West Coast Repertory Cinema

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The Elegant Dandy Fop
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 3:25 am
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Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#51 Post by The Elegant Dandy Fop » Sat Nov 30, 2019 2:26 pm

colinr0380 wrote:
Mon Nov 18, 2019 2:24 am
You will get Joe Spinell briefly in Vigilante too. I have not seen Walking The Edge but it sounds in a similar vein to that earlier film and apparently according to imdb that seems to have been the next film Forster acted in following Vigilante, after a three year gap. It looks like his sole directing credit Hollywood Harry (also with Joe Spinell!) came out soon after in 1986, so maybe that explains the gap?
William Lustig introduced my screening of Vigilante and he said that the low-budget nature of both Vigilante and Walking the Edge is what influenced him to make Hollywood Harry. I overheard a family member of Forster talking in the lobby after and said that perhaps the original negative for Hollywood Harry is missing and that they're looking for an archival print to screen that film, but there's been no luck yet. It was with Cannon, so I assume the rights are with MGM.

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colinr0380
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
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Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#52 Post by colinr0380 » Sun Dec 01, 2019 5:38 am

Thanks for the report! I hope that they find it, but it sounds as if there is a great tribute to Robert Forster going on there nonetheless!

beamish14
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 3:07 pm

Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#53 Post by beamish14 » Sat Dec 14, 2019 11:01 pm

FrauBlucher wrote:
Mon Nov 18, 2019 9:55 pm
Slaphappy wrote:
Sun Nov 17, 2019 10:23 pm
I saw Gone to Earth and Spellbound at Egyptian’s Nitrate Weekend. Nicely modernized theatre with completely matte black surroundings of the screen. Good contrast to Stanford Theatre that had an amazing warm shimmer slightly showing off the interiors through the movie. Loved wildly goofy Gone to Earth but Spellbound was mainly just silly even on the big screen. POV gun shot was pretty stupendous though. Too bad Rebecca was sold out.
Christopher Nolan introduces a nitrate presentation of Rebecca
That was a great evening. There was a stand-by line, and I noticed a few empty seats around you, so hang on if you're worried about getting shut out!

beamish14
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 3:07 pm

Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#54 Post by beamish14 » Sat Dec 14, 2019 11:05 pm

Anyone else been attending UCLA/The Hammer's series on student films produced between the 60's and the 80's?
I caught only one of the nights thus far.
As to be expected, there were some awful duds, but it was amazing to see Colin Higgins' short parody
of arthouse films/studio interference Opus One, and Paul Schrader (who did not direct films at the school,
and instead concentrated solely on writing), sent a brief video message from New York where he laid out
some of the differences between USC and UCLA's cinema programs (he said USC's was designed to help facilitate
entrances to Hollywood, whereas UCLA was more anti-narrative and experimental, at least during his tenure there).
Hoping to go to the final evening; Catherine Hardwicke and Tom Holland will be present.

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The Elegant Dandy Fop
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Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#55 Post by The Elegant Dandy Fop » Sun Dec 15, 2019 11:45 am

I’m a semi-regular at UCLA, but mostly avoided it this season except LA Filmforum’s Jonas Mekas night held there as the student films sounded like a bad time to me, especially as the one they kept trying to highlight was Ray Mazarek’s film from the 60s. I know it’s an interesting footnote that The Doors all met in Josef von Sternberg’s UCLA class, but they’re one of my most loathed bands and I’m particularly bugged by Mazarek. I’ve seen a few good student films from UCLA’s past like Jamaa Fanaka’s
The Life and Death of Willie Faust, but I wasn’t intrigued enough to go to these. UCLA’s schedule is looking solid next month as well with their announcement of their American Neorealism series.

