(per official website: www.vistatheaterhollywood.com )
(It’s nice that Quentin Tarantino had 70mm projection capability installed during the long renovation of this theater. 70mm is physically impossible to do at his New Beverly)
Wow. This is shocking bad news for the Los Angeles film scene.
Here is a copy of Landmark’s official announcement on their website about the upcoming closure of The Landmark on Pico Blvd in West L.A. at the end of May
After 15 years serving the Los Angeles moviegoing community at the Pico location Landmark Theatres announced today that it will be closing the doors of its westside cinema when its lease expires at the end of May.
Landmark Theatres’ President Kevin Holloway stated “For months, we’ve worked to extend our tenancy of The Landmark Pico but have been unable to reach terms. We send our deepest appreciation to the Pico staff, guests, and the filmmaking community for their support over the years. We’re exploring opportunities to expand our Los Angeles footprint, which we hope to be able to share more on soon.”
We look forward to seeing you at our other Los Angeles locations, the historic Nuart Theatre and the recently renovated Landmark Westwood in Westwood Village.
Reply to: bigjoe59 May 2, 2022 comment
.
How about the Westwood Village Theater? (now run by Regency).
Opened 1931 with 1489 seats (currently has 1341).
Info from its page: cinematreasures.org/theaters/246
.
It has a huge lobby, & outstanding sound & projection. And many of us consider it to be the best old theater in Los Angeles (the overpriced Chinese notwithstanding), but that’s subjective, of course.
Here’s the Los Angeles Times article about The Vista on Monday. “Quentin Tarantino buys L.A.’s beloved Vista Theatre” www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-07-05/quentin-tarantino-buys-vista-theatre-los-feliz
some quotes:
“Tarantino said on the podcast that he was planning to open the theater by around Christmas.”
“While many local theaters have reopened, the Vista has not. Lance Alspaugh, who owned the theater since 1997, said in a recent interview with The Times he had been waiting on long-delayed government grants before reopening.
"It’s bad that we’re all having to wait, that it’s as slow as it’s been,” he said. “It’s the difference between if you reopen or do you not reopen.”
Alspaugh also said: “I constantly caught myself wondering during the pandemic, ‘Is it time to get offstage?’ I’m looking forward to getting back, and we’re going to, methodically and slowly.”"
Yeah! The New Beverly reopened June 1st. Here’s an article from The Hollywood Reporter by a reporter who attended the evening.
“New Beverly Cinema Reopens to Cheers and Tears”
“Quentin Tarantino’s landmark Los Angeles theater welcomed back guests for the first time in more than a year with a showing of his Oscar-winning ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.’”
the link: www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/new-beverly-cinema-reopens-quentin-tarantino-once-upon-a-time-hollywood-pandemic-1234961772/
The first 2 weeks of programming sold out in advance in a blink (though seating is COVID restricted to half capacity for a couple more weeks still by the state).
My understanding is The Cinerama Dome was legally declared a LA historic monument decades ago, so it will be preserved.
HOWEVER, the surrounding Arclight Theater’s 14 screens and complex were built (in 2002) with several inches minimum of clearance separated away from the Dome structure itself. So that theoretically that all could be demolished without impacting the Dome, leaving it 100% untouched. It was a nice compromise.
If movies really don’t recover in a couple years, I suppose gutting some or all of the interior of the newer Arclight complex and turning it into office space, or more shopping space or convention space or whatever could happen. That location is certainly valuable. And the pandemic won’t last forever.
“Hollywood’s Iconic Chinese Theatre Lays Off Staff Amid Virus Crisis. The 932-seat movie palace has been closed for business since March 16.”
Article from The Hollywood Reporter, with a couple interesting things:
1. the names of the principals of the theater: Eli Samaha, Carol Braidi and Hina Rizvi, and
2. there’s a current photograph, showing the metal barriers at the sidewalk to keep people out of the famous courtyard during the pandemic closure.
link: www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywoods-iconic-chinese-theatre-lays-staff-virus-crisis-1288257
Interesting development:
Landmark’s Regent Theatre in Westwood Village apparently will continue to exist. The articles from 2017 above said the property owners intended to close it and convert the space into restaurants.
However, Landmark tweeted this on June 12:
TheRegent will be temporarily closed from Friday, June 14 through mid-October 2019 for a brand new remodel!
