Greening Hollywood

Tuesday

Bringing Life to the Pre-Oscar® Party

By Gina Hall

“Ever help plan an Oscar® party?”

“Oh, sure. Lots of times. The key is having lots of snacks. I make an awesome veggie plate. It takes a lot of work, though. Like an hour to make. You need chips – no cheese puffs though. Orange stuff gets all over the fake ballots…”

“Um, no. A real Oscar® party. For Global Green USA. Green Carpet, celebrities, Hollywood venue, paparazzi. It’s for a great cause. No cheese puffs.”

I had been to a lot of Hollywood parties, living in Los Angeles it’s often part of your job. So the opportunity to go behind-the-scenes of Global Green’s 8th Annual ecofriendly Pre-Oscar® Party peaked the interest of this writer. And as a part of this experience, it’s my privilege to fill you in on how this all goes down – and believe me it takes a lot of blood, sweat and organic vodka to ensure you, the partygoer, have a good evening.

Global Green is a national non-profit environmental organization committed to protecting the environment, stopping global climate change and nuclear proliferation, and making the world a safer, more sustainable place. It would be hard not to like these guys. And to add to the goodwill they put out into the world, they stage events, like the Pre-Oscar® Party, that put on a good show for the public all while using the proceeds for initiatives like rebuilding New Orleans and greening public schools.

The Pre-Oscar® party was conceived of by Global Green President Matt Petersen and Board member Sebastian Copeland who are chairs of this year’s event. The annual party and fundraiser grew out of the success of Global Green’s Red Carpet Green Cars initiative which began in 2003 and has taken a who’s who of Oscar nominees and winners to the Academy Awards in fuel-efficient vehicles instead of gas-guzzling limousines.

The Pre-Oscar® party venue was a given -- the Avalon Hollywood, where Global Green has held this event for the last several years. Historically, it was The Palace where The Rolling Stones, Prince and Nirvana had played before it was restored. Across from Capitol Records and in view of the Hollywood sign, it’s as iconic Hollywood as you can get.

Entertainment is also key. Events Manager Nina Storm, way cooler than me and hip to what the kids are listening to these days, spent some considerable time coordinating Global Green’s volunteer music committee while working her own connections and wound up with an enviable indie band line-up, featuring Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Portugal. The Man and Best Coast.

Of course, once you decide to throw a party, you need to make sure lots of people will turn out. And that’s where Director of Communications, Ruben Aronin, shines. If modern scientists ever needed proof that the singularity is near, they need look no further than Aronin who has seemingly merged with his desk phone and iPhone to coordinate many of the logistics of the event. Celebrity attendees, media coverage, sponsorships, and social media outreach all flow through him. And while a lesser man may crumble under the sheer volume of information he has to process in a day, Aronin is probably the most low-key guy in the office.

Then there’s the external coordination of the event team, publicists, web designers, graphic artists, videographers, party staff, and organic wine and alcohol deals – when it comes down to it, throwing a party is actually a pretty sobering experience.

But the reward comes February 23rd when it all comes to life. Daytime media events will unveil Global Green’s Model City Carbon Index, which demonstrates how cities like Los Angeles contribute 70% of our carbon emissions and includes action alerts on what you can do to help reduce that number. Celebrities, musicians and eco-luminaries will glide down a green carpet made from 100% sustainabile materials. A Red Carpet, Green Dress design competition created by Suzy Amis Cameron, wife of James, will be unveiled and helps to support sustainable fashion design. Sponsors, like Planters, Chevy Volt, Pureology and more than a dozen more will have displays showcasing some of the latest in green products and technology.

Organic cocktails, customized video loops and live Twitter feeds are all details that have been coordinated by someone on the Global Green staff. So if all of these people are prepared to put in an enormous effort to promote a message of sustainability, you might say that the cause is worth checking out. When you come to the party, take a moment to appreciate the atmosphere, the talent, the people and the cause behind the evening. And the next time you brag about the awesomeness of your veggie plate that takes a whole hour to make, just make sure it isn’t to someone who’s planned one of these things.

