Regency Village Theatre

961 Broxton Avenue,
Los Angeles, CA 90024

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BradE41
BradE41 on November 19, 2009 at 4:26 pm

Mann was booking Fox films in thier Westwood theatres during the mid-late 90’s into the early 2000’s. If it was 10 years ago no doubt Avatar would open at the Village, or perhaps the National.

richjr37
richjr37 on November 19, 2009 at 5:40 am

Actually,i think AVATAR will be going to the AVCO. Being a Fox movie and,looking at theGCC/AMC to MANN ratio of Fox movies,AVCO is a safer bet. but that’s just me and,lord knows,i’m no expert. :)

segask
segask on November 19, 2009 at 5:25 am

no Avatar at The Village? :(

bah.

The leases run out next March right? I haven’t been there in a while. I wanted to go to the Village to hear that awesome sound system one last time. I’m Looking at Warners' release schedule through next March. ‘The Book of Eli’ opens mid January.

Well maybe Avatar could play there for one week before Sherlock Holmes opens? I remember a couple summers ago Transformers 1 played at the Village for only ten days or so before making way for Harry Potter.

BradE41
BradE41 on November 18, 2009 at 2:30 am

I don’t think that is the case. They seem to be filling the 2 screens with mostly Warner product. The Blind Side opens Friday at Bruin, I guess Ninja Assasin opens Nov 25 at Village, Invicus will probably be at Bruin 12/11 and Sherlock Holmes 12/25 at Village. Warner has been the biggest supplier for Mann over the past 3 decades and does co-operate the theatres.

If Mann still operated the National and Festival I’m sure 2012 would have been booked at the Village or perhaps the National. With only 2 screens they really cannot book much else these days.

Danny Baldwin
Danny Baldwin on November 18, 2009 at 12:40 am

When “2012” goes to the Crest and “New Moon” goes to the AVCO, you know Mann has given up on their Westwood houses.

richjr37
richjr37 on November 16, 2009 at 7:04 am

PLANET 51 had its premiere there Nov. 14th. but it’s opening at the AVCO on the 20th.

haineshisway
haineshisway on November 16, 2009 at 6:32 am

Actually, Gary, you did not see the first “Smellorama” (sic) film at the Village. The competing “smell” films were Behind The Great Wall in AromaRama, which played for a week or two at the Four Star and then disappeared forever, and the real smell film, Scent Of Mystery in Smell-O-Vision, which played only one engagement in Los Angeles at the Ritz Theater on Wilshire. It died a quick death and has never been seen again other than in a smell free cut down version called Holiday In Spain that played a handful of engagements in Cinerama (it was reformatted for that process).

I am certain, however, that you saw some film that smelled at the Village, but not one in any smell process.

garyabelov
garyabelov on October 18, 2009 at 1:53 pm

Well I can tell you that in the fifties and sixties they were definitely upstairs. I’m sure all of that was changed to accomadate the handicapped… Btw. I also went to the first “Smellorama” at the Village Theatre! I remember someone frying eggs on screen and the aroma of eggs was piped into the seating area. Also saw 3D movies there. One was 13 Ghosts. But the best ever was the double feature,“House on Haunted Hill” and “The Tingler” Every time the Tingler would appear our seats would vibrate! They put little vibration boxes under every seat.

William
William on October 17, 2009 at 4:52 pm

The restrooms at the Village are all on the main floor.

garyabelov
garyabelov on October 17, 2009 at 3:43 pm

Made out with Mary Jo Trainer at the village theatre while watching the Man who shot Libert Valance. Think it was 1963. Everyone hung out in front of the Village theatre on Friday nights. Nect door was the Deli. Across the street was Mario’s. Other side of the street of course was the Bruin theatre where I saw Bambi. I think I was about six years old. Next door was Hamburger Hamlet. Magic shop down the street, so was Desmonds Department store, See’s Candy and Fedway. Westwood. Across from the Fox Village theatre was the wonderful outdoor Orang Julius stand. My friends and I paid fifty cents to watch a double feature , with cartoon and newsreel. Seventy five cents if you were over twelve. If we had no money we wouls go into the alley behing the theatre. Climb up the fire escape which led to the women’s bathroom. Once inside the bathroom, walked into the upstairs lobby, then down the steps in the the main lobby. Then we would open the fire exit doors and let in all of our friends. Living and hangin out around Westwood village in the early sixties was like living in a perfect dream. No crowds, sleepy laid back and so friendly. On Dunday’s I would ride my skateboard all over the village. Sometimes I would be the only person on the street for blocks….Then of course there was Sorrento Beach. That’s a whole other story! Gary Abelov St. Louis , Mo

Danny Baldwin
Danny Baldwin on August 20, 2009 at 2:01 am

If you’re going at night, the Bronxton city lots (right across from the Regent) are actually pretty fair. While it’s pricey if you go over the free 2 hours before 6 p.m., after that, it’s a $3 flat fee. Yes, this is a buck more than the Hollywood & Highland or ArcLight complexes, but you can also stay for more than four hours. Not to mention, the Village is $1.25 cheaper than the Chinese and and $.50-$3 cheaper than the Dome, so it’s really a moot point when you consider the total.

The challenges come when A) it’s daytime and you wanna stay over 2 hours or B) the city lots are full (which happens quite often during peak times). As others have said, these SHOULD NOT be hard to solve, even though they criminally haven’t been corrected.

DonSolosan
DonSolosan on August 17, 2009 at 7:17 pm

“In point of fact, there is no parking shortage in Westwood. The problem is the cost of parking.”

