Game of Thrones Premiere In SF Draws Marc Benioff And Other Tech Titans

Photo Credit: twitter.com/marcbenioff

Leave it to HBO’s Game of Thrones, one of the hautest shows on television, to draw tech heavyweights such as Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and Craigslist Inc. founder Craig Newmark to its Season 5, black-carpet premiere on March 23 at San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House. The tech titans rubbed elbows with stars from the hit show, including Peter Dinklage and Emilia Clarke, at the after-party, held at City Hall for 1,000 invited guests.

Also on hand for the festivities: Game of Thrones creator/executive producer David Benioff, who was accompanied by his actress wife Amanda Peet, HBO Chairman and CEO Richard Plepler, comedian Dave Chappelle, actors Erica Schmidt, who is married to Dinklage, Gwendoline Christie, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner, Nathalie Emmanuel, Dean-Charles Chapman, Eugene Simon, Kit Harington, Kristian Nairn, Finn Jones, Michiel Huisman and Alfie Allen and filmmaker Andrew Jarecki.

Fans jammed in five deep behind the steel barricades that separated them from the actors, who signed autographs and posed for selfies with their admirers. Benioff was impressed by it all and at one point Tweeted  “Amazing #GoTPremiereSF!” as he posed in front of the throne on display. Perhaps it’s because he’s reportedly related to Benioff, the show’s co-creator that he got such a kick out the evening. At the party, the tech mogul Tweeted:

I found our family Table at the #GoTPremiereSF!!!! pic.twitter.com/aC3ecGg47L

— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) March 24, 2015

Techies–and they’re not alone– love the medieval times period series’ plot lines and political conniving that goes on in every show for they know that chaos isn’t a pit; chaos is a ladder.

This wasn’t the first time HBO premiered the show in San Francisco. In 2013, the Palace of Fine Arts was the venue. The fifth season of Game Of Thrones premieres on April 12.