I think the theatre has always been worth supporting.
Even after installing the digital projector, they still ran 35mm as much as possible. There shouldn’t be any shame in installing a digital projector when the primary commitment would continue to be to film. More than the format they shows movies in, the New Beverly stood for the overall experience you had when there. And that was a product of the tireless work of the Torgan Family for decades.
The theatre probably wouldn’t be standing today without Quentin Tarantino but the way this has all gone down is simply unsettling.
I think some of the issues with the tour mentioned above are more an effect of the situation rather than the Conservancy. Broadway is possibly the most bustling street downtown on the weekends so providing a quiet place to conduct the tour is a challenge. They have a cap on the number of people allowed on a tour for this reason which is why so many weeks are sold out right now.
The availability of the theaters varies due to ownership, operating costs and the fact that any event being held inside has to take precedence to a tour. I’ve taken the tour before though and found it to be quite informative. Sometimes you can get into some more theaters. The Million Dollar is also looking a lot better than it has in years due to recent renovations.
Basically, if you’re looking to get into every theater on Broadway in one shot, it’s not gonna happen. I’ve lived in L.A. five years and been involved enough with the area to get into numerous events in the theaters and there’s still some I haven’t even been inside of. If you’re in L.A. for a short period, go on the tour and you may be on it a week where they get into more theaters. If you’re in L.A. for the long term, still go on the tour but keep an eye out for concerts, LATOS screenings, the Conservancy’s Last Remaining Seats film series and you’ll be able to get into most of the major ones. The ones that have little activity in them or religious services though might take a while to crack.
Regarding the lower number of news items, while I search the newswire for relevant stories, a lot come from people sending them in as well. The frequency of those submissions changes drastically over the course of the year and I’m not exactly sure why. The last couple months have definitely been slow though.
I’ve been trying to get more pictures in each week and hopefully soon I can get back to regulary contributing columns like I used to a year ago.
I was hoping someone else more in the know could shed some light on it. I was just emailed saying they were showing the movie there this Saturday. Without any specific information I didn’t want it to appear as definite.
I was copying and pasting the post-article snippet that I always include and I accidentally copied the last paragraph from last week’s column about the Mann National. To my knowledge, the AMC 42nd Street isn’t going anywhere. Just included the picture cause I liked it and with it being an article about a modern-day trend(or at least one that seems to have reached its zenith lately), I felt a theater that really exemplifies our time was appropriate.
So it appears the National isn’t gone yet. Mann sold it to a company called Simms Entertainment(sp?. I called them up. They don’t plan to demolish it but instead lease it out to someone to show films in. They wouldn’t tell me what company but said they hope to get first run movies in there. We’ll see what happens.
That’s what you get when the guy writing this stuff is only 25! Yeah, I had heard about special editions on Laserdisc but it didn’t cross my mind when I was writing this column.
I get a little bit annoyed with the over-release of special-editions too. It doesn’t bother me too much though because I simply don’t buy the ones I don’t care for.
I also fondly remember waiting to Star Wars Ep II at McClurg. Except I didn’t make it there for the midnight showing the first night. If I recall correctly, they didn’t announce that there would be midnight showings at McClurg until rather late in the game. Weeks earlier, they had announced showtimes for the first full day at McClurg. So assuming that would be the best I could do, I bought tickets for the primetime evening show at McClurg and went elsewhere for the midnight show the first night. Of course, when they announced the digital midnight show after it was too late, my friends gave me a lot of lip for poorly planning the events which I had bought them all tickets for and badgered me for depriving them of the opening night digital presentation at McClurg!
Went to the open house for the Tower the other week and was amazed by how intact this theater still is. It too reminds me of the Los Angeles but is as the the last comment said, muc more narrow. With the seats taken of the main floor and the seats in the balcony being a little shabby, not sure where they could from here in regards to ever showing films or performances. It needs some work though but it’s still a palace.
I was actually thinking about this the other night as I went to the Mann Village in Westwood for a 10PM Saturday night screening. There were at most 20 people there. I was shocked and a bit worried. I mean yeah, “The Jacket” seemed to be a box office dud but at 10PM on a Saturday night in Westwood one would feel it could scare up a little more audience than this. Anyway, what worried me even more is that there were a good 10 people working there, amongst concessions, ticket takers, box office, etc. Yeah, needless to say, I was kind of relieved when the ads came on cause at least I knew the theater was making some money! If it takes ads to keep this theater open, show as many as necessary.
Then again it is kind of a relief to go to ArcLight Hollywood and not deal with them. However, for those not familiar with ArcLight, you must understand that you pay a premium for this luxury(admission is $10-$11 weekdays and weekends during the day, and $14(yes that’s right) $14 on Friday and Saturday night.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, no it’s not ideal to have the ads but from what I understand about the theater business, sometimes you have no choice.
Thanks so much for all the kind comments here. It truly was a pleasure working on the site all these years.
Despite everything, I still really love going out to the movies and it’s great to know others share the same passion.
Corrected. Thanks Trolleyguy.
I think the theatre has always been worth supporting.
Even after installing the digital projector, they still ran 35mm as much as possible. There shouldn’t be any shame in installing a digital projector when the primary commitment would continue to be to film. More than the format they shows movies in, the New Beverly stood for the overall experience you had when there. And that was a product of the tireless work of the Torgan Family for decades.
