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Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 09-05-2014, 01:40 PM:
 
because we need yet another Tarantino and Film Topic
Will he run out of money before he runs out of film?

Tarantino to Program The New Beverly

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Quentin Tarantino on the New Beverly: “After 7 Years as Owner, I Wanted to Make It Mine.”
Comments (8) By Chuck Wilson Fri, Sep 5, 2014 at 9:30 AM
Categories: Film And TV

Quentin Tarantino - GETTY WIRE IMAGE COURTESY OF FILM INDEPENDENT
Getty Wire Image courtesy of Film Independent Quentin Tarantino
For L.A. movie lovers, the New Beverly Cinema revival house is sacred territory. Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Django Unchained) owns the theater, but it’s always been managed and programmed by Michael Torgan, son of the theater’s founder, the late Sherman Torgan. When rumors reached us that Tarantino would be taking over as full-time programmer, we reached out to him for clarification, and were delighted when he returned our call. For the record, we also reached out to Michael Torgan, but were unable to connect with him. (We hope he’s taking a well-deserved vacation.)

L.A. WEEKLY: How did you come to be involved with the New Beverly, as an owner?

QUENTIN TARANTINO: Sherman Torgan opened the New Beverly [in 1978] and had been running it for decades. I had been going there forever. And somewhere in the last four years of Sherman running the theater, word got to me that it might close. So I started supplementing him, started giving him about $5,000 a month, to pay his bills, and meet his expenses. He never had to pay it back. I love Los Angeles, and I love the New Beverly, and I didn’t want to see it go. But then, unfortunately, Sherman died [in June 2007]. And the people who owned the property wanted to turn it into a Super Cuts. So, working through Michael, I was able to buy the property. And Michael’s been running the theater ever since. I could say, ‘Hey, Michael, can we do this, can we show that?’ but basically it’s been Michael’s baby. He’s really done a Herculean job. But after seven years as owner, I wanted to make it mine.

Is it true that you offered Michael the chance to stay on as manager but not as programmer, and he declined?

We’re still figuring that out. I want him to be involved as much as possible.

You’re passionate about the survival of 35 millimeter film. Is that what this is about?

That was the thing that pushed me over to say, ‘Now’s the time to do it.’ I want the New Beverly to be a bastion for 35 millimeter films. I want it to stand for something. When you see a film on the New Beverly calendar, you don’t have to ask whether it’s going to be shown in DCP [Digital Cinema Projection] or in 35 millimeter. You know it’s playing in 35 because it’s the New Beverly.

See also: Movie Studios Are Forcing Hollywood to Abandon 35mm Film. But the Consequences of Going Digital Are Vast, and Troubling

Was there pressure on Michael, and on you to bring digital projection to the New Beverly?

Michael brought in digital for the simple fact that besides being a revival house, the New Beverly is an art film second-run house. So, if Frances Ha does well in general release, a month or two later, it plays at the New Beverly, along with something similar. But the companies that release those kinds of movies don’t even make prints anymore. My feeling is, ‘Fuck those guys.' I want young filmmakers to want their movie to screen at the New Beverly so badly that they demand a print as part of the deal they make with Magnolia or Roadside Attractions or whoever. ‘You have to strike a 35 millimeter print so we can show it at the New Beverly! You’re not paying me jack-shit, you’re ripping me off, but that’s one thing you can do!’ [Laughs. Heartily.]

There’s a notion out there that Quentin Tarantino is going to turn the New Beverly into a B-movie, grindhouse theater.

No, no, no, not at all. That double-feature format that Sherman came up with, we’re keeping. We’ll be doing the thing the New Beverly does so well—we’ll have Fassbender double-features, Truffaut double-features, The Thin Man movies, all that. But I have a really, really huge film print collection that I’ve been curating for almost 20 years now. And I want to show my prints! [Laughs.] We’ll still be borrowing prints from the studios and other collectors, but I like the idea that the base of what we’re doing will be my print collection. Some of them are absolutely amazing, and I want people to see them, to enjoy them.

What are the prints you prize most?