The celebrity host committee includes Orlando Bloom,Jim Carrey, Rosario Dawson and Alison Brie as well as event committee members Eric Garcetti, Walton Goggins, Mia Maestro, Oscar NomineeLucy Walker, Deirdre Wallace and Richard Wegman. Additional celebrity attendees include Carrie Underwood, Hayden Panettiere, Kara DioGuardi, Dane Cook, Maggie Grace, Oscar Nominee David O'Russell,Dr. Drew Pinsky, Dana Delany, Sharon Lawrence, Yvonne Strahovski,Ian Ziering, Daniel Sunjata, Sam Trammel, Stephen Dorff, Paul Stanley, Daniel Powter, Elizabeth Rohm, Daphne Zuniga, Gillian Jacobs, Jonathan Sadowski, Alexandra Paul, Luke Matheny & Ryan Silbert, Thomas Kretschmann, Enrique Murciano and more.

WHAT: Global Green USA will host its 8^th Annual Pre-Oscar® Party featuring special musical performances from Black Rebel, Portugal. The Man, Best Coast, and DJ’s Jeremy Sole and Michael Smith. The theme for this year’s event is “Greener Cities for a Cooler Planet” and willbenefit Global Green’s initiatives to promote smart solutions to climate change by creating healthy, green communities. The event will feature the debut of the nation’s first ever Model Carbon City Index tool

Tickets for this year’s Pre-Oscar Party are still available at www.globalgreen.org/preoscarparty and you can follow all of the excitement at their twitter feed @globalgreenusa

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Friday

Green Film Sets Q&A with Ryan Pomeranz, Director/Producer

The Following Q & A with filmmaker Ryan Pomeranz was re-posted from Production Hub...

Q: What was the inspiration for Theodore is Dying and why did you decide to go green for this project?

A: Theodore is Dying (TID) was made as part of an MFA program at UCF in "Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema." I knew I wanted to do a feature once I got my BFA and the program at UCF gave me the means to do it. It's amazing how much a mandate and a deadline can act as inspiration.

Theodore is Dying tells four different stories dealing with themes of death and rebirth, which is something I knew I wanted to explore when I started writing it. I think it's a normal part of life to hit these points of demarcation where you can draw a line and say "this is where everything changed." Whether it's the loss of a loved one, or the end of a long-term relationship, or whatever, at some point you're going to have to pick up and start over, and that's what each character in the film is faced with.

Q: What kind of equipment did you use for this film and how did it affect the going green initiative?

A: We shot HD on the Sony EX-3. Obviously shooting digitally is more environmentally sound as opposed to shooting on film. You end up avoiding the use of environmentally damaging materials that are used to both make and process the film. Our first goal when deciding to shoot digitally was (like most people I would assume) to keep costs down.

Q: What was the budget for this film and how did you achieve success on such an “ultra-low budget”?

A: The budget for TID was $35,000. Certainly the reason we had a successful shoot comes from the incredible crew we had working on the film. It was important to us (Producer Allie Kenyon and I) to surround ourselves with people that we had worked with before and/or had absolute confidence in. Making a film with this small of a budget, in a somewhat unfamiliar location, comes with an extra set of challenges, but having a talented dedicated crew can absolutely make the difference between whether those challenges are surmountable or not.

Q: What are some tips that you could give other filmmakers working on feature films with low budgets?

A: This is sort of a hard question to answer because I feel like every situation is different. Once again I would say making sure you surround yourself with people you trust is one of the most important things you can do. As a director or a producer you're not going to be able to handle every "fire" that flares up, so having a great production manager and a great 1st AD (We had the amazing Meredith Kaulfers and Alix Duggins respectively) is absolutely essential.

My other advice would be to make the film as "above the table" as possible. This isn't to say you shouldn't steal shots when you need to, but the more preparation and paperwork you finish in pre-pro, the less hassles and potential legal pitfalls you'll face when it's time to distribute or even (God forbid) sell your movie. We had a great lawyer that was willing to work with our budget and our specific situation. Shop around because many entertainment lawyers are willing to work with first time filmmakers. The last thing you want is to end up with an amazing film you can't do anything with.

Q: Would you encourage other filmmakers to go green on set? What are some tips for making a set more eco- friendly?

A: I absolutely would recommend that filmmakers try to make their films in as sustainable a way as possible. Beyond sleeping better at night, we were also actually able to save money in production by going green. It's also been incredibly useful as a marketing tool. Read MORE...