The industry awards season is our month-long Super Bowl. Between the fashion, the competition, the drama, and the accolades, there is not much more of an exciting time of the year to be had in Hollywood. Last January 24th was no exception as the Hollywood Branded team got a front-row-seat at the 2015 Producers Guild Awards. The Producers Guild Awards occurs in the heart of awards season and honors spectacular producers in both television and film.
Allow Me To Introduce Myself
I’m Chelsea, a member of the Hollywood Branded team. As a Brand Agent I’m responsible for getting our brands as much product placement exposure and placement integrations as possible in various forms of media, at events and with celebrities. The PGA Awards were one of my first opportunities to see our work come to fruition, from start to finish (or wrap!) and all dressed up, I went with our team to the event on a Saturday night to get an incredible inside look at what few get to actually see behind the camera.
The PGAs began with a cocktail hour filled with brand sponsored bars, glorious ball gowns, and plenty of familiar faces. They do their red carpet a little differently, with the long step-and-repeat wall taking place inside the event space, so that in between glasses of champagne attendees can sneak a peek at the camera-crazed assembly line of celebrities starting to arrive. Some of the celebrities included Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Lawrence, Brad Pitt, Ed Norton, Matt Bomer, Common, Steve Carrell, and Kerry Washington, just to name a few!
As we made our way from the cocktail reception to the main event area, you could hear gasps from the crowds of attendees in awe of the beauty of the stage and table settings. Each table was adorned with our client’s beautiful white PassionRoses, bottles of wine, and customized PGA chocolates. The hour-long dinner was a great opportunity for us to chat with the new faces at our table, and stare surreptitiously around to watch celebrities drink, eat and chat!
The PGA Awards
With over 1,000 attendees, there was plenty going on away from the table. The room was filled with Hollywood’s elite, ranging from the top studio execs to today’s A-list talent. It was refreshing to see some of the most iconic stars of our time simply enjoying each other’s company over a glass of red wine. It was obvious that most of the attendees were friends and as such, genuinely happy to see each other.
The ceremony started promptly at 8:00pm with an introduction from PGA Co-Chairs Ryan Murphy and Todd Black. The two joked that they were going to try their absolute best to assure that everyone was out of there by 10:30pm, (they didn’t lie)!
The ceremony tugged on our heartstrings with touching, but still comical, speeches from stars like Shonda Rhimes, who presented her mentor Mark Gordon with the Norman Lear TV Achievement award. In his acceptance speech he humbly noted that, “There’s no Mark up here tonight, if there’s no Shonda.”
Ed Norton joked about his secret obsession with the The Walking Dead when presenting Gale Anne Hurd with the David O. Selznick Award. Sharon Stone continued to defy the laws of aging when she presented The Normal Heart with the Stanley Kramer award, and Brad Pitt’s cool-guy demeanor was certainly on-point as he accepted the Visionary Award on behalf of his production company, Plan B. (And by the way, no one can pull off thick-brimmed glasses and a tux quite like Brad Pitt can).
However, I’m sure I speak for the room when I say the highlight of the night was Jennifer Lawrence’s quirky, but still heartfelt tribute to Lionsgate’s CEO, Jon Feltheimer. In spite of her accidental expletives and complaints about the length of her speech, Lawrence gave Feltheimer a very sincere tribute. Amid a lot of audience laughter.
My Personal Favorite Moments
Last year, the ceremony’s big winners included The LEGO Movie which took home The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures (adding to the controversy of the film’s Oscar snub), NBC’s The Voice for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television, Netflix’s Orange is the New Black for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy, and Life Itself, a documentary that chronicles the life of film critic Roger Ebert which won for Best Feature Documentary.
I must say that my personal favorite moment happened earlier in the evening as I was resting by on a cocktail table waiting to enter the main room. A casting director approached me and asked me if I was an actress because she said I have “the perfect look” for a part she’s struggling to cast. I will admit that there was a millisecond when I debated telling her that I was, but ultimately we both got a kick out of my complete lack of acting experience and joked over which one of us was more disappointed with my response. While I certainly prefer working on all aspects behind the screen, getting asked about being on one was an unexpected compliment I’ll always cherish!
The 2015 Producers Guild Awards turned out a great crowd and a very entertaining show. We’re excited that Hollywood Branded and our clients were part of the experience!
Learn More
Read more about brand sponsorships and entertainment marketing during awards season here.
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