Well, then My General Manager’s memory may have been lacking. He’d been around forever – said there was a big argument over it, because George didn’t want it at the Village. He may have been confusing the Chinese. He’d been around for a LONG time…
I was a part of the management team in Westwood from 2003-2005. When I left, there was still talk of refurbishing. Most of the money Mann makes in the Westwood area is with premieres – then the production company holding the premeire usually buys out the whole day at top dollar. As far as regular performances, when you have a clunker movie at a theater that sits over 1000, it gets awfully quiet…And very expensive to keep the lights on.
Even a massive film like a Batman doesn’t clock the numbers very well past the first two weeks. You’re still getting people, mind you – but a hundred or so for an evening performance at, say the 8pm showing, with thirty or so at the earlier shows still doesn’t keep the payroll dollars up. That’s why the multiplex has become king. In a building with ten theaters – one of them is bound to be the bread winner, or at least medium numbers across the board handle the paid positions, especially with the minimum crew it takes to man one building, as apposed to four buildings, as the case was in Westwood.
This actually has hit me hard just recently, as I fell out of touch with the staff and moved out of the area – I had no idea it was gone until just a month ago! How I would have loved another walk around the theater, like when I left the company…
I was creating training newsletters for our staff at the time, and when I left, I took my own little tour, and whipped up a goodbye edition. If you will allow me to indulge, I think you will find it is fitting to this situation – and the situations like this all over the country:
ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
Vincent’s Heartfelt Farewell
The neat thing about being in management is that I get the keys to the front door. Recently, knowing my days are numbered, I took advantage of being a key-holder, and went in late at night to take a good look at the buildings I have worked at for for almost two years.
There was no movie playing, of course, and no one else but me in each auditorium. I don’t believe in ghosts or channeling, but I am a firm believer in ambiance. With no one talking in front of me, and no one kicking the back of my seat, I let the theatre do the talking. What did I find?
TONS OF PERSONALITY
It’s amazing what I noticed: The sheer artistry of the Village. The straight lines and sharp angles of the Bruin. The almost unfathomable size of the National.
Why would I do this late night vigil? To remember just how special these theatres are. To remind myself of what it was like the first time I walked into one (want to know the year? Look up Pink Floyd: The Wall). We get so jaded, working here day after day. These places are living history. They will never build houses like these ever again. People actually ask me if they can just come in and look. People constantly take pictures of the marquees from the street. They are subjects of professional photographers and artists, and the goal of every actor is to one day walk down their red carpets. These theatres are one of a kind, not to be repeated.
I wanted to get one last good look before I didn’t have my keys anymore, before I became an average citizen once again. Just a moviegoer, no longer a moviedoer. Yes, I can come to see a movie, but I will no longer be intimately involved with the process. I wanted to remember how lucky I have been: how I was allowed to be a part of the history of these amazing places.
DELUXE PARTING GIFT
As I leave, I want to offer these words of of wisdom to you: Never forget that you are a part of history. The Village not only showed Star Wars Episode III, but the original Star Wars in 1977. The rather uneventful Exorcist: The Beginning played (very briefly) at the National, which Happened to open the Exorcist in 1973. At that time, the National was only three years old!
You are making your own history every day – Spiderman 2, Batman Begins, the Harry Potter films. These films will be remembered, and people will always remember the experience of seeing them here. Every time you see a child walk in for the first time, you are witnessing a lasting memory being created, and you are a part of bringing it to fruition.
Enjoy your time here. Log these memories away in a special place. Never take an opportunity to help our Guests for granted, for it is a memory in the making; both for them, and for you. Twenty years from now, God willing, these places will still be standing. Perhaps you will bring your own children, and will tell them that you worked here, and they will be amazed.
AND FINALLY…
God bless you and keep you – thank you very much for helping me make my own lasting memories. Working with each of you has been a pleasure and a joy. I will miss our day-to-day time together, but I will, of course, see you soon, as I come in and sit down, wait for the lights to dim, the curtain to rise, and the next memory to begin.
Take Care -
Vincent Hase
Well, at least I have my memory of the darkened room, the massive space – and all that ambiance.
