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Los Angeles has lost a lot of movie screens in the last year or so. We also have gained several really impressive theaters in recent years. But as someone who has always loved going out to movies and who grew up working in theaters, it always saddens me to see one close. Last month, Laemmle bid a nostalgic adieu to the Sunset 5 after almost 20 years as 
a stalwart of indie and art house favorites plus midnight guilty pleasures as well as local festival fare. “We had a nice run,” said Laemmle president Greg Laemmle, but the exhibitor was unable to reach a new lease agreement. (See Progress video at end of post) Not far away, Regency Theatres, which took over the Village and Bruin in Westwood, closed the Fairfax 3. Previous endeavors to sustain the Fairfax included those of Laemmle and Cineplex Odeon. Westwood saw the shuttering of the Avco Center 4 and the Majestic Crest. The Beverly Center 13-plex had its last gasp in 2010. The newer, larger and plusher Grove, Landmark and AMC’s newer Century City venue have more or less taken their place. In addition, Arclight in Hollywood lures moviegoers from points west, east, south and north. The Arclight concept has spread.
In the meantime Laemmle has built a new seven-plex in North Hollywood, long an underserved neighborhood. “We are the first new theater in the vicinity for many years,” Laemmle said. The NoHo 7 is almost ready for its closeup tomorrow at 5240 Lankershim Blvd (in front of the TV Academy). The NoHo 7 is all-digital projection and all 5.1 stereo sound – but no 3D. The complex has almost 1100 seats. Laemmle said construction, equipment and fixtures cost roughly $7.5 million. Situated in the heart of the NoHo Arts District, the free-standing theater is near eateries, comedy and music clubs plus Equity-waiver stages. “Lots of people live within walking distance, Laemmle pointed out. “We are also just a short walk from the North Hollywood Metro station.” Parking will be convenient in the adjacent structure to the northeast. With validation it will be cheaper than the limited street parking. Who knows, maybe North Hollywood will launch its own film festival or become a satellite of an existing one. The Sunset 5 also may thrive again in the embrace of the site’s new leaseholder Sundance Cinemas. As a line from a movie that probably wouldn’t get made in today’s altered studio landscape put it, “If you build it, they will come.” I hope it’s true.
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The Sunset 5 showed great films, but it was a lousy inconvenient theatre.
the freak’in TMZ office, trader joes and starbucks made the rent rise, no wonder they couln’t survive at that location anymore.
feel sad the sunset 5 closed, i live in the neighborhood. i shop at joes, etc. still i hardly ever went to the sunset 5, mostly because, in general, the movie-going experience in general is hideous. a generous thanks to all at the sunset 5.
Thank you for mentioning that FIELD OF DREAMS wouldn’t get made today. Recently, friends and I were sitting around rattling off the movies that would never get made today (NETWORK, NORMA RAE, KRAMER VS. KRAMER, etc.) and it got to be so depressing we just gave up. And we all work in the business.
Add Taxi Driver to that list. You know it’s true.
Didn’t they try with DRIVE?
You haven’t seen Taxi Driver, have you?
So how did Juno get in?
What L.A. really needs is an Alamo Drafthouse. (What’s taking them so long?)
That video blames downloads. Perhaps. I blame movies by committee and high-ticket prices combined with expensive snacks.
Eric is right. My wife & I haven’t been out to a movie since “The Hangover” (the first one). It’s just too expensive; too many teenagers talking, texting, being disruptive; bad movie choices; lack of parking; overpriced snacks; etc. Why go to the movies, when Netfilx brings it right to your home, on your LCD television and Blu-Ray DVD machine? You can pause the movie, change the volume, choose not to wear shoes, etc. There is no reason to go to a theater unless you just HAVE to be the first to see a movie, or just NEED to get out of the house.
The Laemmle NoHo 7 in North Hollywood (NoHo) looks like a winner to me. The area is ripe for a classy art cinema this is the ticket. Can’t wait.
It was becoming a bit emaressing when orange county and Santa Barbara county were coming up with better movie houses than within LA City limits, however, just a natural progression of time in an older city where getting large things built is no small miracle, NFL modern stadium anyone? What great movie multi- palaces now, but all cyclacle — ask the grander single palaces in Downtown Los Angeles hiding in the darkness from tens and 1920s. If only some councilman or woman would really get to work on those
It’s not about a single theater location, it’s about other, newer theaters bullying the older theaters out of business.
First it was the AMC Century City theater. Less than a decade after that theater opened the theaters in Westwood Village went from 19 to 9 (UA Westwood 4 plex closed around the same time as the Mann 4 plex, then the Mann Plaza closed, then the Mann National closed) and now to 3 (at then end of last year the Mann Festival closed and then the Avco Center 4 and the Majestic Crest closed earlier this year).
The next bullying was the Arclight Hollywood. That led to the eventual closing of the Fairfax Cinemas and the Laemmle 5. Plus, the Grauman Chinese theater and Chinese 6 theaters have basically become second run theaters.
It’s also happening now at the Arclight Sherman Oaks. The theaters around it are beginning to either close or become second run theaters.
