Way back when, before he became one of the biggest directors in the world, Quentin Tarantino worked at a video store and loved movies. That love of movies shows in every one of the films he directs. Whether you like Tarantino’s films or not, you can’t decry the man’s passion for film.
For the last seven years, Quentin Tarantino has owned the New Beverly Theater in Los Angeles. However, up until now, Quentin hasn’t really done anything with it.
But now that’s all about to change. Tarantino is ready to take his love of 35mm films and show it to L.A. in a very big way.
L.A. Weekly recently caught up with Quentin Tarantino and asked him about his plans for the theater. Quentin said that the owner of the New Beverly since its grand opening in 1978, Sherman Torgan, had been having difficulty keeping the grand old theater open. Tarantino, who says “I love Los Angeles, and I love the New Beverly,” started giving Torgan five grand a month just so the theater would stay open. It wasn’t a loan, says Tarantino, it was a gift. Sherman Torgan died in 2007, and the next thing Quentin heard was that the new owners were going to tear it down and open a Supercuts.
Instead of letting that travesty happen, Tarantino bought the theater.
Tarantino said the gradual shift away from 35mm films and into digitally shot productions prompted him to take charge as the primary programmer of the New Beverly.
“I want the New Beverly to be a bastion for 35mm films. I want it to stand for something. When you see a film on the New Beverly calendar, you don’t have to ask whether it’s going to be shown in DCP [Digital Cinema Projection] or in 35mm. You know it’s playing in 35 because it’s the New Beverly.
According to Cinema Blend, Tarantino has a 35mm print collection of films that he’s been collecting for over two decades. Quentin talked about which of those films he treasures the most.
“I have all three Sergio Leone Clint Eastwood movies in I.B. Technicolor. Magnificent looking. I just saw the DCP restoration of A Fistful of Dollars at Cannes. I introduced it. I felt like I was watching a DVD. I said, ‘Why didn’t you ask me to bring my f***ing print?’ They said, ‘Well, there was an extra three minutes in this.’ I said, ‘I’ve seen that movie a million times and I didn’t notice those extra minutes. I just noticed that it looked like a f***ing dvd!’”
Tarantino went on to say that the current remodeling of the New Beverly is in process, and when it’s done, movie goers will see a lot of great 50’s, 60’s and 70’s theater decorations. Quentin said he also has a huge trailer collection, which will always play before the features. The Saturday midnight tradition of playing a “weird” movie will continue at the New Beverly, but Friday at midnight the New Beverly will always play a Quentin Tarantino film.
image via Le Nouveaux CinePhile