HOLLYWOOD ACTION

In Hollywood, California, you can’t invite 500 VIP guests to a party and not make a splash. The giant water tank at Paramount Pictures Studios helped us do just that, writes Stuart Schorr, Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs, Jaguar Land Rover North America.

As part of our modern‑day British Invasion, we were celebrating the arrival of our two hottest new stars, the sensational Jaguar F‑TYPE and all‑new Land Rover Range Rover, on the eve of last week’s Los Angeles Auto Show media days.

It was a chance for some of our key customers, retailers and media to see these breakthrough British products, side‑by‑side, for the first time on US soil; vehicle models we are convinced will have an enormous impact here in the States. 

For their reveal, we didn’t want to simply pull off the covers; we wanted our guests to see our cars in action. The iconic Paramount Pictures Studios in Hollywood provided the perfect backdrop for a dynamic reveal.

The key ingredient was the studio’s famous Blue Sky Tank. Remember the scene in The Ten Commandments when Charlton Heston’s Moses parts the Red Sea? The Blue Sky Tank was where it was filmed. The tank measures a massive 176 feet by 195 feet and takes over 914,000 gallons of water to fill.

Behind the tank is a giant projection screen that towers some 61 feet high and spans the entire 176 feet of the water tank.

To have both these elements allowed our creative teams to go into overdrive. They produced a fast‑paced two‑minute film where both the F‑TYPE and Range Rover emerge from a transport plane at a remote desert airport and rush in convoy into L.A., cruising through Beverly Hills, along Rodeo Drive, and finally posing in front of the famous Hollywood sign.

As the lights dimmed at the party, we rolled the film on the massive screen. Then, as it faded to black, the F‑TYPE entered stage right, appearing to glide on water ‑ it was actually driving on a ramp we’d built just above the surface.

Then, from stage left, the all‑new Range Rover eased forward and descended into the tank, emerging just in time to meet the F‑TYPE and drive right up to the crowd ‑  It was a piece of Hollywood magic.

Just before the reveal, we got into the Hollywood mood by announcing that Emmy Award‑winning actor Damian Lewis would take the lead in a new short feature film, called Desire, that Jaguar is producing in association with Ridley Scott Associates. We’ll use it to help launch the new F‑TYPE and filming started in Chile this week.

Damian currently stars in the hit Showtime thriller Homeland and joined us at the party along with Desire co‑star Shannyn Sossamon, who recently appeared in the HBO series How To Make It In America.

It was important for Jaguar Land Rover to have made such a big splash on the eve of the Los Angeles Auto Show, as this city, along with the whole of Southern California, is a huge market for both brands.

Our customers will discover when they get behind the wheel of our new F‑TYPE and Range Rover, that both vehicles encompass all the luxury, style, spirit and sophistication that defines this dynamic, trend‑setting city.

Click here to see the video from Paramount Pictures Studios of the new F‑TYPE and Range Rover or log on to www.interactivejaguar.com or www.interactivelandrover.com to learn more about Jaguar Land Rover’s activities at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show.