Even the AMC Century City theater fell into the “old” category so they tore the theater down and built a brand new theater on the other side of the same mall.
Los Angeles just doesn’t have time for anything a little bit older. People only seem to like the new and upgraded.
You seem to have a problem with change.
Arclight offered better options for the money… chose of seating, upgraded seats, classy/professional appointments, etc.
Obviously you don’t know anything about running a business or competition. If you want to stay in business for years, you have to keep upgrading. The Laemelle in North Hollywood replaced the old run down piece of crap theater that been there for years. They needed to upgrade it or tear it down.
Offering customer better quality isn’t bullying. Either you stay in the kitchen and take the heat or get the F out.
Los Angeles is ten years behind this trend in most major US markets. The City needed upgraded theaters, it’s a natural progression. I wouldn’t want to build these large movie places it’s a very 1990s model already. One day the smaller theaters will come back as they always will be in vogue as more people turn to home viewing and VOD release and theatrical dates are realeased same day and date. It’s happening. Fret not, people will alwys go o he movies just perhaps not every singl one.
While I was sorry to see the Sunset 5 close, (many were the art films I’d seen there) in recent years it had become quite shabby, from uncomfortable seat at odd angles to the screen to bathrooms with chipped and peeling paint. Other closed theaters, like the Fairfax 3-Plex suffered from the ultimate Los Angeles sin: no dedicated parking. Hunting up and down nearby streets, most with parking restrictions, made going there even for 3rd run films a chore. The newer theaters simply are a better experience, even if they cost more–close parking, often near restaurants, stadium seating, big screens with great sound, etc. But while I was an early and avid fan of the Arclight, the recent price hike plus parking fees in Hollywood have curtailed my going there. Even the Landmark in West Hollywood reentry started charging for parking. I know business owners have a right to make money, but they have to feeling a drop as many movie goers like myself just aren’t going to shell out as much cash as often.
Sundance is insane if they think they can make that site work for a high end movie house. That location has always been lousy, terrible traffic, bad location from almost every part of the city and nothing around it that is welcoming at all. That’s the problem with letting out of towners make decisions for your company. Sundance decision maker are all New Yorkers who are clueless about LA.
actually, that ‘s not true. the trader joe’s there is the most convenient tj’s in the area. easy parking, rarely crowded.
That neighborhood has morphed into a walking neighborhood. A better-maintained theater with the right programming will do well.
Burbank and Third Street. The only two places worth seeing movies anymore. When I came out here as a young writer in ’87, there were theaters all over the place. Westwood was amazing, with 19 screens, restaurants, shopping, the UCLA libraries and Diddy Reese… Now, I’ve just sold a huge film to the studios (finally!) and I can’t imagine where it will be playing in 2014.
Congratulations on your sale!!
And thanks for the always welcome reminder not to give up!
I love the New Beverly and Cinefamily (Silent Movie Theatre)! I want to see the Palace reopen downtown. The theatre in NOHO is the greatest move anyone has made in years! I want to see more independents open. I hated the Sunset 5 unless you walked there from a friends house it sucked parking. The real shame is the theatre that is a Bookstar in Studio City, and no theatres in old town Burbank.
Its also about my FLATSCREEN being bigger then the screens were at the Sunset 5.. same with the old Beverly center 13 theaters.. just saying
and my ipad on my lap is proportionally larger than my flat screen across the room.
NoHo does have a film fest…The Valley Film Festival, launching its 12th year.
Ahh, the death of cinema is upon us. Pretty soon, people will just remain bolted to their sofas as they stream movies on their mini-iPads while watching through the coke-rimmed glasses they need from the eye strain.
I remember these theatres well. As a moviegoer, I enjoyed many a film – good and bad – at these theatres; as an armchair film critic, I spent days and nights, writing notes in the dark, in these cinemas; and as a film promoter, I organized many advance screenings at them.
I saw my first Christian Slater movie – “Gleaming the Cube” – at the Fairfax 3. There, I also received the first movie poster for my developing collection.
I saw my second film in Los Angeles at the Beverly Center Cineplex Odeon theatres.
We held many screenings and spent hours watching movies at the Laemmle Sunset 5. Admittedly, I hated going to this theatre, simply because it was out of my way, and the parking situation was horrendous. This shopping center began its demise when Virgin Records closed. After that, it was just a matter of time before the theatre shuttered its doors.
Although it doesn’t focus as much on the really small indie films that Laemmle Sunset 5 offered, the new Landmark theatre is a welcome sight on the westside.
I refuse to pay for movies at the Arclight, so I have only gone there when I am invited to free screenings. I cannot stand going to the Grove. And I miss the original AMC Century City theatres, where I spent several days a week since the multiplex opened.
Yes, change can be good; but, oftentimes, change can be bad, too.
Yeah the Sunset 5 was one of the biggest dumps ever. Don’t get me started on the parking. To pay L.A. ticket prices for small, shabby old school (i.e. shitty small screen up high in narrow theaters…like TV in a bar)and then have to sit in the parking garage for up to an hour choking on the hot air and car exhaust trying to get out. Good riddance.
