The Circuit

by Patrick Frater
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 night's bash at the Martinez was positioned somewhere between uber glitz and corporate rally.

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 the chanting of a solo drummer fronting typically Japanese backdrops of Mount Fuji and waterfalls.

Food was a subtle mix of Japanese delicacies (wagyu beef and sushi) and French cuisine, accompanied by rarified sake and Provence wines.

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 which had made many mistakes," Ryuhei Chiba, co-CEO said. "But now we have a clear goal. We want to be bigger fools, to become great fools and make Asia the center of the film-making world."

"Red Cliff" cast and crew out in force included  John Woo, Terence Chang, Tony Leung, Chang Chen, Zhao Wei and supermodel Lin Chiling.