The Business of a Party.
A red carpet premiere is an iconic Hollywood celebration. How iconic? The first red carpet premiere was in 1922 for the film Robin Hood at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles (a theater still in use today). Premieres have been around almost as long as filmmaking.
Premieres bring together cast and creatives to celebrate their finalized work and share it with a public audience, often for the first time. Before the actual screening, actors walk the red carpet, giving interviews, signing autographs for fans and basking in the glitz and glam of the evening. Once the credits roll, an after-party with themed cocktails and heartfelt speeches likely ensues.
But how much of a premiere is an actual celebration versus a work day? While many actors dream of attending a premiere for their own project, many don’t realize what goes on behind the scenes and all of the preparation leading up to the events of that one day. While a premiere is just as much about the actor receiving the spotlight for a day of celebration, studios will use the content created from the red carpet to get audiences excited about the movie and turn those photographs and soundbites into marketing material. Ultimately, this is why actors boycotting these events was used as a negotiation tactic in the SAG/AFTRA strike. As much as a…
