Two New Venues Celebrate Hollywood In response to the growing demand for unique special event venues, both Universal Studios Hollywood and Warner Bros. have opened new facilities.
The Universal Studios Hollywood theme park premiered its Globe Theatre in Universal City, Calif., on Nov. 18. The theater offers 9,622 square feet of meeting and banquet space. It can accommodate 720 people for a seated dinner and 1,400 people for a reception, according to Doug Portillo, director of catering.
The facility boasts state-of-the-art audiovisual and lighting systems and video projectors. "It's like a hotel ballroom, but built like a sound stage," Portillo says. "And because we are a studio, we can change the look with lighting and props."
Warner Bros. is also honoring the traditions of the silver screen with its grand opening slated for this month of WB Stage 16 Restaurant in The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino, Las Vegas. Taking its name from the stage where such movies as Casablanca and Batman were filmed, the 38,000-square-foot facility includes a dining room, two lounges and a private screening room that can seat 125 people for parties or presentations.
What makes the WB Stage 16 Restaurant unique is that guests dine in replicas of stage sets used in Warner Bros. movies, according to director of operations John Baydale. Each set was developed on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Calif., then disassembled and shipped to Las Vegas. The restaurant can accommodate 500 guests for a seated dinner and up to 1,000 guests for a reception.
WB Stage 16 Restaurant is a joint venture between WB Soundstage, a wholly owned subsidiary of Burbank, Calif.-based Warner Bros. Consumer Products, and ENIC PLC, a publicly traded company based in London that owns and operates entertainment and restaurant ventures.
Universal Studios Globe Theatre 100 Universal City Plaza Universal City, CA 91608 818/622-9528 Web site: www.universalstudios.com
WB Stage 16 Restaurant 3377 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Suite 2025 Las Vegas, NV 89109 702/414-1699
Production Company Contracts Celebrities NorthBridge Productions, an executive production group based in West Palm Beach, Fla., has announced the opening of its new celebrity brokerage division to contract celebrities for corporate events.
"A lot of companies are looking for something memorable for clients and employees," says company senior producer Jill Liberman. "Celebrities enhance attendance and exposure for events. Choosing the right celebrity for the occasion is often the key to a successful event or campaign."
NorthBridge Productions, 1818 S. Australian Ave., Suite 106 West Palm Beach, FL 33409 561/697-2825 Web site: www.northbridgeproductions.com