Also, in this week’s Landmark Theatres Los Angeles weekly email (June 13) was this information:
“REGENT THEATRE TEMPORARY CLOSURE: The Regent will be closed for renovations beginning June 16. The theatre will reopen this fall with a new bar, auditorium seating and other exciting upgrades. In the meantime, please visit us at The Landmark and the Nuart! See you at the movies!”
I just checked Arclight’s website & they’ve just extended 2001 in the Cinerama Dome for yet another week! 4 or 5 shows daily.
It must be doing good business. That’s awesome. At the moment, you have your pick of virtually any reserved seat in the Dome on the just-added week!
Heads up for the new 2001: A Space Odyssey 70mm print, now playing for a week at Arclight Hollywood.
Looking at the website, there are just two screenings in the Dome, both of which are nearly soldout (and only poor seat locations are left).
But they’re also screening it in three of the other auditoriums (judging from the show starting times.)
So Arclight has set up four (at least) 70mm projectors for this 2001 event this week.
From their promo:
“Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the seminal film, Warner Bros. Pictures is releasing an "unrestored” 70mm print of Kubrick’s groundbreaking science fiction epic in select theatres. A true photochemical film recreation, this print was struck from new printing elements made from the original camera negative. There are no digital tricks, remastered effects, or revisionist edits. This is the unrestored film – that recreates the cinematic event that audiences experienced fifty years ago."
Hi RussM,
Just curious: in your comment you commented that the 3-strip setup in Seattle was more original than the Arclight Dome. Could you elaborate on that, please? How so?
Also, I didn’t realize 3-strip showings were likely at an end in Hollywood. If so, very sad.
One of my fondest memories was several years ago at a very sparsely attended afternoon 3-strip Arclight Dome screening (just 2 or 3 dozen people). The man in charge invited any interested folks after the film to go up to the project booth to visit it and see the equipment and film and get a mini-tour! Sigh…
Has anyone seen the new souvenir book that TCLchinesetheatres has begun selling on their website (for $10 plus shipping)? I assume they also pitch it to all the tourists doing the tour.
“TCL Chinese Theatre History of the Iconic Hollywood Landmark Souvenir Book.” A photographic look at the theatre’s 90 year history.
I wonder if the book is worth it. Or if it’s just mostly photos of the handprints and the old movie star doing the handprints
re Dunkirk in the Dome: will the 70mm version actually be using the full screen?
Nolan shot 75% of Dunkirk using IMAX (including handheld cameras for the 1st time). So if IMAX film (1.43) is his preferred aspect ratio here, I wonder what the 70mm formats aspect ratios will be and how much of the picture will Nolan crop?
Per Wikipedia there are 3 release formats: IMAX, 70mm & 35mm.
Is it still age 21+ to see a movie? This was Sundance’s most asinine policy, I assume it was in order to promote their booze sales. (Tho considering their booze prices I’m sure they made more profits selling the overpriced liquor than whatever movie ticket sales they gave up.)
And is bargain Tuesdays gone? IMHO that was one of the only good things about the Sundance Sunset 5. (That, & also filmmakers & actors often appearing opening weekends to promote their new films).
Learned something from that lamag article link above: I had no idea Laemmle created the place out of warehouse space back in the 60’s. (Always thought of it as a Mann).
And that’s quite a long list of Westwood Village closures the Regent will get added to: Crest, Festival, Plaza, National, Mann 4, and UA Westwood…
Flix70, Fantastic news re 70mm 2001.
Of course Sunday’s 2001 screening sold out weeks ago with actors Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood scheduled to be there in person talking about the film afterwards.
I’ll certainly catch one of the December 70mm screenings.
The Aero in Santa Monica is an OK theater, but The Egyptian is a wonderful venue.
question on name.
Is rivest266’s August 8, 2016 post correct on when it became the “New Beverly”?
My understanding was that it was Sherman Torgan, who took over the shuttered adult theater and began repertory programming in 1978, renamed it the “New Beverly Cinema” from the previous Beverly Cinema.
to Joe Vogel:
How was it twinned from 59-63? Was “Riviera & Capri” in the cinema’s current space (which is really difficult for me to envision)? Or was a 2nd screen in an adjacent building? Or something else? Thx.
This American Cinematheque tweet has a photo from 1942, just 2 years after the Aero was built.
