By the way, with that type of fare, they are definitely not all-digital like true RMPs. “Whatever Works” and “Cold Souls” were not offered to exhibitors in DLP. And given there was no mention of “3D” by “Up”, I’d say it’s all still the same.
They are indeed opening TOMORROW, 9/4, with the following features:
Cold Souls
The Proposal
Adam
Whatever Works
Paper Heart
The Hurt Locker
Shorts
Post Grad
The Goods
Ponyo
The Ugly Truth
Bandslam
The Collector
The Orphan
Public Enemies
Transformers 2
Up
The neon green and orange, while entirely possible, would be downright hilarious. To try to modernize a property that’s so distinctly 80s…
Then again, much as I like a second-run programming alternative, I’d take the Burbank 8 for 80s vibes over this ‘plex any day, so they can butcher it all they want so long as the film presentation is good.
I could buy that they’re reupholstering the seats (or even installing new ones), but I don’t believe they’d install DLP in all the auditoriums. That’s a multi-million dollar investment in a property with no future. Then again, the place is now on MovieTickets.com WITH the Rave Motion Pictures header, which would imply a shift in the plan. So hey, maybe it will be DLP. Actually, second-run is about the only time I’d really champion DLP.
The phone line now states they need “extra time preparing” and will be open NEXT Friday with showtimes available on Wednesday. Shows how much the Rave rep I talked to knew.
I contacted Rave again and they assured me the theater would re-open tomorrow. But no showtimes on any major website, on the phone line, or in the publications I’ve seen. If this is any indication of how it will be run, then Houston, this place is doomed for more failure.
If you’re going at night, the Bronxton city lots (right across from the Regent) are actually pretty fair. While it’s pricey if you go over the free 2 hours before 6 p.m., after that, it’s a $3 flat fee. Yes, this is a buck more than the Hollywood & Highland or ArcLight complexes, but you can also stay for more than four hours. Not to mention, the Village is $1.25 cheaper than the Chinese and and $.50-$3 cheaper than the Dome, so it’s really a moot point when you consider the total.
The challenges come when A) it’s daytime and you wanna stay over 2 hours or B) the city lots are full (which happens quite often during peak times). As others have said, these SHOULD NOT be hard to solve, even though they criminally haven’t been corrected.
They’re all Oscar qualifying shorts. You’ll see all the theaters booked to the brim with qualifiers at this time of year. Crest probably was paid a pretty penny to show them.
JULIE & JULIA clearly did well — I saw shows with over 20 people pre-buying online, unheard of for them. It moves over to the Avco on Friday.
I have a hard time believing that they’d want to build in the general vicinity of the BevCenter, what with the Grove and Century City siphoning off business.
And Regency would NEVER want a 13-screen discount house. That’s a semi-insane concept in the first place.
They are VERY responsive on twitter.com/ravemovies to all your concerns. Thus far, I’ve recommended that they work to lower ticket prices to $5 for second-run shows and negotiate a parking validation deal with the BevCenter.
Will they live up to this?: “our main objective is to provide the best possible customer service and experience possible within the current environment [of the Beverly Center 13].”
I just received this response via Twitter from Rave: “we will operate the location but as The Beverly & not an RMP. Wide scale DLP isn’t planned, but 1 screen or so is possible.”
I will continue to try to find stuff out via this avenue.
I wondered that, too, but the auditoriums aren’t really long enough for that. In that case, you’d have a setup like the MPark 4, where the auditorium is ridiculously wide for the screen. If there was more time, I wouldn’t rule it out that they were eating into that wide hallway, but no way is that a 3 week project.
Keep in mind, though: the bulk of the stuff has got to be done by Aug. 28, unless they do a limited opening of only a few auditoriums ala ArcLight Sherman Oaks.
Three weeks is certainly long enough to install Rave-standard DLP setups. (Funny as it is to think those tiny screens could be running 4k.) Then again, given the chain will be hard pressed to live up to its “100% stadium seating” claim, maybe they won’t be following the DLP one, either. As much as I dislike DLP, I will say it would be great to see a second-run house like this (provided it is indeed remaining second run) run it, as it would eliminate the worn & torn prints.
What they’ll do with the auditoriums — no idea. Any attempt to install newer seating would result in a major reduction in auditorium capacity (you could barely sit without your knees touching the chair in front of you as it was). Time-wise, though, they could pull it off.
That all said, I would be SHOCKED to see major changes. How you could make the place a modern cinema without almost completely gutting it is beyond me.
This is what I don’t get about the Rave thing. The BevCenter 13, much as I love it in an 80s cineplex kinda way, is the antithesis of the amenities listed on their website.
Not to doubt you, but I see a Theater GM posting at the Beverly Center address online, posted today by Rave Motion Pictures. (Unless they have some connection to Regency I’m totally unaware of, then I think they most be the ones taking this theater over.)
Interestingly, Rave is a 100% digital chain. It would be wild if they outfitted the entire BevCenter complex with new projectors.