And now the Bayside District Corp and the City of Santa Monica are talking about parking in my city being “undervalued” and wanting to raise rates. I wonder if they’re going to turn the Promenade into the next Westwood.

BradE41
BradE41 on August 17, 2009 at 5:09 pm

AMC would not take the Village and Bruin. Honestly, I really do not see any major chain snapping the theatres up. It would be a major investment because they would not run them as single screen theatres. They would have to add screens to make it worth their while. Another problem I see is no chain would want both. They would only want one of the screens to add these the additional screens. They would look at the other as dead weight. The owners may have no choice but to lease them separately. Eventually one of these houses remain and the other may be lost because of lack of interest.

There is so much red tape in building a new theatre complex in Westwood, which is why there has not been any movement by any theatre chain.

Ron Newman
Ron Newman on August 17, 2009 at 4:58 pm

but presumably the federal employees do not need it on Friday evenings and weekends, which is when that shuttle bus ran.

Ross Melnick
Ross Melnick on August 17, 2009 at 4:56 pm

There is no shuttle bus anymore (unless I am mistaken). Much of that parking is now for federal employees and visitor parking for the post office and the federal building.

In point of fact, there is no parking shortage in Westwood. The problem is the cost of parking. While the city has a lot that offers two hours of free parking before 6pm, that does not cover movie time or dinner afterwards. Some have suggested that Mann would have done better if they validated parking. Perhaps it was economically unfeasible, but it would have helped A LOT.

Ron Newman
Ron Newman on August 17, 2009 at 1:34 pm

Does the Westwood Village business association no longer run a shuttle bus from the Federal Building parking lot to the Village? When I lived in the area, that seemed like an ideal solution to the parking issues. (Plus, it’s not that long a walk from the Federal Building to the Village anyway.)

markinthedark
markinthedark on August 14, 2009 at 7:43 pm

Landmark books mostly Disney fare at the Regent, sneaking in the occasional arthouse film if the Disney has nothing to provide. Crest does to some arthouse but seems to get mostly scraps (although lately they had The Hurt Locker and now Julie and Julia which is doing well. Both theatres seem to have had a reduced number of showtimes often only doing a 9-10 show on weekends and having the first matinee in the 1:30 – 2:30 range.

segask
segask on August 14, 2009 at 5:33 am

what about amc? They have the avco. There aren’t any other exhibitors of mainstream hollywood films in westwood (the regent and crest show arthouse films I think?) , so they wouldn’t have to compete for bookings.

neeb
neeb on August 13, 2009 at 2:55 am

Just to chime in on the parking issue…
Last September, me and the GF went to see ‘Sleeping Beauty’ at the El Cap. On a Saturday morning.
Parking was a cinch. $2 for 3 or 4 hours? Awesome.
So I gotta ask… how can parking on Hollywood be easier than it is in Westwood?
If you have an answer- you’re half home to knowing why Westwood is the commercial dead-zone it has been.
And if you have a solution- you’re just another corpse in the swath of NIMBY incompetence that has made Westwood what it is today.

William
William on August 12, 2009 at 10:05 pm

The playing field has changed in the last 30 years of movie going in Los Angeles and the rest of the country. It also been about the dollar and how fast they get make it back. The art of presentation and the movie going experience get farth and farth away from us every year. I miss the theatres Brad posted above. I was lucky to have worked them, afew times before they closed. In some posts I’ve read here about people having a problem with a theatre or a presentation. It happens in all business. Without people making a commitment to being a patron of these theatres. We will lose more and more of them sooner. Your dollars are what keeps these classic theatres open and playing movies 365 days a year. Theatre owners try to keep many theatres open as long as they can. They can only open at night, cut staff hours etc.. They have to pay their bills to run these houses.
So go see a movie at the Village or Bruin. Show your support for these theatres.

BradE41
BradE41 on August 12, 2009 at 9:36 pm

I agree. It is sad seeing them go. I grew up with these theatres. We’ve already lost the National, Picwood, Plitt Century Plaza and the original Avco theatre. All of which were extraordinary theatres, the likes of which we will never see again. The Village and Bruin (along with the Chinese, El Capitan and Cinerama Dome) are the only major theatres we have left. Part of the experience of seeing a film has always been where I went to see it.
Heck, I used to go to the Pantages as a child to see movies. The last film I saw there was The Outlaw Josey Wales.

bruceanthony
bruceanthony on August 12, 2009 at 9:20 pm

If I had to choose between the Village and the Bruin the Village would win hands down.The Homeowners in the area is another reason for the decline of Westwood besides the parking.Westwood is located in a very expensive part of the city. I have witnessed the rise of Westwood as a moviegoing hub and the decline.Im sad to see the decline of Westwood as moviegoing hub due to the rise of Santa Monica,Century City and Westside Mall movie Plexes.These plexes can be anywhere USA and there nothing special about them.brucec

BradE41
BradE41 on August 12, 2009 at 9:16 pm

As long as Parking is awful, Westwood will have difficulties thriving again. I believe I read that any new Theatre additions have to provide “X” amount of parking spaces, and that may be an obsticle also.

William
William on August 12, 2009 at 9:10 pm

Parking has been a problem for over 20 years. The area home owners have kept a lid on growth. The movie theatres had a seat vs. parking space number to work with. Traffic into that area is bad on week days and weekends. Santa Monica came out of the ashes of the former mall. When you had that 5 mile clearance, you had to go to Westwood. When they dropped that policy the numbers started to come crashing down.