In a coincidental adjacent screening to those student film screenings, I’ve been recently attending a monthly screening series at the Echo Park Film Center called What Remains to Be Seen where film archivist Mark Toscano from the Academy Film Archive plays 16mm prints he needs to view for his job as an archivist. The films are always unannounced and are either archival prints he needs to reevaluate and examine or new prints he needs to watch for quality control reasons. He’s also in charge of the Academy’s archive of artist works, so the screenings veer mostly toward experimental/non-narrative, but often has happy mixes in between. He recently ran Penelope Spheeris student film from UCLA, I Don’t Know, about a transgendered woman and their relationship with their partner that’s both a documentary and staged comedy. It has that Portrait of Jason quality where the director herself is egging the subject on to antagonize them or get them to reveal more. It’s very funny and I’m rarely happy to see student films even by filmmakers I love, but this one was excellent.

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senseabove
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2015 3:07 am

Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#56 Post by senseabove » Sun Dec 15, 2019 2:35 pm

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote:
Sun Dec 15, 2019 11:45 am
In a coincidental adjacent screening to those student film screenings, I’ve been recently attending a monthly screening series at the Echo Park Film Center called What Remains to Be Seen where film archivist Mark Toscano from the Academy Film Archive plays 16mm prints he needs to view for his job as an archivist. The films are always unannounced and are either archival prints he needs to reevaluate and examine or new prints he needs to watch for quality control reasons. He’s also in charge of the Academy’s archive of artist works, so the screenings veer mostly toward experimental/non-narrative, but often has happy mixes in between. He recently ran Penelope Spheeris student film from UCLA, I Don’t Know, about a transgendered woman and their relationship with their partner that’s both a documentary and staged comedy. It has that Portrait of Jason quality where the director herself is egging the subject on to antagonize them or get them to reveal more. It’s very funny and I’m rarely happy to see student films even by filmmakers I love, but this one was excellent.
Wow, thanks for highlighting this. Next I'm in LA I'll have to keep an eye out for it. I know he's worked on some notable stuff—Brakhage, of course (about whom he tells an funny story from the restoration process of one film in his appearance on the Cinephiliacs podcast), Curt McDowell, Chick Strand—so these could be a treasure trove. He's also got an interesting Instagram feed where he posts about what he's working on (and where I now see his latest post is advertising this latest screening).

beamish14
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 3:07 pm

Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#57 Post by beamish14 » Sun Dec 15, 2019 9:13 pm

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote:
Sun Dec 15, 2019 11:45 am
I’m a semi-regular at UCLA, but mostly avoided it this season except LA Filmforum’s Jonas Mekas night held there as the student films sounded like a bad time to me, especially as the one they kept trying to highlight was Ray Mazarek’s film from the 60s. I know it’s an interesting footnote that The Doors all met in Josef von Sternberg’s UCLA class, but they’re one of my most loathed bands and I’m particularly bugged by Mazarek. I’ve seen a few good student films from UCLA’s past like Jamaa Fanaka’s
The Life and Death of Willie Faust, but I wasn’t intrigued enough to go to these. UCLA’s schedule is looking solid next month as well with their announcement of their American Neorealism series.

In a coincidental adjacent screening to those student film screenings, I’ve been recently attending a monthly screening series at the Echo Park Film Center called What Remains to Be Seen where film archivist Mark Toscano from the Academy Film Archive plays 16mm prints he needs to view for his job as an archivist. The films are always unannounced and are either archival prints he needs to reevaluate and examine or new prints he needs to watch for quality control reasons. He’s also in charge of the Academy’s archive of artist works, so the screenings veer mostly toward experimental/non-narrative, but often has happy mixes in between. He recently ran Penelope Spheeris student film from UCLA, I Don’t Know, about a transgendered woman and their relationship with their partner that’s both a documentary and staged comedy. It has that Portrait of Jason quality where the director herself is egging the subject on to antagonize them or get them to reveal more. It’s very funny and I’m rarely happy to see student films even by filmmakers I love, but this one was excellent.

Thanks for the heads-up on the Echo Park screenings. Spheeris' I Don't Know was part of the series I saw, and UCLA had previously shown an
entire program of her student films, as the Academy has thankfully restored and preserved her body of work. It's phenomenal, and I wish it could
be made commercially available.

