National Theatre
10925 Lindbrook Drive,
Los Angeles,
CA
90024
10925 Lindbrook Drive,
Los Angeles,
CA
90024
64 people
favorited this theater
Showing 151 - 175 of 757 comments
Back in the day, the Regent was a gold mine; studios loved booking films there because of its size, location, and its ability to sell out quickly. If there was a must see film booked at the Regent it would always have long lines; and it would at times be difficult to get in. It was back in a time when you only could buy tickets before each show; there was no online ticket buying. The Regent was the Arclight and Grove of its time. Landmark tried initially to be semi-exclusive with it, but eventually gave in when they got the Disney contract.
It’s all about location, the Regent is in a good location. Whereas the Rialto not in a good location now. Because of all the new screens nearby. Landmark tried different policy formats to get business in that theatre. And the numbers did not work in the long run. The Regent works because as Brad said “It’s small and good location”. There was a recent article a friend sent me about the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, about how it’s getting harder and harder to operate.
Landmark dumped The Rialto in South Pasadena back in August and nobody picked up their lease. I firmly believe that Landmark, with the exception of the NUART, will end up dumping all their single screen houses in the near future in favor of that white elephant they opened on Pico and Westwood Blvd. last year.
The Regent has a couple of good things in its favor; it is small and it is situated in a great location. If Landmark ever dumps it I am sure someone would take over the lease.
I would question the survival of the Regent. Mann already dropped it. Landmark picked it up, but has turned it into an almost Disney-only or move-over house. Plus they built their flagship 12 screener a couple miles away…
I do think there is still a future for moviegoing and nice theatres in Westwood. I’m really hoping that the Village and Bruin remain; since they are in the heart a Westwood a resurgence could revolve around them (and the Regent). My guess is within 5 years the Avco and the Festival will be gone and perhaps some kind of tasteful multiplex will join the Village, Bruin and Regent. It is just a matter of someone taking a chance to make it happen; it will never hit the heights of the 70’s and 80’s again, but Westwood is still a viable market for film exhibition.
well now for a fact i can tell you that the leveling process has begun because the back wall where the screen use to be is now gone. Surprisingly i’ve seen a movie at every movie theatre in westwood until each theatre was respectively taken away
Mann westwood i saw goldeneye (1995)
mann plaza i saw mr.bean (1997)
UA westwood i saw Beethoven 2, Memento (2000)
and National i’ve already listed
Great idea, but I’d have to go to bat for the Rialto in South Pasadena first to be given the American Cinemateque treatment as it’s near Pasadena and thus might stand a chance of surviving as opposed to the Westwood theatares which are too close to the Aero and that lot in the westside/Santa Monica area. But unfortunately, American Cinemateque cannot save all the great single screen theaters as they can only program so many theaters and they survive on membership and donations, so there is only so much that can be done …
quote: << I think unless they Arclight the Village and or the Bruin single screen theaters in Westwood are doomed. >>
Arclight?
Far better IMO would be if the American Cinematheque organization would take over the Village or the Bruin.
American Cinematheque has apparently successfully absorbed the Aero Theater in Santa Monics into their operation for about three years now.
They’ve shown they can operate large single screen theaters
Maybe they’ll be ready for a new challenge in a few years when Mann eventually bails out on the Village and/or the Bruin.
(One argument for them not to: Westwood is only 4-5 miles away from the Aero. That might too close to be running similar programming)
Gone, but not forgotten:
The National
Mann Westwood 4
United Atists 4
Mann Plaza
I think unless they Arclight the Village and or the Bruin single screen theaters in Westwood are doomed.
Those latest photos are so sad to see what the National Theatre currently looks like. WOW
Westwood might just return to the days when just the Village, Bruin and the Crest Theatres were the only theatres there.
The Village and Bruin Theatres should be ok for a while, even with the three years left on the lease.
With the decline of Westwood and single screen theaters in general it was inevitable. I imagine the other village theaters are not too far away from getting the axe as well.
how sad..
UPDATE:
I just walked by the National this morning after working out at the nearby LA Fitness gym. The white plastic covering has been removed and the frame is completely exposed. I was lucky enough (or unlucky enough, depending how you look at it) that the demolition workers were eating lunch and they left the wooden barricade door open and didn’t mind if I took a peek inside. Surprisingly, the box office still stands virtually intact, glass windows and all. Even the paper sign that said “Closed for private screening” is still taped to the box office window. Other than that, the white brick walls from the lobby were the only recognizable parts of the structure still there.