But I guess I’m speculating. Still, the job posting seems irrefutable.
I’m fascinated to learn who picked it up. It’s almost certain that it will remain second-run, but then again, I thought it was almost certain that it was doomed to never operate again, too.
Regency would be the easy guess, but there’s no mention of it on the website (or any other chain’s, for that matter). Could it be possible that a second-run chain will be entering the LA market for the first time?
Wonder if they’ll clean the place up at all… doubt it.
If it’s going to remain second run (which it pretty much has to given The Grove and Century City so close), then it will be really hard to lure anybody in with the number of screens. Mann has essentially been operating the place at first-run prices (especially once one accounts for parking), and that’s probably part of the reason it hasn’t done so well.
Although the Fairfax is looking to have its fair share of troubles and Regency may have to give it up, I can’t imagine Regency would want to take up another theater only about 10 blocks away at present. Especially with that screen-count.
It would be wild if anybody picked the place up, so Thursday may be it. I’m now regretting that I decided against catching BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE there last week due to traffic, now that I’m out of town and won’t be able to see a last show. Then again, perhaps NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH back in December was a fitting last show, as it was one of the few prints I’ve ever seen in good condition at the place. It’s a shame the place was so ratty, at least in recent years.
It’s hard to be optimistic about the closing of the Festival, but I guess one good thing is that it means the Crest is more likely to get good bookings. For instance, on Friday, they open JULIE & JULIA, which is the first high-profile first-run film they’ve gotten in a long while. Yeah, it’d be nice for SOME of us if they would keep running the indie stuff—and second run is often a great help to catch up—but if bigger movies mean bigger crowds, I’m all for it. After all, this is at least the second best theater in Westwood.
As a side-note, when I was at LAFF, I tried to park at the AMPCO garage one day and noticed it was closed. Is this a permanent thing? One distinguishing thing about the Crest was always the cheaper-than-standard parking when Westwood was at meter-saturation.
By the way, with that type of fare, they are definitely not all-digital like true RMPs. “Whatever Works” and “Cold Souls” were not offered to exhibitors in DLP. And given there was no mention of “3D” by “Up”, I’d say it’s all still the same.
They are indeed opening TOMORROW, 9/4, with the following features:
Cold Souls
The Proposal
Adam
Whatever Works
Paper Heart
The Hurt Locker
Shorts
Post Grad
The Goods
Ponyo
The Ugly Truth
Bandslam
The Collector
The Orphan
Public Enemies
Transformers 2
Up
Prices are: Matinee, senior, military, children- $7, student- $8, evening- $9.50
The neon green and orange, while entirely possible, would be downright hilarious. To try to modernize a property that’s so distinctly 80s…
Then again, much as I like a second-run programming alternative, I’d take the Burbank 8 for 80s vibes over this ‘plex any day, so they can butcher it all they want so long as the film presentation is good.
I could buy that they’re reupholstering the seats (or even installing new ones), but I don’t believe they’d install DLP in all the auditoriums. That’s a multi-million dollar investment in a property with no future. Then again, the place is now on MovieTickets.com WITH the Rave Motion Pictures header, which would imply a shift in the plan. So hey, maybe it will be DLP. Actually, second-run is about the only time I’d really champion DLP.
Woop — you beat me to it.
The phone line now states they need “extra time preparing” and will be open NEXT Friday with showtimes available on Wednesday. Shows how much the Rave rep I talked to knew.
I contacted Rave again and they assured me the theater would re-open tomorrow. But no showtimes on any major website, on the phone line, or in the publications I’ve seen. If this is any indication of how it will be run, then Houston, this place is doomed for more failure.
As stated above, Rave said there would be no significant programming changes.
As for ticket prices, we’ll have to wait ‘til Tuesday.
If you’re going at night, the Bronxton city lots (right across from the Regent) are actually pretty fair. While it’s pricey if you go over the free 2 hours before 6 p.m., after that, it’s a $3 flat fee. Yes, this is a buck more than the Hollywood & Highland or ArcLight complexes, but you can also stay for more than four hours. Not to mention, the Village is $1.25 cheaper than the Chinese and and $.50-$3 cheaper than the Dome, so it’s really a moot point when you consider the total.
The challenges come when A) it’s daytime and you wanna stay over 2 hours or B) the city lots are full (which happens quite often during peak times). As others have said, these SHOULD NOT be hard to solve, even though they criminally haven’t been corrected.
They’re all Oscar qualifying shorts. You’ll see all the theaters booked to the brim with qualifiers at this time of year. Crest probably was paid a pretty penny to show them.
JULIE & JULIA clearly did well — I saw shows with over 20 people pre-buying online, unheard of for them. It moves over to the Avco on Friday.
I have a hard time believing that they’d want to build in the general vicinity of the BevCenter, what with the Grove and Century City siphoning off business.
And Regency would NEVER want a 13-screen discount house. That’s a semi-insane concept in the first place.
