Two Hollywood legends stepped out at Studio City Macau yesterday to mark the US$3.2 billion project’s formal opening – inlcuding The Boulevard shopping precint.
Actors Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio joined Academy award-winning director Martin Scorsese and director and producer Brett Ratner to reveal a historic collaboration in a short film The Audition – a Hollywood production tailor-made to promote Macau’s new destination.
Studio City is a Hollywood-inspired cinematically themed entertainment, gaming, retail and leisure destination, the retail mall named The Boulevard, and managed by Taubman Asia.
René Tremblay, president of Taubman Asia, says The Boulevard brings an “unparalleled shopping experience” to Macau.
“The Boulevard features high-energy streetscapes with the thrilling feeling of being in a studio back-lot, with featured streets and squares inspired by iconic shopping and entertainment locations, including Beverly Hills and New York’s Times Square. In this unique space, Taubman Asia delivers a mix of contemporary luxury and bespoke shopping options, all artfully curated by our team of experienced retail experts that has spent years carefully researching the market and creating an experience tailored to the needs of Macau’s many visitors,” said Tremblay.
“As Taubman Asia’s first project in Macau, The Boulevard is strategically positioned to capture the vast retail opportunity of Macau’s preeminent leisure and tourism market. We’re confident in our partnership with Melco Crown Entertainment and the opportunity Studio City holds for Taubman Asia.”
Meanwhile, the short film launched last night and screening publicly from today, is led by Scorsese and depicts De Niro, DiCaprio and Brad Pitt playing themselves as they vie for the same part in a fictitious movie.
“When we first envisioned building a cinematically-themed integrated resort in Macau, we wanted to bring the best of the best of entertainment to the world,” said Lawrence Ho, co-chairman and CEO of Melco Crown Entertainment.
“[So] it made perfect sense to commission a star-studded Hollywood production to fully conceptualise our goal to reimagine entertainment for Asia. We are extremely proud that we were able to work with the world’s greatest director and actors who are true icons of Hollywood, to successfully produce the first Hollywood movie for Macau.”
Melco Crown Entertainment’s co-chairman James Packer added: “Studio City’s official opening represents a key milestone in our strategy to develop Macau as a truly world-leading tourism and entertainment destination, I am extraordinarily proud of what we have achieved here.”