New Beverly Cinema

The New Beverly Cinema is a historic movie theater located in Los Angeles, California. Housed in a building that dates back to the 1920s, it is one of the oldest revival houses in the region. Since 2007, it has been owned by filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.

New Beverly Cinema
Kill Bill at the New Beverly.
Address7165 Beverly Boulevard
LocationLos Angeles, California 90036
United States
Coordinates34°4′34.42″N 118°20′44.73″W
OwnerQuentin Tarantino
TypeMovie theater
Capacity228
Construction
Built1920s
Opened1929
Renovated1978, 2018
Website
www.thenewbev.com

History

The 300-seat New Beverly Cinema was designed by architects John P. Edwards and Warren Frazier Overpeck and opened in 1929, apparently as a candy store. Over the years, its name and purpose has changed several times.

Once it became a theater, it hosted variety performers such as Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Jackie Gleason, Phil Silvers, and others. Later, the theater was converted into a nightclub called Slapsy Maxie's, named after the boxer and film actor Maxie Rosenbloom.

In the late 1950s, the space was converted into a movie theater which would come to see several different changes in both repertoire and name, including the New Yorker Theater,[1] the Europa (specializing in foreign films), the Eros (pornographic films), and finally the Beverly Cinema.

Sherman Torgan ownership

The Eros closed in September 1977 and changed management months later. On May 5, 1978, the New Beverly Cinema debuted a new programming format with a double feature of A Streetcar Named Desire and Last Tango in Paris. This double-feature format continues to this day.

The theater's new owner, Sherman Torgan, said: "I've always felt that this neighborhood, which is middle class and predominantly Jewish, should have a theater that is responsive to the community. It wasn't right that a porno theater was here. People in the area have come by and written letters offering congratulations on the changeover."[2]

Since that time, the theater has run a continuous series of double features, comprising modern and classic films in a wide variety of genres. It is the last continuous repertory revival house in Los Angeles. Most other American cities and towns closed their last remaining repertory cinemas in the 1980s and 1990s.

Torgan did all of the programming for the theater throughout these years, with the assistance of his son, Michael. In 2002, the theater became the permanent venue of the Grindhouse Film Festival, a monthly event programmed by film memorabilia vendors and cult film experts Eric Caidin and Brian J. Quinn.[3] In March 2007, filmmaker Quentin Tarantino curated a month of double and triple bills from his personal collection to promote the release of his film Grindhouse.[4]

On July 18, 2007, Sherman Torgan died of a heart attack at age 63 while bicycling in Santa Monica.[5]

Quentin Tarantino ownership

In December 2007, to save the property from redevelopment, Tarantino bought the building that houses the New Beverly Cinema, effectively making him the theater's landlord. The Hollywood Reporter reported that Tarantino would allow the Torgan family to continue operating the theater but would make programming suggestions from time to time. Tarantino said: "As long as I'm alive, and as long as I'm rich, the New Beverly will be there, showing double features in 35mm."[6]

From December 2007 until September 2014, the New Beverly was managed full-time by Michael Torgan.[7] Tarantino facilitated Torgan's renovation of the theater, which included replacing all the lighting fixtures and seats, while Torgan funded the installation of a digital film projector for occasional use.[8]

The theater's usual double-feature programming was suspended in December 2012 for an extended run of Tarantino's Django Unchained, projected in 35mm.

In September 2014, seven years after acquiring the theater, Tarantino announced he would take over full programming duties for the New Beverly. The cinema would continue to show double features, now exclusively in 35mm (or 16mm, depending on print availability), with some films coming from Tarantino's private collection. In October, Tarantino's new programming began with a double feature of Paul Mazursky films Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) and Blume in Love (1973).[9]

In January 2016, the double-feature programming was suspended again, this time for a month-long run of the 35mm "roadshow version" of Tarantino's latest film, The Hateful Eight. In February, the double feature format resumed, with each double feature that month consisting of The Hateful Eight and a film that influenced its production.

