Degen Pener previously wrote about how SpaceX IPO billionaires will impact L.A. real estate, and why more people in Hollywood are smoking cigarettes.
Hollywood may be struggling to keep its soundstages filled with film and television productions. But there’s one kind of production that apparently still has a healthy budget — and is staying local to boot: the bar or bat mitzvah.
At a recent L.A. mitzvah party for twins, a boy and a girl, the concept was pure TV. The night was themed as a fictional sitcom named for the kids, and instead of a typical hotel ballroom, the festivities took place on a set specially built on a Universal Studios soundstage.
“We created a set that was the daughter’s bedroom and a set that was the son’s bedroom, and we put in all the details of what they really love,” recalls Jessica Goldklang of Party Crush Events, who planned the double mitzvah.
To give the evening extra Hollywood verisimilitude, Goldklang even hired set decorators who work in the entertainment business (“I’m always trying to support people in the industry. Entertainment is the heartbeat of our city,” she says) and sourced decor from Universal’s prop house.
Indeed, extravagant budgets for L.A. bar and bat mitzvahs today can rival those of small independent films. Party favors include AirPods and Stüssy sweatshirts, with SKIMS and Sephora “stores” keeping the goodies flowing (never mind the performer and the sushi bars). A highly produced celebration can cost $100,000 to $300,000.
“These events feel closer to a Netflix premiere afterparty than a traditional bar or bat mitzvah,” says celebrity real estate agent James Harris, who has watched wealthy L.A. families increasingly transform private estates and other properties into elaborate party venues.
At some studios, bar or bat mitzvah guests can take tram tours of a backlot during the shindig. You can put your kid’s name on a movie theater marquee and set up a tent in an historic area like the New York Backlot at Paramount or Courthouse Square at Universal, where the Back to the Future trilogy famously filmed.
And if you happen to have a child who’s absolutely obsessed with a certain movie and wants to have an iconic prop from the film put on display at their mitzvah? It’s worth asking. “It absolutely can be talked about,” says Krista Boling, senior vice president, marketing, special events and production client experience at NBCUniversal.
For Hollywood studios facing a prolonged production slump — with L.A. on-location filming down another 5 percent in the third quarter — these lavish celebrations offer a surprising new way to monetize dormant backlots, soundstages and production infrastructure.
And as L.A. parents demand ever more elaborate productions for their 13-year-olds, the studios are discovering that their next big clients don’t necessarily need a script. Just a very big budget.
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