Remarkably little has changed to the theatre’s exterior.
twitter.com/SidGrauman/status/708096955876913153
Talk about a #tbt! Aero Theatre founder Donald Douglas & State Guard members in 1942 📷: Santa Monica History Museum
Who removed the posting regarding Arclight’s new 3D laser system??
And why??
Yesterday evening there was a quite long comment that IIRC was basically reprinting a long detailed Arclight press release about a new 3D laser projector being installed for the upcoming Star Wars The Force Awakens (supposedly 2 or 3 times brighter).
It was late so I only skimmed it, and was going to read it in full today. But now that comment is completely gone… Why?
Laemmle’s Facebook page just posted about their Fine Arts take over. https://www.facebook.com/laemmletheatres/posts/10153621924443276
It also links to the official Laemmle blog post with more details, and from which I’ll reprint the 1st two paragraphs below:
http://blog.laemmle.com/2015/09/announcing-the-ahrya-fine-arts-theatre-by-laemmle-opening-september-18th/
Laemmle Theatres is proud to announce we have taken over the management and operation of the Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills. The theatre has been closed for five years. At the time of its closure it was used exclusively as a private screening venue. Laemmle will book the theatre with first run films screening daily for the general public. Laemmle will also use the Ahrya Fine Arts to host regular series like our Culture Vulture program, festivals and special event screenings.
According to CinemaTreasures.org, the Fine Arts first opened in April 1937 as the Wilshire Regina, with seating for 800. It has been well maintained over the years and is – and under Laemmle’s stewardship will remain – a single-screen theater, though now with slightly more than 400 seats. (Movie patrons’ expectations of things like leg room have understandably risen over the decades.) We last operated the venue from 1985 to 1993, mostly screening foreign films.
70mm shows coming up:
Oppenheimer 70mm, Jan 26-Feb 1st
Dune: Part II 70mm, coming March 1st
(per official website: www.vistatheaterhollywood.com )
(It’s nice that Quentin Tarantino had 70mm projection capability installed during the long renovation of this theater. 70mm is physically impossible to do at his New Beverly)
Wow. This is shocking bad news for the Los Angeles film scene.
Here is a copy of Landmark’s official announcement on their website about the upcoming closure of The Landmark on Pico Blvd in West L.A. at the end of May
www.landmarktheatres.com/a-message-about-the-landmark-pico
To Our Valued Landmark Pico Audience:
After 15 years serving the Los Angeles moviegoing community at the Pico location Landmark Theatres announced today that it will be closing the doors of its westside cinema when its lease expires at the end of May.
Landmark Theatres’ President Kevin Holloway stated “For months, we’ve worked to extend our tenancy of The Landmark Pico but have been unable to reach terms. We send our deepest appreciation to the Pico staff, guests, and the filmmaking community for their support over the years. We’re exploring opportunities to expand our Los Angeles footprint, which we hope to be able to share more on soon.”
We look forward to seeing you at our other Los Angeles locations, the historic Nuart Theatre and the recently renovated Landmark Westwood in Westwood Village.
Sincerely,
Landmark Theatres
Reply to: bigjoe59 May 2, 2022 comment . How about the Westwood Village Theater? (now run by Regency). Opened 1931 with 1489 seats (currently has 1341). Info from its page: cinematreasures.org/theaters/246 . It has a huge lobby, & outstanding sound & projection. And many of us consider it to be the best old theater in Los Angeles (the overpriced Chinese notwithstanding), but that’s subjective, of course.
Here’s the Los Angeles Times article about The Vista on Monday.
“Quentin Tarantino buys L.A.’s beloved Vista Theatre”
www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-07-05/quentin-tarantino-buys-vista-theatre-los-feliz
some quotes: “Tarantino said on the podcast that he was planning to open the theater by around Christmas.”
“While many local theaters have reopened, the Vista has not. Lance Alspaugh, who owned the theater since 1997, said in a recent interview with The Times he had been waiting on long-delayed government grants before reopening. "It’s bad that we’re all having to wait, that it’s as slow as it’s been,” he said. “It’s the difference between if you reopen or do you not reopen.” Alspaugh also said: “I constantly caught myself wondering during the pandemic, ‘Is it time to get offstage?’ I’m looking forward to getting back, and we’re going to, methodically and slowly.”"