Adam
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Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#58 Post by Adam » Tue Dec 17, 2019 2:14 am

Thank you for attending our Mekas Tribute. I hope you liked it.
I've only made the first of Mark's screenings at the EPFC, but he has two more coming up, Jan 30 and Feb 20, he told me. The last one though, on Dec 5th, was opposite Filmforum's screening of Teo Hernandez's Salome (1975) with live score by Dorian Wood. That was pretty great.

Best,
Adam Hyman, Los Angeles Filmforum

Jack Kubrick
Joined: Sun Jun 02, 2019 9:13 pm

Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#59 Post by Jack Kubrick » Thu Dec 26, 2019 3:00 pm

In 2006, my brother Dan and I bought the Silent Movie Theater, because we fell in love with the building and dreamed of creating a new style of creative programming that did not yet exist in Los Angeles. Soon after, we partnered with a board of individuals to found and run the project called Cinefamily.

Dan and I oversaw the theater’s design and development. Once day-to-day operations began, we stepped back to work on other projects — my day job as a cartoonist and illustrator, and Dan’s in real estate development and management. We trusted the people in charge and stayed connected to the theater by serving on its board intermittently. In hindsight, I realize we didn’t have an accurate perception of the theater’s work environment. It wasn’t until I became a part-time employee as art director in 2016, that my understanding of Cinefamily changed altogether. Physically being in the building on a regular basis showed me how toxic and unprofessional the workplace had become.

We knew serious action had to be taken. Dan and I proposed a structural change to the Cinefamily board, specifically the removal of the co-founder/creative director. However, the board could not come to a consensus, which was necessary for any changes to be enacted. Given our inability to make any progress on the issue, Dan and I seriously considered evicting Cinefamily unless major organizational changes took place, but we knew that this action would mean many staffers would lose their jobs. We thought we could salvage the nonprofit entity by jettisoning the negative elements of the theater, so we met with potential replacement candidates to present to the board. The board seemed receptive to the plan — Cinefamily had been discussing relocation for some time and was about to announce the resignation of the creative director. We thought this would resolve the issues at the heart of Cinefamily, so we waited. Regretfully, it took the voices of the employees who experienced the toxic work environment first hand to finally bring an end to it.

We’ve been thinking long and hard over the last two years, as we attempted to correct past wrongs by managing the theater’s closure. It’s been a struggle to come to terms with everything that happened at Cinefamily, and we regret not responding immediately. Raising our concerns fell wildly short of definitive action. Dan and I accept full responsibility for this failure and apologize to everyone hurt by our inaction.

In light of all this, Fairfax Cinema is our way of trying to make right with the community as a whole. From its inception as Old Time Movies on, this building has been an LA institution. We do not want to erase or deny any part of the building’s history, good or bad. Instead, we are committed to establishing a venue that is for all of Los Angeles—a safe space where people can come together, share the joys of cinema, and have their voices heard.

We’ve heard you, and we’re still listening. We’re glad people are this engaged and concerned. We are too. One of our goals for Fairfax Cinema is full transparency, by communicating openly both within the company and with the public. We’ve implemented strict HR policies with third party oversight from an outside company. We have an entirely new team operating the theater, and as owners we are actively involved in maintaining an inclusive and healthy workplace.

We understand if this letter is received as too little too late. It has taken us too long to address these issues publicly. We know we can never repair the harm that’s already been done, but we are learning from it. We are working towards creating a space that will be a force for good in the L.A. community.

Sincerely,


Sammy Harkham

Co-owner

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The Elegant Dandy Fop
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Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#60 Post by The Elegant Dandy Fop » Thu Dec 26, 2019 5:34 pm

That letter is so full of shit. I worked there for a year and a half and remember a staff member being let go for talking to one of the Harkhams about the head programmer embezzling funds. Sam Harkham was super involved with the opening of the theater and with his brother appointed Hadrian Belove. They were major board members who have done nothing to pay back film vendors, staff, and members who donated money and they knew exactly what was going on and did nothing as they didn’t want to shut the door on their club. They’ve made zero effort in confronting the issues of their previous film venture and are so knuckle-headed in thinking a fresh coat of paint on the venue will reset it. They were talking about moving the venue as far back as 2012 and find the whole thing to be a fraud as they are now poorly attempting to cover their asses.