On December 26, 2017, the New Beverly announced that, starting in January 2018, they would be "closed for part of 2018 for a variety of exciting upgrades and enhancements."[10] On November 8, 2018, they announced that they would reopen on December 1.[11]

On July 25, 2019, normal double feature programming was once again suspended in order to present an extended string of first-run screenings of Tarantino's ninth film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.[12][13][14][15] The theater was adorned with film posters (both real and fictional), lobby cards and props used in the film. The screenings featured a specially curated pre-show consisting of an extended cut of the Bounty Law segment and vintage trailers that are featured or referenced in the film.[16] The final first-run screening took place on February 29, 2020.[17]

On March 16, 2020, the New Beverly announced it would be closed until further notice,[18] following an order from Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti that all L.A. movie theaters must temporarily cease operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19]

Schedule and repertoire

In addition to daily double (and, occasionally, triple) features, usually beginning at 7:30 p.m., midnight screenings are programmed on Fridays and Saturdays. "Kiddee Matinees" take place on weekend afternoons at 2:00 p.m., with a reduced admission price that includes a small popcorn. In 2017, the theater incorporated an "Afternoon Classics" series of matinees held on Wednesday afternoons, and 2019 saw the introduction of both "Monday Matinees" and horror-themed "Freak Fridays" matinees. All features at the theater are usually preceded by a curated collection of vintage cartoons, shorts and trailers.

  • A poster for the New Beverly's July 1993 screening schedule is visible in the background of the fourth episode of the sitcom Saved by the Bell: The College Years.[20]
  • In the 1996 comedy Swingers, as Trent implores Mike to head out with him to Vegas, a screening schedule for the New Beverly appears prominently on the side of Mike's refrigerator.
  • Comedian Patton Oswalt's 2015 memoir, Silver Screen Fiend, focuses on his obsessive patronage of the New Beverly, where he watched 720 films from 1995 to 1999, seeking "magical assistance" from classic films to guide his own career.[21]
  • The 2017 documentary short Videostore, filmed on 16mm, opens with a shot of Sherman Torgan replacing letters on the marquee of the New Beverly and features interviews conducted inside the theater.[22][23]
  • The New Beverly is indirectly referenced in Tarantino's own 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. While entering the nearby El Coyote Cafe, Sharon Tate notices a film premiere happening down the street and asks Jay Sebring if "dirty movies" have premieres.[24]
  • In the music video for Haim's "Summer Girl", directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, the band walks past a ticket line at the New Beverly and singer Danielle Haim enters the box office.[25]

References
  1. Los Angeles Times November 27, 1963.
  2. Sakamoto, Ed (May 5, 1978). "Theater Returns to Respectability". Los Angeles Times. p. H18.
  3. Woo, Elaine (2015-05-24). "Eric Caidin dies at 62; movie memorabilia maven, grindhouse connoisseur". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
  4. "Tarantino's Grindhouse Festival Announced - ComingSoon.net". ComingSoon.net. 2007-02-28. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
  5. Rourke, Mary (July 21, 2007). "Sherman Torgan, 63; turned an L.A. adult movie house into a haven for classic and indie films". Los Angeles Times. p. B10. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  6. Lewinski, John Scott (February 18, 2010). "Quentin Tarantino saves L.A. theater". Reuters. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  7. "New Bev History". www.thenewbev.com. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  8. "Of Silver Screens and Family Dreams: Michael Torgan and the New Beverly Cinema". Sinaphile. September 15, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  9. Yamato, Jen (September 7, 2014). "Quentin Tarantino's New Beverly Promises Double Features, Vintage Trailers, Tarantino Films & NO Digital. Ever". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  10. Influence, Urban. "Pardon Our Dust (Updated) | New Beverly Cinema". New Beverly Cinema - The premier revival theater in Los Angeles.
  11. "New Beverly Cinema". www.facebook.com.
  12. "Quentin Tarantino's Program at the Bev During 'Once Upon A Time in Hollywood' Month". World of Reel.
  13. http://thenewbev.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/July-2019-New-Bev-front-1.jpg
  14. http://thenewbev.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/August-2019-New-Bev-front-1.jpg
  15. http://thenewbev.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/September-2019-front.jpg
  16. "Tarantino's New Beverly Cinema Offers Unique 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' Experience". The Hollywood Reporter.
  17. http://thenewbev.com/program/february-29-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood/
  18. http://thenewbev.com/program/temporary-closure-4
  19. https://deadline.com/2020/03/los-angeles-mayor-eric-garcetti-bars-restaurants-close-1202883916/
  20. Cinema, New Beverly (March 28, 2017). "Zack and Slater dig the New Bevpic.twitter.com/dcLFGD6mWb".
  21. Wade, Kim (2015-02-11). "Patton Oswalt talks addiction in latest work at Savannah Book Festival". Do Savannah, arts and entertainment news for the Creative Coast. Retrieved 2017-03-12.
  22. "VIDEOSTORE" – via www.youtube.com.
  23. "VIDEOSTORE - extended version" – via www.youtube.com.
  24. Club, The A. V. "Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood... annotated". Film.
  25. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjuA_o6Jzyo
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