Out of Print (2014)

[Ed Gordon]

This documentary from 2014 is now available to view on the Kanopy streaming service (US only).

The New Bev is a theater where a double feature is still $8 - cash only. A theater where David Lynch pops by for a secret Q&A and where Edgar Wright introduces our monthly midnight screening of Scott Pilgrim whenever he is in town. A theater where directors program a week of their favorite films and come down to talk about how they inspired them. A theater where Fassbinder, Romero, Scorsese and Hitchcock films all show in the same week. Where you could catch a double feature of Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons - then stick around for the midnight screening of Cool As Ice. A place where the owner and employees genuinely care about cinema and are excited to talk to you about what the ending of Primer really means, or to recommend a film you've maybe never heard of. Since 1978 we've been home to dedicated film geeks, casual moviegoers and some of the greatest directors and actors in the world - everyone is treated equally here. We're one of the last places where that happens. We are essentially running the same way we were when we opened over thirty years ago - double features for a low price with a friendly and knowledgeable staff, independently owned and solely 35mm. But revival theaters are an endangered species. In a time when the multiplex is king, and digital is taking over, this film will accentuate a nearly bygone era of cinema - where moviegoers came not only to watch a film, but also to meet up with other cinephiles and connect. This documentary will highlight the importance of this cultural gem and why the experience of watching a classic film for the first time, on 35mm, with an audience can never be replicated at home. —Julia Marchese

This is a must see for film/cinema lovers.

Here is the trailer:

Website: http://outofprintfilm.com/

[Osi Osgood]

I like it! It's so true! If Hollywood and the "system" could have done so, they would have gotten rid of Celluloid 100 years ago, as the system really isn't about art, it's about profit. Celluloid deserves to be preserved and it's not just a "canvas" that is disposable. It is essential!

[Brian Fretwell]

And it's also due to control. I believe the digital files sent out can only be played on one set of equipment for a set number of times, so no lying about how many seats were available to be sold and no additional screenings without paying more.

[Ed Gordon]

Not many Repertory cinemas survived the transition to digital. Here is another video about a cinema close to me (unfortunately it requires a ferry ride for me to get there).

Now playing: A smalltown movie theater lives

[Adrian Winchester]

I saw it in Brighton, UK some years ago, when Julia (and the print of the film - there's only one according to the website) came over for a few screenings with Q&As. It features the New Beverly Cinema, where Julia had worked, so I'd assumed that Tarantino was supportive to it being made, but I think she indicated that sadly she had been sacked, although she didn't reveal what exactly had happened.

[Ed Gordon]

I found an interview with Julia from 2014, in which she mentions Tarantino.

Cinephiles on both coasts were rattled by Julia Marchese’s blog post last Friday entitled “I Will Not Be Censored,” concerning her departure from Los Angeles’ beloved New Beverly Cinema. Anyone who’s been to the New Bev within the last dozen years will recognize Marchese, for many the welcoming public face of the recently beleaguered rep house. But following a steady trickle of involvement from Quentin Tarantino — first paying the theater’s bills out of love, then becoming its owner, and finally, in September, announcing he’ll be directing a majority of the programming — Marchese was isolated within the staff, and eventually demoted from general manager to working the snack bar.

Full interview: Julia Marchese on The New State of The New Beverly and 35mm

[Zachary Greenberg]

The New Beverly is a great theater! I have been to a couple showings there in LA. One was a showing of a fresh 35mm print of Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs".
Whatever your opinion is of his art, there is no doubt Tarantino is a major player in keeping film projection alive here in the US. If you check out the programming at the New Bev, it is obviously shaped by his taste in cinema.
I recall that the theater prides itself on having projectionists that can still do flawless changeover operation.
Thanks for sharing the link- I haven't heard of this doc until now!