William And Kate's Hollywood Event 'Essentially Sold Out' as Studios Reserve Tables (Exclusive)

4:00 AM PDT 6/24/2011 by Bill Higgins

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Universal, Fox, Warner Bros. and Disney have bought $25,000 tables at the black-tie event.

If Prince William and his bride Kate Middleton’s trip to Los Angeles were a movie, its pre-opening box-office sales would indicate an upcoming blockbuster.

•Royal Wedding

The one glitzy event of the Royal couple's July 8-10 visit to Hollywood is the inaugural BAFTA Brits to Watch dinner July 9 at the Belasco Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Tickets to the black-tie affair were offered only to studios, networks, talent agencies and video game companies.

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Reps for Universal, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. and Disney tell The Hollywood Reporter that the studios have bought tables. The $25,000 per-table event is now “essentially sold out,” according to one organizer, with confirmations still coming in. A BAFTA source says some of the invitees have bought two tables.

The idea behind selling tickets solely to the entertainment industry is to turn the event into a showcase that introduces 42 young-ish British talents (names have not been released) who have been chosen by BAFTA to meet and hob-nob influential executives and agents. Two of the Britsh talents will be seated at each table.

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Royals have been criticized in the past for basking in the aura of Hollywood. Queen Elizabeth, when she came to Los Angeles in 1983, was the center of attention at a massive dinner held on the Fox studio lot with dozens of stars in attendance. But the BAFTA event is a savvy move because it can be billed by the Royal Family as an effort to boost British talent in a cutthroat business -- and the event also just so happens to be a great chance for William and (especially) Kate to dress up and mingle with the decision-makers of Hollywood.

"A lot of photos are going to come out of this event," says one organizer.

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The Belasco can hold roughly 25 tables with the number of attendees being about 250.

Email: Bill.Higgins@thr.com