I have all three Sergio Leone Clint Eastwood movies in I.B. Technicolor. Magnificent looking. I just saw the DCP restoration of A Fistful of Dollars at Cannes. I introduced it. I felt like I was watching a DVD. I said, ‘Why didn’t you ask me to bring my fucking print?’ They said, ‘Well, there was three extra minutes in this.’ I said, ‘I’ve seen that movie a million times and I didn’t notice those extra minutes. I just noticed that it looked like a fucking DVD.’

We’re adding six-track stereo sound to the theater, because I have quite a few prints that are six-track mag [magnetic] sound. They’ll sound amazing. And we’ll be adding a 16 millimeter projector too because I have a big 16 collection, too, and sometimes, especially for that second movie, a 16 is just perfect. And there’s my big, huge trailer collection, and there’s all the cartoons and shorts that I have. Concession stand bumpers, too. Vintage ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s. Some really groovy stuff.

On Saturday, we’ll keep the weird midnight movie thing. It’s a tradition. But the Friday midnight will always be one of my movies. One month it’ll be Reservoir Dogs, another month it’ll be Death Proof, another month Django. The idea being that if you actually want to see one of my movies on 35 millimeter film, you’ll have a place to do so.

It’s your theater, after all.

Well, I don’t feel so bad about it because Sherman played Reservoir Dogs at midnight on Friday and Saturday for three years!

It’s been said that you, the busy filmmaker who’s about to make a new movie [The Hateful Eight], will be programming each day of every month, all year long. Is that true?

Listen, I’ve had a million ideas for double-features and such, for a long, long time. I’ve been holding off, waiting for this moment. I’m going to program the first three months. But then the other people working in the theater can put together the schedule. I’ll always have lots of ideas, but they’re creative, they’re excited, they want to come up with their own thing. But yeah, these first three months will be my perspective entirely.

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 09-05-2014, 03:01 PM:
 
I wonder, when he goes to show one of those old prints he owns, does he have to pay the license fee to the studios like the rest of us do? Or do they just blow it off because it's Quentin Tarantino?
 

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Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 09-05-2014, 06:51 PM:
 
Maybe we should still merge it with this topic, because it's essentially the same discussion?
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-05-2014, 09:30 PM:
 
Tarantino is now a theater manager? And he likes 35mm projection? These two qualities rarely mesh. I wonder what kind of projector he has up there. God forbid it's a Brenkert. Hopefully it's a Century JJ with a sweet-ass Christie SLC lamphouse. Oh, and an orange ORC platter to cause the problems that the projectionist is required to have.
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 09-05-2014, 09:39 PM:
 
So he loves 35mm...and is shooting his next movie in 65mm for a 70mm release...will he upgrade to 70mm at his theatre?
 

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Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 09-05-2014, 10:15 PM:
 

quote:

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Maybe we should still merge it with this topic, because it's essentially the same discussion?

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Well, this one started first
 

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Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 09-05-2014, 10:38 PM:
 

quote: Joe Redifer

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Tarantino is now a theater manager? And he likes 35mm projection? These two qualities rarely mesh. I wonder what kind of projector he has up there. God forbid it's a Brenkert. Hopefully it's a Century JJ with a sweet-ass Christie SLC lamphouse. Oh, and an orange ORC platter to cause the problems that the projectionist is required to have.

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quote:

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...has already gone through two DCP-compliant projectors in three years — in both cases, through no fault of the lab's. (By contrast, the Simplex XL 35mm projectors at New Beverly are going strong at 60 years old. Like all analog projectors, they use an intermittent sprocket, a cog and a pivot — the same basic gear as a sewing machine.)...

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quote: Joe Redifer

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Tarantino is now a theater manager? And he likes 35mm projection? These two qualities rarely mesh.

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Can you imagine him front of house?

Customer: "A medium popcorn and a Coke, please."

Tarantino: "It's not Coke, OK. We don't sell that fuckin' liquid shit here. It's Big Kahuna Cola, OK? I mean, any fuckin' asshole knows that we don't serve Coca fuckin' Cola. You don't fuck with that cheap fuckin' soda in my theater, OK, pal? [produces gun and shoots customer]" ... to co-worker: "Well, what are you staring at? Get his ass outta here! What is this place, a fuckin' mortuary? Do we have a fuckin' sign out the fuckin' front that says 'Dead moviegoer storage'? Fuck, I mean, do we?"
 

