Insomniac Cinema! screens iconic sci-fi films in Westwood theaters
A small crowd attends a midnight screening of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” at the Village Theatre in Westwood as part of Insomniac Cinema!’s weekly series.
Insomniac Cinema!
Saturdays at midnight
Village Theatre or Bruin Theatre
By Ilse Escobar
Oct. 14, 2010 12:48 a.m.
Although the Village Theatre’s marquee boasts the latest Katherine Heigl film, “Life As We Know It,” it was not the movie midnight attendees came for on Saturday. In fact, the last showing of “Life as We Know It” was at 9:50 p.m.
The Village Theatre had a secret ““ it screened one of the most iconic sci-fi films, “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” at midnight. The movie is part of the midnight screenings of the Insomniac Cinema! series at the Regency Theatres.
“I’ve seen (“Terminator 2″) before ““ it’s one of my favorite movies. But I didn’t get to see it on the big screen, so I’m … very excited,” said UCLA alumnus Max Porter-Zasada, in attendance with friend and fellow alumna Kate Ferreri.
Although it was already 10 minutes before the showing, there were about 10 people in the theater. The fact that the weekly screenings are not well-known is unintentional ““ because of low attendance rates, Insomniac Cinema! will not go on past October.
Yet the intimate group that attended “Terminator 2″ agreed that some action films such as “Terminator 2″ were meant to be seen on the big screen. Those who heard about the series have come back for more.
“Two weeks ago, we saw “˜Jurassic Park,’ and now we have a chance to see the Terminator on the silver screen,” said Winston Sakamoto, a 22-year-old audience member at “Terminator 2.”
The midnight show at the Village was several minutes late because “Life As We Know It” had unexpectedly gone over its allotted time. Andrew Gualtieri, host and founder of Insomniac Cinema!, made a brief introduction of the film before the audience could marvel at Schwarzenegger’s monotonic delivery of such iconic lines as “Hasta la vista, baby!”
The small crowd immediately made a ruckus about his Superman tie. Later, there was a groaning, disappointed consensus after Gualtieri mentioned to the audience that Insomnia Cinema! will be discontinued in Westwood.
“It baffles me how the Westood shows didn’t pick up as fast as they should have. People don’t appreciate … the movie (or) the venue. I mean, these are really awesome theaters,” Gualtieri said.
Gualtieri has established Insomniac Cinema! at several Regency Theaters. Currently, four Regency locations in Angora, Pasadena, Ventura and Westwood are participants. The Westwood location will screen a film that is part of the Insomniac Cinema! at midnight either at the Village Theatre or the Bruin Theatre, depending on space availability.
Westwood has already screened several films such as “Jurassic Park” and “RoboCop,” while “Ghostbusters,” “The Lost Boys” and “Shaun of the Dead” are scheduled for the remainder of October.
Gualtieri cites many reasons as to why there have not been big draws in audiences. The information space on upcoming shows is limited to a small poster at the box office window.
According to Gualtieri, proper space for advertising would garner more interest and attendees.
“A lot of these movies that I am playing, they’re older films; a lot of them probably premiered here. There is history to it,” Gualtieri said.
The shows have fared well at the other locations. According to Gualtieri, the recent Oct. 7 screening of “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” drew a large crowd at the Ventura location. Audiences there wore a variety of “Pee-Wee” paraphernalia.
Even with low attendance, after the applauded screening, some audience members have better hopes for the future of Insomniac Cinema! in Westwood.
“Now that we know about it, we are thinking of coming back. We wish it had been more advertised. I hope this becomes a regular thing,” Porter-Zasada said.
