Maria Papadakis: Inside the luxurious world of gifting suites
It's Hollywood award season, the most exciting time of the year for the entertainment industry. Television and films best and brightest cross their fingers and hope to win that Golden Globe and Oscar. This year was particular exciting because Philadelphia stories and people are at the forefront of many awards, especially at this year's Golden Globes.
Philadelphia has become a town of talent to be recognized nationally. Upper Darby native Tina Fey made for one of the most memorable hosts of this past decade, and Philadelphia's boy next door Bradley Cooper and Silver Lining's Playbook were top contenders in practically all the categories for the Golden Globes. Even television show Political Animals filmed in Philadelphia was up for a Golden Globe in the Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television category.
This year I traveled to Los Angeles to attend the Golden Globes and root for my fellow Philadelphians. I was excited to see the ceremony, fanfare, gowns, and parties. However, one of the most interesting aspects of the award show was the decadent gifting suite.
What is a gifting suite? Essentially, it is where nominees and guests go to get thousands of dollars worth of free "swag". I visited the GBK lounge at L'Ermitage in Beverly Hills to interview the people behind it and to take a look at the luxurious gifts.
When you first walk into the suite, there are twenty plus staff members ready to greet you with a giant duffle bag. This is where you'll store your goodies. Each guest is assigned a helper who holds the bag. This way you are free to roam without being weighed down.
Vendors plug their gifts and tell the stars all about their products. There were items ranging from 007 remote control toy cars, silk sheets by smart silk, caviar, custom bikinis by BeachCandy, and even a free trip to the Turks and Caicos from Seven Seas Resorts.
Nominees like Jeff Daniels of The Newsroom were particularly excited about the free motorbike by Jetson. Reality star Katie Carzola from the hit show Nail Files lent a hand to Broadway Nails at their booth. Other stars included Simon Templeton from the hit show The Neighbors (my new favorite show), Shemar Moore of Criminal Minds, Madeleine Lewis from Californication, and Thandie Newton of Mission Impossible.
After visiting the gifting suites, actors prep for the big award show. The night before is the quiet before the storm, and I didn't understand why until I saw the red carpet for the Golden Globes. The carpet of winding red velour seems to stretch for miles, surrounded on either side by hundreds of media outlets. Fans are screaming your name from the bleachers while you are trying to talk to the press, and I have no idea how the actors aren't distracted. It's sensory overload.
After the award show the majority of the crowd seems exhausted. People have been prepping all day for this. And at the end of the night people are starting to falter even though its only 9pm. But I'd say the after-parties are just as interesting as the award show. You see people let their hair down and celebrate with friends. All the major groups have after parties: Warner Brothers, HBO, FOX, and NBC Universal. Usually the nominees from each group go to that particular party and some party hop. I visited NBC Universal which was in a grand clear tent under the Beverly Hills Hilton. Les Miserables was the big winner for Universal so most of the cast stayed there.
As the clock struck midnight, it seemed everyone was calling it a night. I just assumed people would stay out late to celebrate. But then I remembered that there's a reason these people look so good on television.
Check back for "Out and About: Philly goes to Hollywood" with star studded video interviews and an exclusive look into the lavish world of awards shows.
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Maria Papadakis is an Emmy Award winning Philadelphia personality, media contributor, and spokeswoman. Work includes; Host of RAW TV, The DC Place, NBC-10 Philadelphia, DUTV, and over 70 national and international speaking engagements/spokesperson campaigns.