Fox Theater, Westwood Village

Regency Village Theatre
Regency Village Theatre with iconic tower
Location961 Broxton Avenue, Westwood, Los Angeles, California
Coordinates34°03′46″N 118°26′51″W / 34.062684°N 118.447407°W / 34.062684; -118.447407
Built1931
ArchitectPercy Parke Lewis
Architectural stylesCalifornia Churrigueresque
(Spanish Colonial Revival)
Governing bodyPrivate
DesignatedJune 21, 1988[1]
Reference no.362
Fox Theater, Westwood Village is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Fox Theater, Westwood Village
Location of Regency Village Theatre in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
The Emoji Movie premiere, Westwood Village

Regency Village Theatre (formerly Fox Theatre, Westwood Village or Fox Village Theatre, commonly called Westwood Village Theatre) is a historic, landmark cinema in Westwood, Los Angeles, California in the heart of the Mediterranean-themed shopping and cinema precinct, opposite Fox Bruin Theater, near the University of California, Los Angeles. The Regency Theaters chain lease ended in July 2024. The seating capacity of the cinema is about 1,400.[2]

Westwood Village Theatre was the site for many Hollywood movie premieres in Los Angeles.[3][4]

History

Designed by architect Percy Parke Lewis,[5] the theater was originally built in 1930 and first opened on August 14, 1931,[2] in a Spanish Mission style.[5][2] The theater was part of a widespread cinema construction program undertaken by Fox West Coast Theatres. The theater is part of Westwood Village, a 1920s Mediterranean-style village development adjoining the University of California Los Angeles planned by Harold and Edwin Janss of the Janss Investment Company.

In the 1940s, the theater's backstage areas were bricked off.[2] The theater was given a Skouras remodel in 1951, adding plaster gold swirls on the stage area side-walls, exit upgrades, new carpet, and lobby upgrades, including California Gold Rush artwork. The theater's capacity was also increased to 1,535.[2][6]

In 1973, National General Theatres, the former Fox Theatres-West Coast, sold this theater to Mann Theatres.[7] In the late 1970s, new 70mm projection equipment was installed and a larger screen was added.[citation needed]

In 1988, the Fox Theatre was designated by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission as an Historic Cultural Monument (HCM #362).[1] The theater was remodeled c. 1998-1999.[2]

In 2010, Mann Theatres went out of business and Regency Theatres became the operator of this theater.[8] In 2014, Regency added Dolby Atmos to the theater for the movie Transcendence.[citation needed] In 2019, this theater became the first THX Ultimate Cinema™ theater.[9]

An investor group led by Jason Reitman agreed to buy the theater in February 2024. The group consisted of more than two dozen filmmakers; besides Reitman, the group also includes J. J. Abrams, Judd Apatow, Damien Chazelle, Chris Columbus, Ryan Coogler, Bradley Cooper, Todd Phillips, Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, Hannah Fidell, James Gunn, Sian Heder, Rian Johnson, Gil Kenan, Karyn Kusama, Justin Lin, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, David Lowery, Christopher McQuarrie, Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, Alexander Payne, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Jay Roach, Seth Rogen, Emma Seligman, Brad Silberling, Steven Spielberg, Denis Villeneuve, Lulu Wang and Chloé Zhao. The group said it planned to add a restaurant, bar, and gallery to the theater, and also to showcase props, wardrobe, and film collections from their personal collections, most notably Columbus's collection of 16mm film prints.[10]

On July 25, 2024, Regency Village Theater closed after its lease expired.[11][12] The theater is set to reopen in 2027 and will be programmed by American Cinematheque.[13]

Architectural features

The theater features a 170-foot[14] white Spanish Revival/Moderne[15] tower which looms over the Broxton and Weyburn Avenues intersection. Atop the tower is a blue and white metal Art Deco “Fox” sign, which was renovated in the late 1980s.

Carved winged lions sit halfway up the tower at the base of projecting columns. A blue and white sign with the legend "Fox Westwood Village" is positioned at the bottom of the tower just above the entrance. By night, the elegant white tower literally becomes a beacon with its signs and the shaft of the tower illuminated.

The rectangular cinema building immediately behind the tower features long rows of Churrigueresque stucco decorations. Perched atop the corners of the building stand carved griffins.

Movie premieres

Westwood Village hosts about 24 movie premieres per year.[16] Films that debuted at the theater include:[3][4][17][18][19]

References

  1. ^ a b Department of City Planning. "Designated Historic-Cultural Monuments". City of Los Angeles. Archived from the original on June 9, 2010. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Regency Village Theater - Mann Village Theater". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  3. ^ a b Thorne, William (October 1, 2015). "Westwood home to long history of Hollywood film debuts since 1931". Daily Bruin. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Movie Premiere Westwood Village". Getty Images. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Fox Westwood Village Theatre". ArchitectDB. Retrieved September 3, 2008.
  6. ^ "Carl G. Moeller: Theatre Architect". historic theatre photos .com. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  7. ^ "National General's Chinese". cinelog.org. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  8. ^ Linthicum, Kate (April 1, 2010). "2 historic Westwood theaters saved from possible closure". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  9. ^ "THX Launches World's First THX Ultimate Cinema™ at Regency Westwood Village Theatre". THX. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  10. ^ Saperstein, Pat (February 21, 2024). "Jason Reitman Acquires Fox Village Westwood Theater With Filmmakers Including Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, JJ Abrams, Chloé Zhao". Variety. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  11. ^ "Historic Westwood Theaters Close Their Doors". Beverly Hills Courier. July 28, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024. July 25 marked the end of a movie-going era in Westwood, when the curtains fell on the village's two 1930s-era movie houses. The Regency Village Theatre (formerly the Fox Theater, Westwood Village) and the Fox Bruin Theater closed their doors at the end of the business night, when their leases expired.
  12. ^ James, Meg (July 21, 2024). "Beloved historic movie theaters Westwood Village and Bruin to close this week". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  13. ^ https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2025-11-18/american-cinematheque-to-operate-program-village-theater-2027-reopening
  14. ^ "Village Theatre reopens tonight in Westwood". Los Angeles Times. October 18, 1951.
  15. ^ Gebhard, David; Winter, Robert (2003). An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles (5 ed.). Gibbs Smith. ISBN 978-1-58685-308-2.
  16. ^ Zhang, Enming (April 29, 2019). "Committee discusses movie premieres' impact on Westwood Village businesses". Daily Bruin. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  17. ^ "Movie premieres in Westwood Village". Westwood Village Improvement Association. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  18. ^ Rizzo, Carita (August 10, 2018). "Mark Wahlberg, Peter Berg Talk Making a "Character-Driven Action Movie" With 'Mile 22'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  19. ^ "'Bullet Train' premiere in Los Angeles". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Theater,_Westwood_Village