Prince William's April 29 wedding to Catherine (Kate) Middleton at Westminster Abbey is predicted to draw the biggest audience in television history (a record once held by the Prince's parents Charles and Diana for their 1981 nuptials). Elton John, Guy Ritchie, David and Victoria Beckham and Prince Harry's sometime-girlfriend Chelsea Davy are said to be among the 1,900 guests invited.
Getty ImagesIf 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.
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.
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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.
The Belasco can hold roughly 25 tables with the number of attendees being about 250.
Email: Bill.Higgins@thr.com