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Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 09-06-2014, 10:51 PM:
 
Will the usherettes be barefoot?
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 09-06-2014, 11:09 PM:
 
For this application, I would take Norelco AA-IIs over Century JJs for 35/70 machines. They are gentler on film (and better at handling shrunken or otherwise damaged film) and the parts never seem to wear out.

I have not operated the current Kinoton FP75Es, but those may be a good choice as well.

Leo--that is hilarious...and probably true.
 

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Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 09-07-2014, 10:18 PM:
 
Don't get me wrong, I love that QT is trying to keep film alive...

But judging from pictures on the intertubes, the New Beverly screen looks pretty small, roughly 25' wide? (I've never been to the NB.) Digital probably doesn't look too bad there.

If you're trying to show off film, wouldn't it make more sense to do it on a bigger screen, like the Newport Big 6 or the Continental in Denver (before Regal screwed it up)?
 

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Posted by Buck Wilson (Member # 5885) on 09-07-2014, 10:26 PM:
 
Are you trying to say Regal screwed something up? Never!
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-08-2014, 12:26 AM:
 

quote: Geoff Jones

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If you're trying to show off film, wouldn't it make more sense to do it on a bigger screen, like the Newport Big 6 or the Continental in Denver (before Regal screwed it up)?

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Screw the Continental. As long as we're living in dreamlands of the past, you should suggest the Cooper that was on Colorado Boulevard. Might as well go to the Century 21 before the Continental as well (though it had fewer seats). Should also suggest that Northpark place in Dallas. I've heard it was fairly decent.
 

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Posted by Randy Pryde (Member # 7488) on 09-08-2014, 10:52 PM:
 
For those who never got the chance to visit Denver's Cooper, Century 21 and Continental theatres:

I made a lot of road trips to all of them and saw a lot of 35mm and 70mm product at each. All three had exceptional presentation in the pre-platter days.

The Century 21 had the most seats (1000+) even though it was not the largest auditorium. The rows were tightly spaced and the front row was quite close to the flat screen. The Century 21 had the smallest screen ("only" about 60 feet wide). After the THX install, I would give it the edge for best sound (not that the others were slackers).

The Continental was the largest room, but due to the wide row spacing and wider chairs, the capacity was just over 900. After the fire, the proprietary deep curved D150 screen sheet was replaced with a standard matte white. They started playing 35mm product full height and I never saw a bright image on that screen after that. Now an RPX auditorium, it seems that the attendance has decreased since the deep curve screen was removed.

United Artists did much better with the Cooper. It was the smallest of the three (a bit over 800 seats), but with the largest (Cinerama) screen and the shortest throw. They replaced the yellowed strip screen with a lenticular. With new lenses, they wisely reduced the height for 35mm product and had a sharp, bright image. 70mm did not fill the full Cinerama curve, but was excellent.

Here is a photo I took on the day they started to dismantle the Cooper booth.


 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-09-2014, 06:45 PM:
 
Awesome picture! You should post some photos of the Century 21 if you have them. I have not seen any pictures of the interior anywhere. My memory is that they had yellow-ish seats. It was kind of long and skinny (remembering from the Indiana Jones days). But that competes with my memory of The Fugitive which recalls it being kind of short and wide. Memory sucks.
 

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Posted by Randy Pryde (Member # 7488) on 09-09-2014, 11:29 PM:
 
Sorry, I don't have any interior photos of the Century 21.

However, the architect's plans, sketches and photos are located near you: Richard Crowther Architectural Records, WH1504, Western History Collection, Denver Public Libary.

There are also some stories about the Century 21 in the book "The Flick and I" by Ralph Batschelet. It is his story as a life long theatre manager for Fox Intermountain (eventually Mann Theatres). Some Denver houses he managed include the Bluebird, Denver, Aladdin and C21. It is out of print, but there are a couple used copies available on Amazon.
 

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Posted by Jarod Reddig (Member # 6363) on 10-13-2014, 04:57 AM:
 
Sounds like a great book!
 

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