Yeah! The New Beverly reopened June 1st. Here’s an article from The Hollywood Reporter by a reporter who attended the evening. “New Beverly Cinema Reopens to Cheers and Tears” “Quentin Tarantino’s landmark Los Angeles theater welcomed back guests for the first time in more than a year with a showing of his Oscar-winning ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.’”
the link: www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/new-beverly-cinema-reopens-quentin-tarantino-once-upon-a-time-hollywood-pandemic-1234961772/
The first 2 weeks of programming sold out in advance in a blink (though seating is COVID restricted to half capacity for a couple more weeks still by the state).
My understanding is The Cinerama Dome was legally declared a LA historic monument decades ago, so it will be preserved.
HOWEVER, the surrounding Arclight Theater’s 14 screens and complex were built (in 2002) with several inches minimum of clearance separated away from the Dome structure itself. So that theoretically that all could be demolished without impacting the Dome, leaving it 100% untouched. It was a nice compromise.
If movies really don’t recover in a couple years, I suppose gutting some or all of the interior of the newer Arclight complex and turning it into office space, or more shopping space or convention space or whatever could happen. That location is certainly valuable. And the pandemic won’t last forever.
“Hollywood’s Iconic Chinese Theatre Lays Off Staff Amid Virus Crisis. The 932-seat movie palace has been closed for business since March 16.”
Article from The Hollywood Reporter, with a couple interesting things: 1. the names of the principals of the theater: Eli Samaha, Carol Braidi and Hina Rizvi, and
2. there’s a current photograph, showing the metal barriers at the sidewalk to keep people out of the famous courtyard during the pandemic closure.
link: www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hollywoods-iconic-chinese-theatre-lays-staff-virus-crisis-1288257
I forgot to put their website in my comment: fairfaxcinema.com Hope the theater is successful.
Does anyone know or care to speculate what documentary user “dfc” (in his/her 3-22-2019 comment) might have been referring to? Thx.
I see that they have actually re-opened, showing a mix of old films at the moment.
Interesting development: Landmark’s Regent Theatre in Westwood Village apparently will continue to exist. The articles from 2017 above said the property owners intended to close it and convert the space into restaurants.
However, Landmark tweeted this on June 12:
TheRegent will be temporarily closed from Friday, June 14 through mid-October 2019 for a brand new remodel!
twitter.com/LTLosAngeles/status/1138898749177192448
Also, in this week’s Landmark Theatres Los Angeles weekly email (June 13) was this information:
“REGENT THEATRE TEMPORARY CLOSURE: The Regent will be closed for renovations beginning June 16. The theatre will reopen this fall with a new bar, auditorium seating and other exciting upgrades. In the meantime, please visit us at The Landmark and the Nuart! See you at the movies!”
Dublinboyo, Hopefully those upgrades include expanding that tiny closet-sized men’s room…
I just checked Arclight’s website & they’ve just extended 2001 in the Cinerama Dome for yet another week! 4 or 5 shows daily. It must be doing good business. That’s awesome. At the moment, you have your pick of virtually any reserved seat in the Dome on the just-added week!
Heads up for the new 2001: A Space Odyssey 70mm print, now playing for a week at Arclight Hollywood. Looking at the website, there are just two screenings in the Dome, both of which are nearly soldout (and only poor seat locations are left). But they’re also screening it in three of the other auditoriums (judging from the show starting times.)
So Arclight has set up four (at least) 70mm projectors for this 2001 event this week.
From their promo: “Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the seminal film, Warner Bros. Pictures is releasing an "unrestored” 70mm print of Kubrick’s groundbreaking science fiction epic in select theatres. A true photochemical film recreation, this print was struck from new printing elements made from the original camera negative. There are no digital tricks, remastered effects, or revisionist edits. This is the unrestored film – that recreates the cinematic event that audiences experienced fifty years ago."
Hi RussM, Just curious: in your comment you commented that the 3-strip setup in Seattle was more original than the Arclight Dome. Could you elaborate on that, please? How so?
Also, I didn’t realize 3-strip showings were likely at an end in Hollywood. If so, very sad.