They were suppose to reopen yesterday with an exclusive 35mm run of Uncut Gems with films programmed by the Safdies, but it got pulled (probably by A24) and it seems like the schedule films are all Uncut Gems adjacent without being advertised as so.

beamish14
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 3:07 pm

Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#61 Post by beamish14 » Thu Jan 02, 2020 9:07 pm

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote:
Thu Dec 26, 2019 5:34 pm
That letter is so full of shit. I worked there for a year and a half and remember a staff member being let go for talking to one of the Harkhams about the head programmer embezzling funds. Sam Harkham was super involved with the opening of the theater and with his brother appointed Hadrian Belove. They were major board members who have done nothing to pay back film vendors, staff, and members who donated money and they knew exactly what was going on and did nothing as they didn’t want to shut the door on their club. They’ve made zero effort in confronting the issues of their previous film venture and are so knuckle-headed in thinking a fresh coat of paint on the venue will reset it. They were talking about moving the venue as far back as 2012 and find the whole thing to be a fraud as they are now poorly attempting to cover their asses.

They were suppose to reopen yesterday with an exclusive 35mm run of Uncut Gems with films programmed by the Safdies, but it got pulled (probably by A24) and it seems like the schedule films are all Uncut Gems adjacent without being advertised as so.
Belove was an absolute terror at Cinefile Video (he legitimately scared many of their employees, and he was known for verbal and occasionally physical
outbursts, apparently), and I do get a bit of schadenfreude by occasionally hearing updates about him on social media (he's got a real estate license and
seems to have moved back into his parents' home).

It doesn't seem like Fairfax Cinema will survive for very long. Their calendar ends after this Sunday's screening of Talk Radio (which, admittedly,
I am tempted to see in 35mm), and they've had drive-by egg peltings.

Regarding venues in L.A., I wish an organization would take over the Crest on Westwood, which is a very spacious and austere location. If Metrograph
ever expands westward, I hope they take the reins on it.

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The Elegant Dandy Fop
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Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#62 Post by The Elegant Dandy Fop » Fri Jan 03, 2020 3:59 pm

beamish14 wrote:
Thu Jan 02, 2020 9:07 pm
Regarding venues in L.A., I wish an organization would take over the Crest on Westwood, which is a very spacious and austere location. If Metrograph ever expands westward, I hope they take the reins on it.
I actually work in the art world and know that the Hammer Museum had been contemplating purchasing that venue a few years ago. I'm not sure why they didn't buy it (they have millions of other expansion projects), but that entire area is a nightmare for parking. The theater made sense when it initially opened, but Westwood is an entirely different beast than it even was twenty years ago and isn't an area that particularly encourages the arts outside of the Hammer and UCLA Film and Television Archive (Which hosts their events at the Hammer). That area is not made for any students on campus and exists as a commerce center more than anything. It's no wonder that Westwood was the incubator for Breitbart (himself dying of a heart attack in the streets of the area).

BAMPFA seems to have gotten some sort of grant to digitalize their archive of Q&As and they just uploaded their first three. There's David Lynch in '78, Ousmane Sembene with Angela Davis in the same year, and Pauline Kael in 1980. Looking forward to whatever goes up next!

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movielocke
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Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#63 Post by movielocke » Wed Jan 08, 2020 11:59 pm

I really love the cheeky silliness of The Aero Theatres double feature series inspired by the title of Ford vs Ferrari

Ford vs:

It's the first time I can remember that the American Cinematheque has featured a John Ford series, first time I've seen the Grapes of Wrath up for a public screening in California. (having watched the American Cinematheque calendar fairly closely since 2002)

There's also an IB technicolor Print series at the Egyptian theatre. but there's not a page for the series up

http://americancinemathequecalendar.com ... hired-hand

The infusion of netflix money has also expanded the Egyptian calendar it would seem, they're scheduling multiple films on weekends now.