They are VERY responsive on twitter.com/ravemovies to all your concerns. Thus far, I’ve recommended that they work to lower ticket prices to $5 for second-run shows and negotiate a parking validation deal with the BevCenter.
Will they live up to this?: “our main objective is to provide the best possible customer service and experience possible within the current environment [of the Beverly Center 13].”
RMP = Rave Motion Picture — AKA the all DLP, all stadium seating brand.
Follow up: “the show lineup is to be similiar to what is being run now. Any renovations are at the discretion of the Beverly Center.”
I just received this response via Twitter from Rave: “we will operate the location but as The Beverly & not an RMP. Wide scale DLP isn’t planned, but 1 screen or so is possible.”
I will continue to try to find stuff out via this avenue.
I wondered that, too, but the auditoriums aren’t really long enough for that. In that case, you’d have a setup like the MPark 4, where the auditorium is ridiculously wide for the screen. If there was more time, I wouldn’t rule it out that they were eating into that wide hallway, but no way is that a 3 week project.
Keep in mind, though: the bulk of the stuff has got to be done by Aug. 28, unless they do a limited opening of only a few auditoriums ala ArcLight Sherman Oaks.
Three weeks is certainly long enough to install Rave-standard DLP setups. (Funny as it is to think those tiny screens could be running 4k.) Then again, given the chain will be hard pressed to live up to its “100% stadium seating” claim, maybe they won’t be following the DLP one, either. As much as I dislike DLP, I will say it would be great to see a second-run house like this (provided it is indeed remaining second run) run it, as it would eliminate the worn & torn prints.
What they’ll do with the auditoriums — no idea. Any attempt to install newer seating would result in a major reduction in auditorium capacity (you could barely sit without your knees touching the chair in front of you as it was). Time-wise, though, they could pull it off.
That all said, I would be SHOCKED to see major changes. How you could make the place a modern cinema without almost completely gutting it is beyond me.
This is what I don’t get about the Rave thing. The BevCenter 13, much as I love it in an 80s cineplex kinda way, is the antithesis of the amenities listed on their website.
For those who want to independently verify, the listing is here: View link
Rich37, where did you get that information?
Not to doubt you, but I see a Theater GM posting at the Beverly Center address online, posted today by Rave Motion Pictures. (Unless they have some connection to Regency I’m totally unaware of, then I think they most be the ones taking this theater over.)
Interestingly, Rave is a 100% digital chain. It would be wild if they outfitted the entire BevCenter complex with new projectors.
But I guess I’m speculating. Still, the job posting seems irrefutable.
I’m fascinated to learn who picked it up. It’s almost certain that it will remain second-run, but then again, I thought it was almost certain that it was doomed to never operate again, too.
Regency would be the easy guess, but there’s no mention of it on the website (or any other chain’s, for that matter). Could it be possible that a second-run chain will be entering the LA market for the first time?
Wonder if they’ll clean the place up at all… doubt it.
If it’s going to remain second run (which it pretty much has to given The Grove and Century City so close), then it will be really hard to lure anybody in with the number of screens. Mann has essentially been operating the place at first-run prices (especially once one accounts for parking), and that’s probably part of the reason it hasn’t done so well.
Although the Fairfax is looking to have its fair share of troubles and Regency may have to give it up, I can’t imagine Regency would want to take up another theater only about 10 blocks away at present. Especially with that screen-count.
It would be wild if anybody picked the place up, so Thursday may be it. I’m now regretting that I decided against catching BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE there last week due to traffic, now that I’m out of town and won’t be able to see a last show. Then again, perhaps NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH back in December was a fitting last show, as it was one of the few prints I’ve ever seen in good condition at the place. It’s a shame the place was so ratty, at least in recent years.
It’s hard to be optimistic about the closing of the Festival, but I guess one good thing is that it means the Crest is more likely to get good bookings. For instance, on Friday, they open JULIE & JULIA, which is the first high-profile first-run film they’ve gotten in a long while. Yeah, it’d be nice for SOME of us if they would keep running the indie stuff—and second run is often a great help to catch up—but if bigger movies mean bigger crowds, I’m all for it. After all, this is at least the second best theater in Westwood.
As a side-note, when I was at LAFF, I tried to park at the AMPCO garage one day and noticed it was closed. Is this a permanent thing? One distinguishing thing about the Crest was always the cheaper-than-standard parking when Westwood was at meter-saturation.
According to Yelp, somebody rented it out and showed a Morrisey documentary in November.
They’re clearly still in rental operation, plus they have a new (equally incoherent) message on the machine.
How much could it really cost them to run second-run shows again? The prints have gotta be next-to-nothing and you could run the place with two guys.
Has it closed again?
There are no new showtimes for the week, the number listed on the website is disconnected, there are no coming attractions listed, etc.
I guess at least I made it to see “12” a couple months ago i that’s the case.
Hopefully it isn’t.