The New Beverly, from its opening in 1978 to its current, Quentin Tarantino-owned incarnation, has always been a landmark for Los Angeles film geeks. The theater's dedication to running double features for low costs ($8 on most nights) in 35mm whenever possible has won over the hearts of many a filmgoer AND filmmaker. Many of said attendees appear on camera for this documentary about the theater and its devotion to 35mm, including Kevin Smith, Joe Carnahan, Joe Dante, Rian Johnson, Seth Green, Richard Kelly, Patton Oswalt, and Edgar Wright.
Julia Marchese's OUT OF PRINT focuses on the New Beverly, the revival house scene in general, and the increasing danger that screening 35mm is going to be rooted out by technology and studio reluctance. Film is an expensive format, and the projectors require a lot of money and care, so if the profits don't come in or the studio is stingy with their prints (which seems to be imminent), screening it could very well become an impossibility. The New Bev (and theaters like it) are fighting to keep 35mm exhibition alive, and hopefully this doc, and the big names that permeate it, can create some sort of traction for the effort to keep 35 as a viable entity.
I was worshipping at the altar of the New Beverly just last night, and I can swear by its magnificence based on firsthand knowledge. I mean the stuff they run; they had a freaking WAKE IN FRIGHT/ROAD GAMES double bill last year, curated by Patton (who hadn't seen either), and it was pitch-perfect. They did PAPER MOON with NEBRASKA for a heap of black-and-white goodness, and Bob Odenkirk showed up. They just did massive cast & crew Q & A screenings for both AMERICAN PIE and FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT. Match that with the great staff, low prices, and surprisingly solid Hebrew National hot dogs, and the place is something of a church among theaters in L.A. We don't get a Drafthouse out here in L.A., but at least we have the New Bev, and I'm glad to see it getting paid homage in this doc.
-Vincent Kim-Zahedi
”Papa Vinyard”
vincentzahedi@gmail.com
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