Hello ladies and gentlemen, Muldoon here with a damn cool treat from filmmaker Julia Marchese. As the bulk of you fine folks realize, the days of actual film reels flying through a projector at your favorite theater are becoming something of the past. I'll be honest here, I'm a massive fan of technology and fully feel it's possible to create incredible films without bringing film into the equation. I'll get flack for that, but at the same time there is a texture, a reality to film that can't currently be duplicated. Folks have made films all about the concept of film vs. digital and well, I haven't seen too many films from the point of view of the theater owner. Well, in a sad turn of events, (of which I have no context and 100% understand I might not have the whole picture here) one of The New Beverly's long time employees, Julia Marchese, has been let go: a true film lover who seemingly isn't willing to bend over while her favorite place on Earth, The New Beverly, transitions into a hipper, more "mainstream" type joint. I've never been to the theater, but have seen my own favorite small theater (now a chain) transform as it's gotten bigger and bigger, each time losing a little bit of what made it special in the first place.
The film's Trailer:
How to Watch the Full Film:
I'm not sure how long Julia plans to keep her film available online, but if you've got an hour and a half to have your film loving mind blown, or are just interested in hearing what folks like Patton Oswalt, Kevin Smith, Joe Dante... (And MANY MORE) have to say about film and The New Beverly, then head on over to the film's Vimeo page. The password (straight from her blog) is: "fightfor35"
Best of luck with the film and in general to Julia Marchese!
- Mike McCutchen
"Muldoon"
Mike@aintitcool.com
Papa Vinyard here, with some thoughts on this situation...
In July, we showed you the trailer for Julia Marchese's doc about the New Beverly Theater here in Los Angeles, and the theater's continual dedication to the notion of preserving and exhibiting 35mm film. Since that time, building owner Quentin Tarantino and his personally approved staff have taken over the New Bev from the Torgan family that ran it for decades, with a strictly-35mm program and personal appearances by QT himself. Which, considering the auteur's enthusiasm for the medium and his endless collection of prints, is absolutely awesome.
However, to quote one of the man's repeated lines, something's rotten in Denmark.
Ms. Marchese has been an employee and a prominent face of the New Bev since she started working there back in '06, but since Tarantino and his people have taken over, she's found herself stranded, confused, and "muzzled" from speaking about any of it on social media. Initially, she was delegated more work, but was then ignored by QT's inferiors, left to figure out the ropes for herself, and worse, was forbidden to bring her complaints to the man himself, who has apparently relented all management decisions to his longtime assistant Julie McClean. She was soon demoted and essentially fired, and has given up her dream of premiering her doc at the New Bev, so she's made it available for public consumption free-of-charge. You can read her personal thoughts on the matter on her blog.
Personally, this bums me out. As a Tarantino fan, I geeked out at the notion of him programming three months of New Beverly double features, and even moreso at the thought of him making a more personal connection with the theater (he's showing up there more regularly than you'd expect, and at some surprising bills). But even before the new reign officially began, I was hearing rumblings that most of the old programmers and staffers were being unceremoniously let go, with all the regular programs we knew and loved being tossed out with the stale hot dogs. "Out with the old, in with the new," isn't that what they say? And nowhere is that adage more true than in this city of Lost Angels. Still, part of what we all loved about that theater on Beverly Boulevard is gone, and whether that's a tragedy or a blessing (or, most likely, merely the passage of time), Ms. Marchese and her doc are a clear representation of that particular, now-gone New Beverly.
Watch Julia's doc below.
Out Of Print from John T. Woods on Vimeo.
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