EVENTS
AROUND TOWN/SAN FRANCISCO
NIGHTS
At Least 27 Dresses, 10 Ladies, Lots of
Phones and A Movie
Three of the ladies in bridesmaid dresses who handed
out gift bags for attendees of a special screening of "27 Dresses" last night at
the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas in San Francisco, in an event that exchanged donated
dresses for underprivileged high school girls in exchange for free new Palm
Centro smartphones. (All photos: Omar P.L. Moore)
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By
Omar P.L. Moore/The
Popcorn Reel
January 11, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO
There were ladies, dresses, pink gift bags,
carnations and cell phones. Though that last item did not disrupt the
in-theater entertainment at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas last night in San
Francisco, cell phones and dresses took center stage as Palm, Inc. and The
Princess Project coordinated an effort with Twentieth Century Fox to help launch
its new film "27 Dresses", a romantic comedy which opens next Friday across the
U.S. and Canada, to generate donations of prom dresses to high school girls who
lack the funds to buy them. The first 27 people who arrived to the theater
with dresses to donate received a new Palm Smartphone, which Palm's top
executive took a few moments to describe. "We have a new product coming
out, a pink version of our Palm Centro; it's a very popular device on the market
right now," said Ed Colligan, Palm's CEO, citing the phone's appeal to
predominantly female attendees of the event which included a special screening
of "27 Dresses", which stars Katherine Heigl, who starred in the comedy "Knocked
Up" last summer. "Whenever we do promotions in general we can tie them in
to something that's a good cause as well," Mr. Colligan continued, adding that
the product tie-in and donation of dresses to young girls with less financial
resources was "good for the community, as well as for the promotion of our
products."
Not surprisingly the Centro itself appears in the film, which is directed by
Anne Fletcher and written by Aline Brosh McKenna, who also scripted the 2006
film "The Devil Wears Prada", a runaway box-office smash two summers ago also
released by Twentieth Century Fox. "27 Dresses" boasts a sizable cast,
including James Marsden ("Enchanted", "Hairspray"), Ed Burns ("One Missed Call")
and Malin Akerman ("The Heartbreak Kid".) Dozens of young women and
several men waited patiently in line before being brought to the Kabuki's cinema
auditorium entrance to get their free Centro. For 27 fortunate souls any
discernable sign of a wait worn on their faces quickly transformed into delight
when instantly receiving a free brand-new phone, a gift celebrated with a smile,
excitement and anticipation for the new film which was later shown on the
biggest screen of the newly-renovated Sundance-owned theater in San Francisco's
Fillmore District.
The donation of dresses in exchange for free Palm cell phones simultaneously
took place at movie theaters in numerous other U.S. cities including Boston,
Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City, according to Laney Whitcanack,
co-founder of The Princess Project, the Bay Area-based organization which
expects to grow and expand across the U.S. in the not-so distant future.
Said Ms. Whitcanack: "We are really excited to partner with Palm and the movie
"27 Dresses", because the movie's all about a woman who has multiple
bridesmaid's dresses. Our organization provides free prom dresses to girls
that can't otherwise afford them, and so we receive donations from women and
girls, oftentimes of bridesmaid's dresses that we then give away in a really fun
event to girls who are in need in the community." She added that she was
"excited" about the similar events being held across the U.S. in relation to the
film, which she later stayed to watch.
Judging from the continuous conga line of people with dresses to donate and free
phones to receive and a movie to watch, Ms. Whitcanack was not alone. As a
steady stream of people came in as the movie was about to begin some event-goers
wordlessly accepted pink gift bags. Some of the men did so as well, adding
that they were requesting them for their girlfriends or wives.
The scene was a busy one at the Sundance Kabuki and balloons adorned the
entrance to the auditorium, with young women dressed in fuchsia-colored t-shirts
that had the logo for the film's title on the front and the words "always a
bridesmaid, never a bride" in script on the back. These and other ladies
handed out the free phones and pink gift bags with a printed Palm logo.
There were donations of dresses that were welcomed after the limited supply of
phones ran out. Some donors had four or five dresses to give to The
Princess Project. By a quick rough count at least 45 dresses were donated,
if not more, when all was said and done. Asked in what capacity she was
here in relation to the event tonight, one of the ladies handing out pink gift
bags to event attendees said, "I'm here for the movie". Asked to
elaborate, she repeated with a smile, "I'm here for the movie." Her fellow
bridesmaids concurred: "we want to see the movie."
Presumably, they got their wish.
"27 Dresses", originally scheduled for
release today, instead opens on Friday, January 18 in theaters across the U.S.
and Canada. It is released across North America by Twentieth Century Fox.
For more about 27 Dresses visit
www.27dressesthemovie.com
For more information about The Princess Project visit
www.princessproject.org
For more information about Palm visit
www.palm.com
Copyright The Popcorn Reel. PopcornReel.com. 2008. All Rights
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