The theatre probably wouldn’t be standing today without Quentin Tarantino but the way this has all gone down is simply unsettling.
This is now fixed.
I think some of the issues with the tour mentioned above are more an effect of the situation rather than the Conservancy. Broadway is possibly the most bustling street downtown on the weekends so providing a quiet place to conduct the tour is a challenge. They have a cap on the number of people allowed on a tour for this reason which is why so many weeks are sold out right now.
The availability of the theaters varies due to ownership, operating costs and the fact that any event being held inside has to take precedence to a tour. I’ve taken the tour before though and found it to be quite informative. Sometimes you can get into some more theaters. The Million Dollar is also looking a lot better than it has in years due to recent renovations.
Basically, if you’re looking to get into every theater on Broadway in one shot, it’s not gonna happen. I’ve lived in L.A. five years and been involved enough with the area to get into numerous events in the theaters and there’s still some I haven’t even been inside of. If you’re in L.A. for a short period, go on the tour and you may be on it a week where they get into more theaters. If you’re in L.A. for the long term, still go on the tour but keep an eye out for concerts, LATOS screenings, the Conservancy’s Last Remaining Seats film series and you’ll be able to get into most of the major ones. The ones that have little activity in them or religious services though might take a while to crack.
I would contact someone through their website, www.laconservancy.org They might be able to help.
Regarding the lower number of news items, while I search the newswire for relevant stories, a lot come from people sending them in as well. The frequency of those submissions changes drastically over the course of the year and I’m not exactly sure why. The last couple months have definitely been slow though.
I’ve been trying to get more pictures in each week and hopefully soon I can get back to regulary contributing columns like I used to a year ago.
I was hoping someone else more in the know could shed some light on it. I was just emailed saying they were showing the movie there this Saturday. Without any specific information I didn’t want it to appear as definite.
Sorry about that, Simon. I dropped the ball on that one. Well, it will be open for the Jules Verne Adventure Film Festival this week.
I’m usually in the loop with what goes on there so I’ll post earlier next time.
Yes, the lawn in front of the screen is completely empty.
My mistake.
I was copying and pasting the post-article snippet that I always include and I accidentally copied the last paragraph from last week’s column about the Mann National. To my knowledge, the AMC 42nd Street isn’t going anywhere. Just included the picture cause I liked it and with it being an article about a modern-day trend(or at least one that seems to have reached its zenith lately), I felt a theater that really exemplifies our time was appropriate.
So it appears the National isn’t gone yet. Mann sold it to a company called Simms Entertainment(sp?. I called them up. They don’t plan to demolish it but instead lease it out to someone to show films in. They wouldn’t tell me what company but said they hope to get first run movies in there. We’ll see what happens.
I haven’t seen anything saying it’s being demolished quite yet but I’d have to assume they’re doing that at some point soon.
Tours are open to the public. Call 718.220.6143 for more information.
That’s what you get when the guy writing this stuff is only 25! Yeah, I had heard about special editions on Laserdisc but it didn’t cross my mind when I was writing this column.
I get a little bit annoyed with the over-release of special-editions too. It doesn’t bother me too much though because I simply don’t buy the ones I don’t care for.
New article detailing its upcoming switchover to a Bollywood house:
View link
It was at the corner of Crescent Heights and San Vicente. Demolished 1969.
The services date has been corrected to Friday the 12th. Thanks for pointing that out.
Corrected. And now with a picture too.
I also fondly remember waiting to Star Wars Ep II at McClurg. Except I didn’t make it there for the midnight showing the first night. If I recall correctly, they didn’t announce that there would be midnight showings at McClurg until rather late in the game. Weeks earlier, they had announced showtimes for the first full day at McClurg. So assuming that would be the best I could do, I bought tickets for the primetime evening show at McClurg and went elsewhere for the midnight show the first night. Of course, when they announced the digital midnight show after it was too late, my friends gave me a lot of lip for poorly planning the events which I had bought them all tickets for and badgered me for depriving them of the opening night digital presentation at McClurg!
Went to the open house for the Tower the other week and was amazed by how intact this theater still is. It too reminds me of the Los Angeles but is as the the last comment said, muc more narrow. With the seats taken of the main floor and the seats in the balcony being a little shabby, not sure where they could from here in regards to ever showing films or performances. It needs some work though but it’s still a palace.
I was actually thinking about this the other night as I went to the Mann Village in Westwood for a 10PM Saturday night screening. There were at most 20 people there. I was shocked and a bit worried. I mean yeah, “The Jacket” seemed to be a box office dud but at 10PM on a Saturday night in Westwood one would feel it could scare up a little more audience than this. Anyway, what worried me even more is that there were a good 10 people working there, amongst concessions, ticket takers, box office, etc. Yeah, needless to say, I was kind of relieved when the ads came on cause at least I knew the theater was making some money! If it takes ads to keep this theater open, show as many as necessary.
Then again it is kind of a relief to go to ArcLight Hollywood and not deal with them. However, for those not familiar with ArcLight, you must understand that you pay a premium for this luxury(admission is $10-$11 weekdays and weekends during the day, and $14(yes that’s right) $14 on Friday and Saturday night.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, no it’s not ideal to have the ads but from what I understand about the theater business, sometimes you have no choice.