeling for a client to come onto an actual working movie lot and know that at any minute the cast and crew from any number of productions might be around the corner.”

In breakout groups, participants start out by learning how to work the camera, boom microphone, clapboard and other tools of the trade. They then get a chance to try all different aspects of production as they rotate to different locations, shooting their movie. Their films are subsequently edited in a few hours or overnight, depending on the size of the group, and can be shown at an awards show. A slightly different version of the team-builder has groups making commercials.

“It’s just great to see … someone who’s in accounting who’s getting to make a movie on a back lot,” says Press. “It’s definitely a special day out of the office.”

A Scarlett and Rhett Moment

One day at the end of July, set designers at The Culver Studios were busy at work. On the ground, they had painted terra cotta tiles so realistic you would hesitate before walking over them in heels, if you weren’t so enticed by the grand entrance to a Las Vegas casino spilling out the front of the soundstage. It was the set of NBC’s “Las Vegas,” and it’s just a taste of what’s at your fingertips at the studio, according to Garvey.

Culver has four areas available for events — the Commissary, Stage One Bistro, the front lawn and Stage 11, aka the soundstage where “Gone with the Wind” was filmed.
You won’t forget that if you walk into the bistro — a large painting of Rhett and Scarlett presides over one of the tables. With neutral décor, it can accommodate up to 50 people and has four retractable screens. The Commissary can hold up to 180.

The United States Chamber of Commerce recently took advantage of the front lawn, which can hold over a thousand people. The storied Stage 11, which can fit up to 800, is a blank slate for events. Due to production engagements, the stage can’t be booked more than a month in advance, but it is set aside for special events in the month of December.

“The studios were extremely helpful,” says Mark Flaisher of Santa Monica, Calif.-based Mark Flaisher Entertainment, who produced an awards show there earlier this year. Flaisher preserved the “working soundstage” feel in the reception area but made sure guests were transported outside the stage in the main room he created.

All the World’s a Stage

There’s a reason why studios can seem like far-off places where secret and magical things take place: good security. And that’s one less headache for your event, says Corral.

With its colorful bungalows; the tree-lined Bronson Alley; and window boxes bursting with bright marigolds, geraniums and cosmos, Raleigh Studios has an almost residential feel. The studio’s Italian-style café; with its breezy patio; Bronson Alley; and several stages serve as event spaces.

Approximately 300 can fit in the café, with another hundred in a tent outside.

The sound stages at the Hollywood location range from 5,000 to 15,000 square feet. Stage 5 is just over 13,000 square feet, has a small terrace behind it, and has a permanent, 30-foot-high cyclorama, which facilitates projection. The stage is also large enough to build a two-floor structure inside.

At almost 15,000 square feet with 30-foot ceilings, Stage 14 is another popular event site, as it is close to the front of the studio.

At the end of the day, movie studios traffic in fantasy, which makes them more than a distant cousin to the events industry.

This fact was not lost on Lisa Gregorian, head of worldwide TV marketing for Warner Bros. Gregorian has worked with Warner Bros. Special Events on events that have included everything from fire eaters and elephants to a Martian invasion.

Movie studios, says Gregorian, are a place to “create fantasy and execute fantasy.”

In other words, a place to create events.