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lzx
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Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#64 Post by lzx » Thu Jan 09, 2020 2:01 am

movielocke wrote:
Wed Jan 08, 2020 11:59 pm
I really love the cheeky silliness of The Aero Theatres double feature series inspired by the title of Ford vs Ferrari...
Their "New Year's Resolution" series is even sillier, with resolutions such as "Adopt a Pet!"
SpoilerShow
(Roar)
"Get a New Job!"
SpoilerShow
(Scarface)
and "Spend Time with Family!"
SpoilerShow
(Rosemary's Baby)
The infusion of netflix money has also expanded the Egyptian calendar it would seem, they're scheduling multiple films on weekends now.
That's only because they can no longer schedule Cinematheque screenings on weekdays, as those are reportedly reserved for Netflix events. I do like their January programming, so I'm not complaining, though I do wish they'd curated lesser-known and seen Ford titles instead of, well, his most famous six.

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movielocke
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Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#65 Post by movielocke » Thu Jan 09, 2020 2:44 am

lzx wrote:
movielocke wrote:
Wed Jan 08, 2020 11:59 pm
I really love the cheeky silliness of The Aero Theatres double feature series inspired by the title of Ford vs Ferrari...
Their "New Year's Resolution" series is even sillier, with resolutions such as "Adopt a Pet!"
SpoilerShow
(Roar)
"Get a New Job!"
SpoilerShow
(Scarface)
and "Spend Time with Family!"
SpoilerShow
(Rosemary's Baby)
The infusion of netflix money has also expanded the Egyptian calendar it would seem, they're scheduling multiple films on weekends now.
That's only because they can no longer schedule Cinematheque screenings on weekdays, as those are reportedly reserved for Netflix events. I do like their January programming, so I'm not complaining, though I do wish they'd curated lesser-known and seen Ford titles instead of, well, his most famous six.
If all they’ve screened from Ford in 18 years of my watching is the quiet man, I think some of his most famous films is more due than a deep dive into his filmography.

Adam
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Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#66 Post by Adam » Sun Jan 19, 2020 3:55 am

To the best of my knowledge, the Netflix-American Cinematheque-Egyptian deal has not yet gone through, which means there has not been an infusion of Netflix money, and Netflix is not yet programming Tues-Thurs, although that has been publicly announced as a potential part of the deal if it does go through.
I do recommend the American neo-realism series at the UCLA Film & TV Archive, and the Suzan Pitt tribute at REDCAT on Monday.

beamish14
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 3:07 pm

Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#67 Post by beamish14 » Mon Jun 01, 2020 12:10 pm

Netflix is now officially the owner of the Egyptian. Interestingly, the Aero is still an autonomous entity.
It seems like they really want the venue for hosting premieres and galas, which means less programming.

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senseabove
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2015 3:07 am

Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#68 Post by senseabove » Mon Jul 06, 2020 10:14 pm

Do we have a "miscellaneous archival film stuff" thread?

For lack of a better place to put this, BAMPFA has apparently spent quarantine digitizing a boatload of intro/interiew/Q&A tapes from their collection. There's a looooooooot of William K. Everson intros, but there's also an absolute laundry list of names there: Paul Newman, Vera Chytilova, Chantal Akerman, Howard Hawks, Angela Davis, Les Blank, Gregory Markopoulos, Bette Davis, Mervyn Leroy...

And there are another 500 lined up to be archived, apparently.

