LABJ FORUM – Enjoying the Show
With stadium-style seating, enormous screens and in-house bars, theaters like Pacific Theatres at the Grove, The Bridge: Cinema de Lux and ArcLight Cinemas are cutting into the business at L.A.’s older multiplexes even though ticket prices are higher. So the Business Journal asks:
What is your favorite movie theater and why?
Cynthia Amador
President and Chief Executive
CHARO Community Development Corp.
My favorite is that new one in Hollywood, the ArcLight. It’s so beautiful. I love the little coffee bar; it’s so Alice in Wonderland. The seating is wonderful. I love that you can pre-buy assigned seating, and the seats are very comfortable. I go to the movies at least two or three times a month.
Leslie Frank
Partner
King Holmes Paterno & Berliner LLP
The theater I go to most often is Laemmle’s Regent Showcase on La Brea because it shows art films and independent films. I don’t feel the need to keep up on blockbuster movies people are talking about. It’s my favorite because it has a lot of character. There are round, tapestry walls and a feeling you can’t get in any other theater I’ve been to in L.A. I got to the movies probably twice a month. I’ve been to The Grove, and it’s a very nice, clean, aesthetically pleasing place. They’ve done a good job of making it seem like a classic theater.
Eric Brown
Deputy Mayor of Human Services
City of Los Angeles
The two I go to are The Bridge and the AMC 14 in Century City. I live nearby, so they’re convenient. I like the AMC because I can go the restaurants in the area. I go to The Bridge because of the stadium seating and the high seatbacks; I can see better. I go to the movies probably three times a month. My wife and I go to the movies whenever our schedules allow, so we can spend some time together.
Daniel E. Furst
Professor of Rheumatology
UCLA Medical Center
It’s a small theater off Laurel Canyon in the Valley. It’s convenient, relatively inexpensive and pretty up-to-date. If I go down to Westwood, I pay $9 or $10. If I go to my theater, it’s $6 or $7. Parking is easy and free. There’s nothing wrong with the big theaters. I guess people go to them to be seen, which I just don’t understand. I go to the movies every two weeks or so. It’s a way for my wife and I to spend some time together.
Katherine Ashton
Partner
Bryan Cave LLP
The theater at the Commons in Calabasas. I didn’t realize how nice it was until I went to a theater in Santa Monica that had cement floors. I thought the luxury theaters with stadium seats were the standard now. I go to the movies maybe once a month, but I spend most of the time in the hallways with my three-year old. The theater is kid friendly.
Jeffrey Briggs
Partner
Alschuler Grossman Stein & Kahan LLP
The one I prefer is The Grove. It’s brand new, very spacious, has comfortable seating and the environment is second to none. It’s just a great, fun place to eat shop and see a movie. I usually go to the movies with my wife, probably once a month. And I actually go more often now since The Grove opened.
