Empire Partners with Along Came Mary to Produce The Premiere for SONY Pictures

When the Los Angeles based event and catering company, Along Came Mary, was asked to produce the premiere party for the movie "Big Fish" in New York, they turned to Empire Entertainment to secure and manage the talent for the party. "Big Fish" is an allegorical motion picture directed by Tim Burton and starring Ewan McGregor, Danny DeVito and Albert Finney about the amazing life stories of one the characters. A central component of the motion picture is a series of scenes that take place in the mythical 'Calloway Circus' and involve a variety of sideshow performers associated with that circus. Empire was tasked by Along Came Mary to deliver performers that would complete a remarkable decorated environment and serve as ambient entertainment to entertain and amuse the guests.

Working from a series of production stills and background on the movie, and accessing Empire's extraordinary network of talent contacts, Empire was able to make this vision a reality by finding, booking and stage-managing a cast of 11 acts for the event. The talent included a barker to welcome the guests to the event, a hanging trapeze act, the Wau Wau Sisters (who closely resembled the Siamese twins depicted in the film), Flambeau, the Fire Eater, Ula the Rubber Girl (contortionist), Clark the Magnificent fire juggler, a strong man and his assistant, a stilt walker, a tarot card reader, a palm reader, a graphologist, and a crystal ball reader. All of these artists wore costumes that resembled those of the period depicted in the film and performed on satellite stages in front of painstakingly recreated sideshow backdrops. In front of the big top ring, Empire produced acoustic bluegrass band, Trail Mix, to perform upbeat music that tied together all of the circus elements and established the festive and eccentric mood for the event.

Along Came Mary transformed the cavernous Hammerstein Ballroom into a series of carefully crafted environments including a forest, the picture-perfect town of Spectre and, of course, the Calloway Circus.The event was attended by all of the film's stars including Ewan McGregor, Danny DeVito and Albert Finney, as well as Tim Burton and the other talent & studio executives. The event was an unforgettable evening for SONY Pictures, it's clients and stars.

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