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The Elegant Dandy Fop
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Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#69 Post by The Elegant Dandy Fop » Wed May 19, 2021 2:56 pm

Worth mentioning here that the New Beverly reopens June 1st with a week long run of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

The American Cinematheque announced the Aero Theater is reopening next month with 70mm films and blow-ups including their exclusive rights to the 70mm of 2001: A Space Odyssey, a film I try to see once a year in that format. The biggest news is that they're dual 35mm projectors Los Feliz 3 for daily 35mm runs on one of their teeny-tiny screens. I'm expecting runs of various studio films or newer films shot on 35mm now that the Arclight is gone, it having having been the exclusive theater for recent 35mm films like Baby Driver and Uncut Gems. Worth mentioning that the Vista Theater down the street, also owned by the same owners as the Los Feliz 3, have been doing 35mm screenings in recent years like A Marriage Story, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and The Joker, and seemingly with bigger crowds than the Arclight. The Egyptian remains closed as Netflix is doing renovations since their purchasing of the theater. I got an e-mail from the Los Angeles Film Forum that says Netflix wants to tear down the small Spielberg Theater attached to the Egyptian that was home to all the Film Forum programs, which seems like a real shame to me.

Seems the Fairfax Cinema that replaced Cinefamily was very short lived. It's now Brain Dead Studios Fairfax. The second floor is like a storefront for streetwear (lots of tie dye and $300 carpenter pants for people who don't do physical labor), but the bottom floor is still a theater. I went to check it out and the remodeling is quite nice. New paint job, better lighting, and far superior seats. The aesthetic is all a little too precious for me, but it was fairly busy and it seems mostly filled with people who like the brand of clothes, not greasy cinephiles like myself.

Not sure what's going on with UCLA, but it seems like they're not opening anytime soon. I expect them to follow the lead of the university with reopening.

The pandemic also seemed to have delayed the opening of Vidiots as well. I drove by recently and it seems work is being done there, so it will be open eventually.

Edit: Made a mistake regarding projection at the Los Feliz 3 and added info about Brain Dead Studios Fairfax.

beamish14
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 3:07 pm

Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#70 Post by beamish14 » Wed May 19, 2021 4:01 pm

Yeah, the Fairfax Cinema/Brain Dead Studios thing is bizarre. I've looked at recent screenings-they showed The Baby of Macon, a title I've long asked programmers at other theatres to screen, albeit disappointingly in HDCam.

The Cinematheque knows its bread and butter. Lawrence continues to sell-out, and demand for it will be at a fever pitch now. That blow-up of Malcolm X looks incredible; Spike Lee came to the Egyptian and spoke before it. He stuck around for the first reel or so of it and told the projectionist to "play it loud!" from his seat.

Really excited to see more at the Vista. The Landmark Nuart is slowly getting ready again soon, and I hope they revitalize their midnight screening series.

UCLA probably needs to implement an assigned seating system now. They're the one I'm anticipating seeing again the most.

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movielocke
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2008 12:44 am

Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#71 Post by movielocke » Thu May 20, 2021 12:49 am

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote:Worth mentioning here that the New Beverly reopens June 1st with a week long run of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

The American Cinematheque announced the Aero Theater is reopening next month with 70mm films and blow-ups including their exclusive rights to the 70mm of 2001: A Space Odyssey, a film I try to see once a year in that format. The biggest news is that they're dual 35mm projectors Los Feliz 3 for daily 35mm runs on one of their teeny-tiny screens. I'm expecting runs of various studio films or newer films shot on 35mm now that the Arclight is gone, it having having been the exclusive theater for recent 35mm films like Baby Driver and Uncut Gems. Worth mentioning that the Vista Theater down the street, also owned by the same owners as the Los Feliz 3, have been doing 35mm screenings in recent years like A Marriage Story, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and The Joker, and seemingly with bigger crowds than the Arclight. The Egyptian remains closed as Netflix is doing renovations since their purchasing of the theater. I got an e-mail from the Los Angeles Film Forum that says Netflix wants to tear down the small Spielberg Theater attached to the Egyptian that was home to all the Film Forum programs, which seems like a real shame to me.
.
Maybe it’s being on mobile but the american cinematheques new site is awful, I could not find any of that info or any series or any schedule at all. :-/


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

beamish14
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 3:07 pm

Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#72 Post by beamish14 » Thu Jun 10, 2021 4:32 pm

First night back at the New Beverly to see Cinema Paradiso. Some impressions:

The theatre looks immaculate. They had already overhauled it several years earlier, but I've never seen the floors look so clean before. They sell new accoutrements like reusable straws and have continued to refine their food offerings. I was really impressed with the customer service as well. The ticket takers and managers have always been very pleasant (particularly Phil Blankenship and Michael Torgan, the son of founder Sherman Torgan). Patrons mostly adhered to the mask-related mandates (no removing them unless eating/drinking in one's assigned seat).

