nosh nook #201 - monday, december 21, 2009

theater chain puts a luxe twist on dinner and a movie (link)
12.21.09 - l.a. times - by richard verrier & jessica gelt

i've never visited l.a., but over the years i've definitely formed an opinion about the city from 3,000 miles away. basically, l.a. is a sprawling, autocentric megalopolis filled with bumper-to-bumper traffic, hollywood celebrities, gangsta gangstas, boob jobs/porn stars, a huge spanish-speaking population, corrupt cops, zen spirituality & the dodgers. it's a classy blend of excitement filling almost 500 square miles of southern california. that's A LOT of classiness. i mean, head down to skid row some time. i hear that area literally REEKS of luxury.

since l.a.'s a city that's largely driven by hollywood, much of its luxuriousness revolves around films. for instance, there's the moviegoing experience. the l.a. times reports that "australian theater operator village roadshow ltd" recently opened their first gold class cinemas "luxury movie theater" in pasadena & ooh la la is it luxurious(ish). thus far, they've opened three locations in the us.--two in the chicago suburbs & one in redmond, wa--& they have "plans to open as many as 30 luxury theaters nationwide over the next five years."

here's what it's like. once you've plopped down $29 for your ticket, you're ushered into a pre-film lounge by a concierge & when the movie's ready to start, you're seated in a 24-40 seat theater with "giant suede recliners, each with an oval table and glowing buttons that summon a server to take an order for a chilled martini, a plate of charcuterie or a chicken piccata sandwich." whilst watching the film, you can get items like "a $49 bottle of schramsberg wine," "a $14 plate of fried calamari" or "a $19 new york strip steak sandwich." that's tasty, tasty luxury, folks.

the times notes that luxury theaters that serve food & drink are nothing new. alamo drafthouse (in austin), mega-chain AMC entertainment, arclight cinemas (hollywood & sherman oaks), the bridge cinema de lux (near LAX) & muvico theaters (thousand oaks) already "offer many of the same amenities." i'm not sure if luxury theaters are exactly what he had in mind, but i had a college professor who felt that if we raised the price of movie tickets to make them comparable to a sporting event, play, or concert, people would have a greater respect for films & be more careful in choosing which ones they saw. i think it'd just make people go to the movies less, since movies are already a ridiculously expensive experience, but the opportunity to consume beef & get drunk whilst watching sherlock holmes does offer some appeal. too bad none of that appeal will likely come from the film.