Breaking: Jason Reitman & Top Directors Buy Iconic Westwood’s Village Theater! Must Read!

The Village Theater, a historic cinema located in Westwood, Los Angeles, and favored by many movie enthusiasts, is now under the administration of a new management team which includes some of Hollywood’s biggest names.

This Wednesday, a group of directors led by Jason Reitman announced that they have finalized a deal to take over the 93-year-old cinema. Known for hosting movie premieres since its inauguration in 1931, the theater is distinguished by its 170-foot white Spanish Revival/Art Deco tower, a symbol of classic Hollywood glamour for film aficionados.

The Village, originally part of the Fox Theaters chain and designated a historic-cultural monument in 1988, has been managed by the Regency Theatres group since 2010. When the cinema — featured as a location in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” — was put up for sale last year, Reitman promptly rallied fellow filmmakers to buy it.

Reitman, an L.A. native and son of the late comedy director Ivan Reitman, grew up watching films at the Village. The premiere of his 2007 hit movie “Juno” was held at the theater.

The mission to preserve the Village Theater has united a diverse group of Oscar-winning filmmakers spanning various genres. The new owners include directors such as Christopher Nolan, J.J. Abrams, Guillermo del Toro, Christopher McQuarrie, Judd Apatow, Damien Chazelle, Steven Spielberg, Chris Columbus, Bradley Cooper, Alfonso Cuarón, Hannah Fidell, Alejandro González Iñárritu, James Gunn, Sian Heder, Rian Johnson, Gil Kenan, Karyn Kusama, Justin Lin, Phil Lord, David Lowery, Chris Miller, Todd Phillips, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Reitman, Jay Roach, Seth Rogen, Emma Seligman, Emma Thomas, Denis Villeneuve, Lulu Wang and Chloé Zhao.

The theater, which features a large auditorium seating over 1,300 people, a 70mm-capable screen and an upgraded sound system, will present a combination of first-run films and repertory programming curated by the theater’s owners.

Several filmmakers, including Lin, Prince-Bythewood, Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris, Brad Silberling and Alexander Payne, are UCLA alumni, with the university located just a block away from the theater.

The directors intend to display artifacts from their personal collections within the theater, including props, wardrobe items and film prints. Over time, plans include the addition of a restaurant, bar and gallery, but the theater will continue operations throughout.

Reitman discussed the motivation behind the deal, the current state of cinema-going and the future of the Village Westwood with The Times on Wednesday.

You grew up visiting the Village Theater long before you became a director. Can you share your early memories of being there?

Reitman: I distinctly recall queueing around the corner for as long as I can remember my father taking me to the movies. That was my introduction to the cinema-going experience: arriving early, lining up around the corner and feeling like I was part of a community of people who were passionate about movies, who couldn’t wait to see a film on opening night and who knew that the discussions before and after the movie were almost as important as watching the movie itself.

Many filmmakers clearly hold a special affection for this theater given the number that stepped up to be part of this. When did discussions begin about taking over the Village?

What struck me was how quickly everything fell into place.

I learned that the theater was on the market last summer, and I recalled what happened to the National Theatre just a few blocks away [which closed in 2007 and was demolished]. I also heard that one of the interested buyers wanted to convert it into a live musical theater venue while another was considering transforming the interior into retail space.

I immediately submitted a bid and contacted directors I knew. The response was immediate and positive. I think the first directors I spoke to were Rian Johnson and Guillermo del Toro, who both immediately agreed to join. The more directors I approached, the more positive responses I received, and I kept hearing the same sentiment, which was that we unwittingly shared a common vision to collectively own a movie theater that could serve as a community hub for everyone who loves movies, a place where you could grab a coffee or a bite to eat before or a drink after and enjoy movies in every way.

This has been a challenging time for many movie theaters, particularly in L.A., and some, like the ArcLight and the Landmark, have not survived. At the same time, we’re also seeing new signs of life in the local movie scene with theaters like the Egyptian, Vidiots and Quentin Tarantino’s Vista Theater, and the announcement of a new film festival. How do you see your acquisition of the Village in the context of all this?

We spent the last few years indoors and we are all rediscovering why we want to go out, why we want to watch sports, why we want to go out and dance. Live-streaming has made it effortless to watch things at home. But in doing so, we’ve lost something truly important, which is the habitual experience of going to the movies and watching them together.

There’s a reason why Christmas is the biggest movie-going day of the year. It’s that day when you’re with your family and you need to find an activity that you can all enjoy together. Movies genuinely bring us together, and I believe this is a great moment to highlight how enjoyable it is to go to the movies and how crucial films are for community building.

Building a community is particularly challenging in a city like L.A., but the Village has been an integral part of downtown Westwood for a long time.

You know, there’s something in the name: Westwood is a village and this theater is called the Village. I think that’s what we all yearn for. No matter how technologically advanced we become, no matter how much we crave the city center, there’s a part of us that always yearns for a village. This is a village for movies.

With such a diverse and sizable group of filmmakers involved, how do you foresee the evolution of the theater’s repertory programming?

I think the programming will reflect the directors, and I’m really proud of the fact that we have a very cross-generational group that represents every genre of filmmaking. This is a movie theater that is co-owned by Christopher Nolan and Emma Seligman, Steven Spielberg and Lulu Wang.

We want this to be a showcase for first-run movies on one of the country’s largest screens with the best picture and sound quality. Simultaneously, it will be a place where you can see indie films, international films, repertory films, programmed by one of your favorite directors.

So what happens in the coming months? The theater will obviously remain open, but it sounds like there are ambitious plans to remodel it with a restaurant and bar.

[Dryly] Well, as you know, renovations in Los Angeles are a breeze. Construction is a piece of cake.

The theater will remain open for the foreseeable future as we finalize plans, but things are already in motion. We have an exciting vision that includes dining, drinking, movie-going, gallery viewing, and programming of new and old films, and we cannot wait to share that with everyone.

Do those plans involve acquiring other property adjacent to the theater or nearby?

[Laughs] Do you know how challenging it was to unite a group of 30 people to buy this one building? Right now, I honestly feel like I’m living in a dream. It was only a matter of months ago when I was standing in front of this theater, wondering if I could help save it. And just a week ago, I was in the lobby with my idols, directors who inspired me to become a director myself, and we stood together like a group of excited kids in disbelief that we now own this theater. And that thrill is driving me every day right now.

Will the repertory programming start soon? Any hint of what we can expect?

It’s a great question, and we can’t wait to share more. I think we’re going to have to find a balance.

Here is what I’d say: I love what’s happening in Los Angeles right now and I’d love to see it eventually happen across the country. And with the Village, we believe there’s an opportunity to not only have a great community home for cinema in Los Angeles, but also to create the kind of theater that we hope will one day exist across the country.