Nooooo~Not the Laemmle Subnset 5!!!! where will I go for my next epic film starring tanna frederick?!?
There is a North Hollywood Film Festival already.
It’s been growing every year too.
http://www.valleyfilmfest.com/valleyfilmfest/app/home
Distribution agreements between studios and big theatre chains are primarily to blame for the demise of single-screen local theatres. They can’t compete for the big product and if they’re sold out, there aren’t any other options. The Vista in Silver Lake is a great example of how a neighborhood can nurture a single-screen theatre. They are in a perfect location that enables them to get high-level new releases; there’s nothing like going to that big old theatre and seeing it filled with locals. Even the crappy Los Feliz Cinemas manage to do good business due to the advantage the location gives them for booking. I’m not so sad that a charmless multiplex has closed (I saw a ton of movies at the Sunset 5, but more than once I had complaints about how the site was managed) as I am that the movie-going experience in general continues to decline. Hooray for Tarantino for refurbishing the New Beverly and hooray to Cinefamily for being creative and different and offering great programming. We need more houses like that!
Westwood: single screens are no longer viable. Mann could have built the Century City theatre but didn’t and sealed their theatres fate. Parking always was an issue not to mention CRIME. The majority of the single screens such as the Plaza, Festival and Regent were run down and expensive to staff and maintain. Anyone waxing poetic about those locations truly ask yourself – when was the last time you attended a movie there? The AVCO has been a dump for over 20 years. AMC finally had the decency to close it’s doors. Now if the building owners would only remove the blight of a marquee off the building. The theatres that should survive are (except the National which was a real loss). Regency is running The Village and Bruin and I thank them for saving these gems when AMC and Regal both passed.
Santa Monica: 3rd street unfortunately is NOT a great place to see a movie. The theatres are run down, cramped and down right 80′s fugly with the Criterion being the best of the bunch. AMC AIM HIGHER. Laemmle, maybe bleach could help? Ick ick ick.
Sunset 5: Good LORD – the theatre was a DUMP. Good riddance! Sundance coming in is a GIFT – why crap on them for doing so? The last time I visited the theatre I felt PUNISHED.
Laemmle NoHo: Sadly a complete disaster. It’s nearly 2012 and the majority of the auditoriums have an AISLE where the best seats should be! Did they use old plans from a 1970′s multi-plex?. Cement floors, nearly bare walls and exposed ceilings are NOT edgy it’s CHEAP. What a disappointment. They could have worked with studios to develop some really unique features to support art house product and instead they built a theatre that is obsolete on opening day. EPIC FAIL.
Arclight: The economy hasn’t been kind to the higher priced venues (or their patrons) but still the best presentation in town for a multi-plex experience and they changed the game for everyone so give them a little credit. PS Pacific – the ticket prices are TOO HIGH. Please reconsider. Pretty please?
Chinese: You can thank Paramount and W.Bros for destroying the Mann chain and the Chinese. Now run as an independent it is struggling for bookings outside of tent poles. Location isn’t easy to get in and out of but the Grauman’s single screen next to the Village in Westwood has the best sound and picture (better than Dome) on the west coast next to Skywalker Ranch. If you have any love for this industry you should support this theatre and the still standing Westwood locations.
Landmark: Paid parking has damaged the overall experience – the parking lot design is a JOKE (okay not their fault) but it often takes 20 minutes to get out of the garage. Imagine their bar has taken a hit with the far superior bartenders (and food) at the Westside Tavern but a nice venue none the less. What is lame is the ridiculous numbering systems for the assigned seating (I’ve seen people nearly come to blows -it shouldn’t be this complicated!) and worst of all are the poor sight lines and presentation. Understand you can’t move pillars but upgrade your equipment. I BEG YOU.
The movie-going business has changed. New technologies and the tastes of consumers (in regard to amenities) dictates these changes. Older theatres don’t deserve to continue operating if they aren’t offering a quality experience and are convenient to get to. If you stand back and look objectively there is a lot of good news in LA for movie going. The LA Live is a great place to see a film – big theatres, lots of restaurants and activity. The Century 15 is easy to get in and out of and now has assigned seating – Mr. Lopez how about a cocktail lounge instead of the lame smoothie central and allowing studios to cover the murals/signage promoting film from 50 years ago to todays product? Pacific has upgraded their Pasadena and Southbay locations to Arclight’s and The Grove is fun theatre to see a film at (although poorly managed) so it’s not as bad as some would suggest. After writing all of the above I suppose I could have just said:
Poorly maintained/managed, overpriced, outdated, badly designed and hard to get to movie theatres hurt the industry. THE END.
But I didn’t. Oops.
Hey ‘Get a grip’, get a grip why don’t you. The Laemmle NoHo 7 is a terrific theatre, it’s only been open for one day, give it a chance. The programming looks good and the stadium seating and projection is tops. Friendly staff too.
Campfire Film is a new DIY single screen in Hollywood next to the Egyptian Theatre. They did a cool event with the Dodgeball Society on Sunday. We need more homegrown endeavors like this popping up in every neighborhood. Not every theatre has to be pimped out. There is room in this exhibitor model for gamechangers.