With a party budget reportedly topping $3 million and 200 guests it is possible to make quite an impression. Japanese music, talent and, increasingly, film conglom Avex did not disappoint Tuesday at the Martinez.

Guests were given Japanese-scripted name cards, tags and escorted by models to their seats in the theatrically darkened ballroom. Chit chat was brought to an abrupt halt by a solo drummer.

Evening was regularly peppered with geisha performances, a corporate video, the extended “Red Cliff” trailer on a big screen and a live perf of the movie’s theme song by Tibetan chanteuse Alan. But what lifted the evening above simply glossy cabaret was the sense of Chinese-Japanese entente that Avex and its Chengtian subsidiary exemplify and the self-deprecating good humor of the company bosses.

“Avex is a company of fools that had made many mistakes,” said co-CEO Ryuhei Chiba. “But now we have a clear goal. We want to be bigger fools, to become great fools and make Asia the center of the filmmaking world.” Home team included CEO Masato Matsura, Takashi Araki, Buddy Marini, Ken Umehara, Sirena Liu and Est her Koo.

“Red Cliff” cast and crew included John Woo, Terence Chang, Tony Leung, Chang Chen, Zhao Wei and supermodel Lin Chiling.

Comments (0)