Well, then My General Manager’s memory may have been lacking. He’d been around forever – said there was a big argument over it, because George didn’t want it at the Village. He may have been confusing the Chinese. He’d been around for a LONG time…
Hardly the point of my post, however.
I was a part of the management team in Westwood from 2003-2005. When I left, there was still talk of refurbishing. Most of the money Mann makes in the Westwood area is with premieres – then the production company holding the premeire usually buys out the whole day at top dollar. As far as regular performances, when you have a clunker movie at a theater that sits over 1000, it gets awfully quiet…And very expensive to keep the lights on.
Even a massive film like a Batman doesn’t clock the numbers very well past the first two weeks. You’re still getting people, mind you – but a hundred or so for an evening performance at, say the 8pm showing, with thirty or so at the earlier shows still doesn’t keep the payroll dollars up. That’s why the multiplex has become king. In a building with ten theaters – one of them is bound to be the bread winner, or at least medium numbers across the board handle the paid positions, especially with the minimum crew it takes to man one building, as apposed to four buildings, as the case was in Westwood.
This actually has hit me hard just recently, as I fell out of touch with the staff and moved out of the area – I had no idea it was gone until just a month ago! How I would have loved another walk around the theater, like when I left the company…
I was creating training newsletters for our staff at the time, and when I left, I took my own little tour, and whipped up a goodbye edition. If you will allow me to indulge, I think you will find it is fitting to this situation – and the situations like this all over the country:
ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
Vincent’s Heartfelt Farewell
The neat thing about being in management is that I get the keys to the front door. Recently, knowing my days are numbered, I took advantage of being a key-holder, and went in late at night to take a good look at the buildings I have worked at for for almost two years.
There was no movie playing, of course, and no one else but me in each auditorium. I don’t believe in ghosts or channeling, but I am a firm believer in ambiance. With no one talking in front of me, and no one kicking the back of my seat, I let the theatre do the talking. What did I find?
TONS OF PERSONALITY
It’s amazing what I noticed: The sheer artistry of the Village. The straight lines and sharp angles of the Bruin. The almost unfathomable size of the National.
Why would I do this late night vigil? To remember just how special these theatres are. To remind myself of what it was like the first time I walked into one (want to know the year? Look up Pink Floyd: The Wall). We get so jaded, working here day after day. These places are living history. They will never build houses like these ever again. People actually ask me if they can just come in and look. People constantly take pictures of the marquees from the street. They are subjects of professional photographers and artists, and the goal of every actor is to one day walk down their red carpets. These theatres are one of a kind, not to be repeated.
I wanted to get one last good look before I didn’t have my keys anymore, before I became an average citizen once again. Just a moviegoer, no longer a moviedoer. Yes, I can come to see a movie, but I will no longer be intimately involved with the process. I wanted to remember how lucky I have been: how I was allowed to be a part of the history of these amazing places.
DELUXE PARTING GIFT
As I leave, I want to offer these words of of wisdom to you: Never forget that you are a part of history. The Village not only showed Star Wars Episode III, but the original Star Wars in 1977. The rather uneventful Exorcist: The Beginning played (very briefly) at the National, which Happened to open the Exorcist in 1973. At that time, the National was only three years old!
You are making your own history every day – Spiderman 2, Batman Begins, the Harry Potter films. These films will be remembered, and people will always remember the experience of seeing them here. Every time you see a child walk in for the first time, you are witnessing a lasting memory being created, and you are a part of bringing it to fruition.
Enjoy your time here. Log these memories away in a special place. Never take an opportunity to help our Guests for granted, for it is a memory in the making; both for them, and for you. Twenty years from now, God willing, these places will still be standing. Perhaps you will bring your own children, and will tell them that you worked here, and they will be amazed.
AND FINALLY…
God bless you and keep you – thank you very much for helping me make my own lasting memories. Working with each of you has been a pleasure and a joy. I will miss our day-to-day time together, but I will, of course, see you soon, as I come in and sit down, wait for the lights to dim, the curtain to rise, and the next memory to begin.
Take Care -
Vincent Hase
Well, at least I have my memory of the darkened room, the massive space – and all that ambiance.