I was able to speak with one of the demo workers. He said that the new structure would not be retail with parking on the roof, but rather a mixed use project with ground level retail, apartment units, and subterranean parking. Definetly better for the future of the Village than just more retail.
It is amazing the disposable, throw away society we now live in. McDonalds leaves their buildings up for a short period of time and then tears them down only to erect another McDonalds in its place. Probally a governemnt office building would stand longer than the 37 years that the National occupied this corner of Los Angeles. Hats off to ‘Hollywood 90038’ for the photography, it strikes me as interesting to note how ‘new’ looking the concrete block and steel frame works look. I assume that all the fixtures, seats, poster cases, carpet, lighting, etc. were all just scooped and dumped in a landfill somewhere.
Why are you living in govt fear….What are you doing in your life!
i think it would be appropriate if some police station depot or govt office is erected in it’s place, be a suitable sign of the times,, replace freedom and creativity with punishment and fear!
Mark, I would love to do up a list for the CHINESE and, in fact, have had several “fits and starts” at just such a list. That venue poses a challenge, though, because I think these lists work best for single-screen venues, and the period of time when the CHINESE was just a single-screener does not interest me as much as does the ‘80s & '90s triplex era. Plus, the theater is EIGHTY years old; how long do you think it would take to compile a list???
I don’t wish to deal with trying to sort out which titles played the CHINESE’s main auditorium vs. those that played on screens II & III. Also, it was common to open a film in #1 then later in the run move it over to II or III. Again, I don’t want to deal with any of that. (And the “top” position in the Mann Theater Directory in the newspaper ads was not always an assurance of what was playing in #1.)
Now, the VILLAGE would interest me…at least for the ‘80s & '90s when I was regularly attending movies there. And seeing BradE41’s partial list may just inspire me… (That lengthy post, by the way, ought to have been made on the VILLAGE page, don’t you think?!)
But, I’m not convinced there are that many people interested in these bookings/playdates lists. If there were, wouldn’t we be seeing more of them?
To really answer your question, I’m more interested in tracking films than theaters, but have been guilty of doing both. The next theater project I’m working on will remain a mystery until posting time. The only clue I’ll give is that the venue is not located in Southern California.
I was a high school student, 80-84 when Westwood was in its prime and would be there several times a week (I lived nearby in Brentwood Glen). Now I work at UCLA and walk into the “village” almost every week. What a difference. It’s dreary, dead…like some of the previous posters mentioned, it is truly sad when you think of how many record and book stores there were; poster shops; cool stores in general. What do we have now? Ahhs and Urban Outfitters…give me a break. The National was a good theater…RIP…
Absolutely heart-wrenching! Thanks for keeping us up to date with your photos, hollywood. The photo with the sun showing the skeleton of the theatre through the wrapping really sets the mood for the end of this wonderful theatre.
I had only a limited time with the National when I lived in LA from 1998 to 2007, and I am emotionally attached to a few other theatres of this era, but the National is and always will be my favorite theatre. I am just glad I got to experience it before its demise. I am back in LA on business and was driving through Westwood but I could not bear to drive by the National. I saw a movie at The Grove tonight, and still the highest per-screen b.o. theatre in the nation seemed to have no movie-going soul compared to the National. Let’s remember it in all it’s 70’s glory:
http://www.cinematour.com/tour.php?db=us&id=2134
If only I could travel back in time and catch “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in 70mm there. Those days are gone. Showmanship is gone. Even film itself is going by the wayside in favor of crappy “Digital Presentation”. And why go through the hassle when it will be on DVD in 3 months? Heck, steal it off the internet! I am happy to have grown up in the 70’s and 80’s when movie going was magical, and a treat. When we sat wide eyed, knowing we might not see Han Solo for another 3 years (my parents did not have a VCR). To me the demise of the National represents the demise of movie-going as being something special. (and not “Arclight special”). My cohorts in their 20’s have no idea what this means.
Long live the National in the hearts of those who made an effort to see a movie there.
The National had a nice little homage with the one scene in Zodiac (Even though story was sent in S.F.), But yeah, I have memories of seeing The Bad News Bears in 1976 will a full audience, talk about a 70’s moment. We will NEVER have a theatre like the National ever again.
soon they will erase our memories that these places ever existed, or that the 70’s itself ever existed. Soon all films from the 70’s will be destroyed banned and outlawed,..it will be a black hole in time, a ‘dead zone’ in memory
Reading and seeing these reports of the demolishment process is akin to an old friend slowly passing away before your very eyes…
So many memories…
So sad…