One of my fondest memories was several years ago at a very sparsely attended afternoon 3-strip Arclight Dome screening (just 2 or 3 dozen people). The man in charge invited any interested folks after the film to go up to the project booth to visit it and see the equipment and film and get a mini-tour! Sigh…
Has anyone seen the new souvenir book that TCLchinesetheatres has begun selling on their website (for $10 plus shipping)? I assume they also pitch it to all the tourists doing the tour. “TCL Chinese Theatre History of the Iconic Hollywood Landmark Souvenir Book.” A photographic look at the theatre’s 90 year history.
I wonder if the book is worth it. Or if it’s just mostly photos of the handprints and the old movie star doing the handprints
re Dunkirk in the Dome: will the 70mm version actually be using the full screen?
Nolan shot 75% of Dunkirk using IMAX (including handheld cameras for the 1st time). So if IMAX film (1.43) is his preferred aspect ratio here, I wonder what the 70mm formats aspect ratios will be and how much of the picture will Nolan crop?
Per Wikipedia there are 3 release formats: IMAX, 70mm & 35mm.
With AMC replacing Sundance:
Is it still age 21+ to see a movie? This was Sundance’s most asinine policy, I assume it was in order to promote their booze sales. (Tho considering their booze prices I’m sure they made more profits selling the overpriced liquor than whatever movie ticket sales they gave up.)
And is bargain Tuesdays gone? IMHO that was one of the only good things about the Sundance Sunset 5. (That, & also filmmakers & actors often appearing opening weekends to promote their new films).
Learned something from that lamag article link above: I had no idea Laemmle created the place out of warehouse space back in the 60’s. (Always thought of it as a Mann).
And that’s quite a long list of Westwood Village closures the Regent will get added to: Crest, Festival, Plaza, National, Mann 4, and UA Westwood…
Flix70, Fantastic news re 70mm 2001.
Of course Sunday’s 2001 screening sold out weeks ago with actors Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood scheduled to be there in person talking about the film afterwards.
I’ll certainly catch one of the December 70mm screenings.
The Aero in Santa Monica is an OK theater, but The Egyptian is a wonderful venue.
question on name. Is rivest266’s August 8, 2016 post correct on when it became the “New Beverly”? My understanding was that it was Sherman Torgan, who took over the shuttered adult theater and began repertory programming in 1978, renamed it the “New Beverly Cinema” from the previous Beverly Cinema.
to Joe Vogel:
How was it twinned from 59-63? Was “Riviera & Capri” in the cinema’s current space (which is really difficult for me to envision)? Or was a 2nd screen in an adjacent building? Or something else? Thx.
If the 70mm capability is accurate, I wonder if The Weinstein Co. ever considered using this place for the roadshow Hateful Eight…
This American Cinematheque tweet has a photo from 1942, just 2 years after the Aero was built. Remarkably little has changed to the theatre’s exterior.
twitter.com/SidGrauman/status/708096955876913153 Talk about a #tbt! Aero Theatre founder Donald Douglas & State Guard members in 1942 📷: Santa Monica History Museum
Hold on—–
Who removed the posting regarding Arclight’s new 3D laser system?? And why??
Yesterday evening there was a quite long comment that IIRC was basically reprinting a long detailed Arclight press release about a new 3D laser projector being installed for the upcoming Star Wars The Force Awakens (supposedly 2 or 3 times brighter).
It was late so I only skimmed it, and was going to read it in full today. But now that comment is completely gone… Why?
Laemmle’s Facebook page just posted about their Fine Arts take over. https://www.facebook.com/laemmletheatres/posts/10153621924443276
It also links to the official Laemmle blog post with more details, and from which I’ll reprint the 1st two paragraphs below: http://blog.laemmle.com/2015/09/announcing-the-ahrya-fine-arts-theatre-by-laemmle-opening-september-18th/
Laemmle Theatres is proud to announce we have taken over the management and operation of the Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills. The theatre has been closed for five years. At the time of its closure it was used exclusively as a private screening venue. Laemmle will book the theatre with first run films screening daily for the general public. Laemmle will also use the Ahrya Fine Arts to host regular series like our Culture Vulture program, festivals and special event screenings.
According to CinemaTreasures.org, the Fine Arts first opened in April 1937 as the Wilshire Regina, with seating for 800. It has been well maintained over the years and is – and under Laemmle’s stewardship will remain – a single-screen theater, though now with slightly more than 400 seats. (Movie patrons’ expectations of things like leg room have understandably risen over the decades.) We last operated the venue from 1985 to 1993, mostly screening foreign films.