Today, I committed to buying tickets for their second batch of June titles online. They had informed us at the Paradiso screening that sales would be between 9:00AM and 12:00PM today, and they were. Being a staggered online sale, only one or two titles were open for seat purchases every half an hour or so. As predicted, though, the ticket sales agent they chose had severe glitches, with shows being mistakenly marked as sold-out only to later offer tickets again. This wack-a-mole approach to ticket buying, compounded with having to pounce on an already reduced amount of tickets, let some of their followers on Twitter very upset. I hope they find a new ticket vendor or return to Brown Paper Tickets.

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senseabove
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Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#73 Post by senseabove » Thu Jun 10, 2021 4:58 pm

Yeah, it was a bit of a clusterfuck. The assigned seating is what makes it a nightmare, I'd guess, since it has to hold specific seats for the duration of checkout, release them if someone backs out or the transaction fails, etc. I'm taking a trip down to visit some friends and so arranged the trip around being in LA for several of the shows, and I had to sit on the website refreshing the ticketing list and then the individual screening purchase pages all morning to snag all the ones I want as they went in and out of Sold Out status... but eventually I did.

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The Elegant Dandy Fop
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Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#74 Post by The Elegant Dandy Fop » Thu Jun 10, 2021 5:22 pm

It's a shit show. I think there's this grand rush for people to go to the theater, but I hate the fact all their tickets are online now. I used to go up to the box office for every screening and have never been turned away. It's a real shame as I wanted to specifically get tickets for New York, New York, one of the few Scorsese's I haven't seen. It also seems that the ticketing site is glitching. Theaters are allowed to do 100% capacity again in California starting Tuesday and hope all the venues abandon arranged seating ASAP as it's an absolute mess.

For upcoming screenings, I got tickets to go see James Benning's Ten Skies at The Hayworth, Paprika at Braindead, and tickets to see Tenet on 70mm at the Aero the week after. I went to Braindead recently again and it seems they have really have it together there. There's a restaurant in the back now and was shocked at how nice they made the old Silent Movie Theater patio look.

beamish14
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 3:07 pm

Re: West Coast Repertory Cinema

#75 Post by beamish14 » Thu Jun 10, 2021 5:26 pm

senseabove wrote:
Thu Jun 10, 2021 4:58 pm
Yeah, it was a bit of a clusterfuck. The assigned seating is what makes it a nightmare, I'd guess, since it has to hold specific seats for the duration of checkout, release them if someone backs out or the transaction fails, etc. I'm taking a trip down to visit some friends and so arranged the trip around being in LA for several of the shows, and I had to sit on the website refreshing the ticketing list and then the individual screening purchase pages all morning to snag all the ones I want as they went in and out of Sold Out status... but eventually I did.

I was lucky to not have to worry about work today and that I could devote so much time to refreshing screens! I chuckled over them removing one bill at the last minute to "MAKE ROOM FOR AN AMAZING SCREENING WE HAVE TO KEEP SECRET FOR RIGHT NOW". That's a total Cinefamily move, people.

You can look at the website of distributor Park Circus from time to time to get early notices on what they (and other theaters) are screening in the near future. Looks like their annual Rocky IV/Red Dawn 4th of July event is back, which I would consider going to if I wasn't afraid of drunk drivers on that evening.

In case anyone here is going to Cinema Paradiso tonight, I don't want to spoil the absolutely perfect short subject they screened before it, which was a certain documentary work that ties in fabulously with the feature.

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