Why A Hollywood Movie Palace Is A Great Los Angeles Destination

29.05.2024 - 21:01 / forbes.com

Hollywood is not just a place, it’s a location in the mind of people all over the world. Some years ago, when a British airport clerk glanced 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 was a non-stop Hollywood movie show, A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes, Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain, And celluloid heroes never really die.’

Millions of visitors are drawn to Los Angeles each year by Hollywood history and landmarks. There’s the Hollywood Walk of Fame with its 2700 stars, the Chinese Theater with handprints of celebrities immortalized in concrete, studio tours, van trips to the homes of the stars, the controversial Academy Museum and more.

But after you’ve toured the town, gone to the beach, hiked in the hills (walking Runyon Canyon might include a spandex-clad celeb or two) or shopped in Beverly Hills, what should you do tonight?

Go see a movie, of course. Los Angeles possesses a number of classic old movie palaces that are still in operation.

Two of the most prominent 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 both are now owned and operated by film maker Quentin Tarantino, a Los Angeles native whose most recent film was, yup, ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD.

With the film industry currently in the doldrums, my wife and I decided to visit the glories of the past, as revived in film revival houses. Over Memorial Day Weekend we went to a screening of GIANT, the Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean Texas epic from the 1950’s at the Vista. The 400 seats at the100-year-old theater, now restored to its glory days, were about two-thirds full. The crowd stayed the whole 3 hours, 15 minutes for the Oscar-winning Texas epic and unrequited love triangle, shown in glorious 35mm.

Fortunately, there was an intermission to hit the refreshment stand, replete with popcorn and Chuckles. At Tarantino’s Vista, clever tributes to the film industry extended to the wine sold at the concession stand. You could get a glass of Coppola, from GODFATHER director Francis Ford Coppola’s Coppola vineyard. They were also selling Hitching Post, a reminder of the 2004 comedy SIDEWAYS, about a pre-wedding bachelor trip to wine country that starts its misadventures at the Hitching Post restaurant in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Tarantino has a well-known adoration of action actress Pam Grier, who he cast in the lead role in JACKIE BROWN. With Grier’s participation, he recently added Pam’s Coffy coffeeshop, where you can get a $5 bowl of Captain Crunch all day, next door to the Vista.

Tarantino has also been operating the