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In the era of streaming services and countless convenient chocies for entertainment, going to the movies has become less of a prevalent activity as the years go on. Once illustrious theaters around the country have sadly gone out of business, making the future for theaters bleak to say the least. But while humanity is always progressing to the next great thing that can be accomplished by our society, there is always a longing for the past and a desire to never allow it to go away completely. There is an audience for all nostalgic outings, albeit a smaller one but still just as dedicated as ever. Going to the cinema is no longer the primary method of watching and enjoying movies and yet, many independent theaters are still open and flourishing in places where there are enough people interested. This article will provide a guide to the independent movie theaters in Southern California for any tourists or locals in the area who are longing to enjoy some great cinema.
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Quentin Tarantino’s Ventures in Preserving Classic Movie Watching
It’s no secret that Quentin Tarantino is one of the most cinematically passionate figures in the entertainment industry, knowing practically every fact about nearly every movie made from the 1960s to the early 1980s. With this love is a driven goal to keep alive the classic way of watching movies at the theater and on real film. ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ makes this the most obvious as it serves as his opportunity to return to a time period now gone but still able to revisit through the means of movies. Tarantino now offers all cinemagoers a chance to relive the past he grew up in through the two movie theaters he has ownership in. The New Beverly and Vista theaters are two movie houses built in the 1920s and would likely now be parking lots had it not been for Tarantino swooping in and restoring both to their full glory. The New Beverly, located one block down from Beverly and La Brea avenue in Los Angeles, originally opened as a candy store, then later renovated into a nightclub before finally becoming a movie theater in the 1950s. Initially, the theater specialized in showing European and pornographic films before finally becoming a regular movie theater. Since Tarantino’s purchasing of it in 2007, the theater puts on a steady run of normal showings, double features, matinees, and midnight showings. Tarantino himself acts as the programmer for the two theaters and chooses a great variety each month of kid friendly matinees, 70s and 80s movies, foreign cinema, and older classics.
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The Vista Theatre is located on Sunset blvd, originating as a movie palace and remained a historic structure as the city of Los Angeles grew, though it similarly turned into a more forgotten landmark as the years went on, eventually becoming a pornographic theater for a brief time. Gladly, the theater underwent a renovation and returned to being a local landmark, drawing in big name actors and directors to either host or simply attend screenings of their films. Tarantino purchased the theater in 2021 and turned the theater into a similar venue as the New Beverly. The calendar is not as prolific as the New Beverly seeing that it typically shows a single movie each week, but there are still midnight and matinee showings. Not to mention that right next door is a coffee shop titled Pam’s Coffy, a reference to the film starring ‘Jackie Brown’s’ Pam Grier, where people can either do some work or talk to similarly passionate cinephiles before the showing.
Most important with both of these theaters is that they exclusively show their movies on film, mostly 35mm, sometimes 16mm, and on very special occasions, the Vista will present them on grand 70mm. Furthermore, each showing starts with one of the theater’s team members respectfully asking the audience to stow away their phones and refrain from talking. This dedication to preserving the experience of watching a movie in a dark room with an engaged audience pays off greatly. Many showings here are sold out and a good amount of the audience laughs and reacts, signifying that not every theater crowd has lost interest in great cinema.
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American Cinematheque– Grandeur and Recognizable Guests
A second to Tarantino’s duo venues is most definitely the trio of theaters owned by the American Cinematheque organization which are the Aero, Los Feliz, and the historic Egyptian Theater. These three theaters are at a similar level to the New Beverly and Vista in how they draw in cinephiles from all over Southern California with their wonderfully presented showings. While they do show some movies digitally, it never feels any less lovingly prepared. What is also notable about the American Cinematheque is how they manage to feature in person guests involved with the movies showing. Actors, directors, cinematographers, and more are invited and briefly talk at the showing with a couple notable names being William Shatner at a 3 film marathon starring himself and the entire Talking Heads group at a showing of ‘Stop Making Sense’ (1984). Once again, these theaters have multiple sold out showings with crowds who pay attention and react to whatever great film is showing. Not only that, but they manage to provoke continual excitement in going to the movies with their special guests, bringing many eyes to certain films and people who may have struggled gaining recognition for their work.
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Other Independent Staples in and Outside of LA
Many more theaters exist in Southern California besides the two major LA players. Brain Dead Studios is located on Fairfax in LA and while the parking can be tough, it’s worth the hassle as they have a great calendar of films, often choosing a certain topic of cinematic figure as a focus for the month. Perfect for date nights are the Rooftop Cinema Club chain of outdoor movie showings that are not only limited to LA but have locations in Miami, Houtson, New York, and London. Outside of LA, there is the Frida Cinema in Santa Ana which acts as Orange County’s only nonprofit movie theater and the Art Theatre of Long Beach which puts on a great mixture of older classics and new releases. The most unique of all independent theaters is the Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo. It opened as a silent movie house and went through a similar story as the New Beverly seeing that it remained dormant for a number of years, almost being completely demolished. Gladly, it was saved and inside remains one of the few remaining Wurlitzer Organs, an instrument that would act as a silent movie’s soundtrack back in the day. Still open to this day, the historic theater puts on showings of silent films where the Wurlitzer is played as if it were back in the old days of movie watching. Even for showings of non silent movies, there is a performance on the Organ. While being a very different venue to Tarantino’s duo, the Old Town is also preserving the old fashioned way of going to the movies while still catering to the contemporary film scene to much success.
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It is such a refreshing fact for any cinephile that going to the movies is not a bygone past time seeing that it remains the ultimate way of experiencing great film through immersive big screens, room shuddering sound systems, and engaged, reactive crowds to chat with after the showing ends. There will likely not be a return of movie theaters as the primary ways of consuming entertainment as technology will go further. But as it does, we can count on these and many more little theaters run by passionate owners and kept up by dedicated enthusiasts to live on for many more decades. So to anyone who is visiting LA and is in need of experiencing cinematic beauty to it’s fullest potential, a visit to one of these theaters won’t only provide an evening of fun but will also contribute to keeping such a magical past time alive.
By Elijah van der Fluit
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Author
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Elijah van der Fluit is a writer for The Hollywood Insider based in California with aspirations to write and direct films for a professional career. In his spare time, Elijah enjoys watching and discussing movies of all genres as well as reading, hiking, spending time with family, and being one with the world. Elijah believes that art, whatever form it may take, has the ability to inspire and broaden people’s perspectives in a positive way and he hopes to use his work in film and writing to do so.
Elijah van der Fluit is a writer for The Hollywood Insider based in California with aspirations to write and direct films for a professional career. In his spare time, Elijah enjoys watching and discussing movies of all genres as well as reading, hiking, spending time with family, and being one with the world. Elijah believes that art, whatever form it may take, has the ability to inspire and broaden people’s perspectives in a positive way and he hopes to use his work in film and writing to do so.
