Quentin Tarantino Buys Iconic 'Crown Jewel' Vista Theatre in Los Angeles: It'll Show 'Only Film'
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AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images; Inset: Vivien Killilea/Getty Vista Theatre in Los Angeles
Quentin Tarantino has made another financial investment in Los Angeles history.
On Monday's episode of Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, the storied director revealed that he purchased the city's iconic Vista Theatre, located in the neighborhood of Los Feliz on Sunset. (He currently owns the New Beverly Cinema, which he bought over a decade ago.)
Saying that the theater would likely reopen "around Christmas time" after being shut down amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Tarantino, 58, said the Vista will screen "only film" and not "be a revival house."
"We'll show new movies that come out where they give us a film print. It's not going to be like the New Beverly," said the Pulp Fiction helmer. "The New Beverly has its own vibe. The Vista is like a crown jewel kind of thing."
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David Livingston/Getty Vista Theatre in Los Angeles
"We'll show older films, but it will be like you can hold a four-night engagement," he added.
Tarantino also told Shepard, 46, that he dislikes many movie-theater chains "where they're showing commercials all through it, they don't turn the lights down, everything is stadium seating, plastic s---."
"They have been writing their own epitaph for a long time, but they assumed the business would take you along," he lamented. "It's been crazy throughout my career to see how the film experience is lessened for the viewer like every five years."
"I never like any theater closing, but some of these exhibitors that are going, they f---ing deserve to go," he added.
Amy Sussman/Getty Quentin Tarantino
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The landmark Vista Theatre first opened almost 100 years ago, on Oct. 9, 1923. Originally titled the Lou Bard Playhouse and also featuring vaudeville acts, its first film was Tips starring Baby Peggy, according to the venue's official website.
It was featured in the 1993 film True Romance, which Tarantino directed. It was the place where lovers Clarence (Christian Slater) and Alabama (Patricia Arquette) first meet.
Meanwhile, the New Beverly on Beverly Boulevard reopened in mid-June after also having its doors shuttered due to COVID-19 — and according to The Hollywood Reporter, shows have been sold out every night since.
As for whether Tarantino is planning another addition to his own repertoire before retiring from filmmaking, the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood director hasn't confirmed one way or the other.
He did, however, recently post the possibility of Maya Hawke playing real-life mom Uma Thurman's daughter in a potential Kill Bill: Vol. 3, saying last week on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast that the pairing "would be f---ing exciting."
