Hollywood is rarely just a position, it’s a position in the minds of other people around the world. A few years ago, when a British airport worker looked at the address on my passport, she said, “Encino!That’s where Clark Gable lived! Or as the Kinks sang in “Celluloid Heroes,” I wish my life a series of non-stop Hollywood movies, a fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes, because celluloid heroes never feel pain, and celluloid heroes never really die.
Millions of visitors are drawn to Los Angeles each year through Hollywood’s history and landmarks. There’s the Hollywood Walk of Fame with its 2,700 stars, the Chinese Theatre with celebrity handprints immortalized in concrete, studio tours, van rides to the stars, the arguable Academy Museum, and much more.
But after traveling around the city, hitting the beach, hiking in the hills (walking through Runyon Canyon would possibly accompany a celane-clad celebrity or two), or grocery shopping in Beverly Hills, what will you do tonight?
Go see a movie, of course. Los Angeles has several former movie palaces that are in operation.
Two of the highs are the New Beverly and the Vista. Both are close to Hollywood with the New Beverly in West Hollywood and the Vista in Los Feliz. And now any of them are owned and operated by Los Angeles-born filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, whose most recent film was, yes, ONCE UPON A TIME HOLLYWOOD.
With the film industry in the doldrums lately, my wife and I made a stopover in the glories of the past, resurrected in the homes of the film renaissance. Over Memorial Day weekend, we went to a screening of GIANT, the Texas epic of the ’50s through Rock Hudson. , Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean at the Vista.
The 400-seat centennial theater, now restored to its glory days, was about two-thirds full. The crowd stayed for 3 hours and 15 minutes to see the Oscar-winning Texas epic and unrequited love triangle, projected on an excellent 35mm.
Luckily, there was an intermission to go to the refreshment stand, filled with popcorn and laughter. At Tarantino’s Vista, the clever homages to the film industry carried over into the wine sold at the concession stand. Maybe you’ll have a glass of Coppola, from THE GODFATHER. They were also promoting Hitching Post, a callback from the 2004 comedy SIDEWAYS, about a premarital single woman in wine country who begins her misadventures at the Hitching Post restaurant in the Santa Ynez Valley.
HOLLYWOOD – FEBRUARY 3: The most sensible grand announces the premiere of Walt Disney’s Bridge To Terabithia on theArray. [ ] The El Capitan Theatre on February 3, 2007 in Hollywood, California. (Photo via Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images)
Tarantino has a well-known adoration for action actress Pam Grier, for whom he played the lead role in Jackie Brown. With Grier’s involvement, he recently added Pam’s Coffy coffee shop, where you can enjoy a bowl of Captain Crunch for $5 all day, next to the Vista.
Tarantino has also been operating the New Beverly, built in 1929, since 2007. Although the construction began as a candy factory, it grew into a nightclub, a valid theater, and eventually an adult theater. In 1969, he staged a “world premiere” of Man and Wife, billed as an “educational documentary. “Advertisements at the time made it clear that “entry is limited to adults over 21 years of age, who will also be required to present their marriage certificate. “
Quentin Tarantino is not only an Oscar-winning filmmaker, but also a keeper of the flame of Hollywood cinema. Both theaters showcase existing films and an eclectic array of action films, comedies, classics, kung fu films, and much more. Tarantino’s films, from Pulp Fiction to The Hateful Eight to Jackie Brown starring Pam Grier, are also shown in its theaters.
C. 1953: American actors Ava Gardner (1922 – 1990) and Gregory Peck (1916 – 2003) at a “Look” magazine awards ceremony at the El Capitan Theatre, Hollywood, California. (Photo by Hulton Archives/Getty Images)
Another classic theater, El Capitan, is nicknamed “Disney’s House on Hollywood Boulevard” because it belongs to the “House of Mouse. “Once “Hollywood’s first talking theatre house”, the El Capitan Theatre opened on May 3, 1926 as the largest valid theatre in Hollywood, with 1,550 seats.
The Disney-owned theater has undergone some tweaks since then, but the level is used for musical or comedic numbers before Disney videos are shown. It still has a working Wurlitzer organ, which is played before projections. The Disney/Pixar film INSIDE OUT 2 will be released screened in June and July, infrequently featuring live “DJ duels. “
The Landmark Nuart Theatre in West Los Angeles, built in 1929 and renovated in 1974. An author’s classic, it offers 35mm and 4K DLP projection. Show new and old movies; Videos like ROCKY HORROR and TRON are part of their weekend night programming, Cine Insomnia.
Netflix recently spent $70 million to rehabilitate the Egyptian theater, reducing the capacity to 516 seats but restoring it to its cinematic glory. They even added a Netflix store that promotes their popular streaming screens like Squid Game.
LOS ANGELES, CA – FEBRUARY 15: Quentin Tarantino accepts the Kodak Movie Theatre of the Year Award. . . [ ] by the New Beverly Cinema at the annual Kodak Awards at the Hudson Loft on February 15, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Kodak Motion Picture)
The Egyptian directs reruns and new films, such as Richard Linklater’s new comedy HITMAN, before coming to Netflix.
The Santa Monica Aero Theatre opened in 1940 and still retains the old look of a movie theater. Programmed by the American Cinematheque, it offers almost nightly screenings and reruns of recent films. A double bill by David Cronenberg is planned for June. 9, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE and ORIENTAL PROMISES.
The grand kahuna, the Hollywood Cinerama Dome that looks like part of a sliced golf ball, has yet to reopen after Covid and the bankruptcy of its parent chain, but has so far avoided demolition. And there is hope; An online page celebrating the Dome and Cinerama is now available, and likely promises a return to Hollywood highlights in 2025.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 18: Samuel L. Jackson, Harvey Keitel, Uma Thurman and John Travolta on the red carpet for the 30th anniversary screening of Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” at the Chinese Theatre on Thursday, April 18, 2024 in Hollywood. California. (Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times Getty Images)
So if you’re planning a vacation to Los Angeles, keep an eye on the Revival Hub for movie screenings you’ll be visiting. The palaces of classic cinema are waiting for you to get off the couch.
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