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On Monday, Deadlinereportedthat ArcLight Cinemas and Pacific Theaters would close down permanently.
We were all Snapchatting in a group, Is this real?
added former host Nick Earl.
It took one visit to understand its a temple of cinema.
The palpable passion and attention to detail extended from the seats up to the screen.
The theater prided itself in mastering the technical aspects of film presentation.
And it was this meticulousness that helped make ArcLight a destination for filmmakers themselves.
Not because they didnt have faith in us, Celestino said.
But because they knew everyone was going there and they knew we werecapableof playing it right.
It was the kind of person you found working at a video-rental place.
When they hired me, they made sure I knew about movies.
But working at ArcLight also had the benefit of putting employees in close proximity to the stars.
You never knew who you were going to run into, said Abeyta.
It was the place [where] the people who made movies and were in movies liked toseemovies.
And he was just the most gentle, unassuming guy.
He knocked on the door and was like, Hi, Im Paul.
And he sat there all night and talked movies with us.
For Hollywood aspirants, these sorts of experiences made breaking into the industry feel more accessible.
I learned a lot from all the premieres that happened there and the Q&As.
You get an inside look at how it works behind the curtain, said cafe server Sydney Gabel.
Does This Mean We Cant Have Nice Theaters?
So that makes me worried for the future of film exhibition.
This is a hard blow.
People in L.A., theyre kind of winded by this.
I know it sounds silly, but it was a special place and L.A. is kind of in mourning.
Other former employees expressed similar doubts about the future of theatrical moviegoing.
I have high hopes that maybe another movie theater chain will come, said Gabel.
And if we can preserve building new movie theaters and keeping that alive, maybe itll last … Im a bit of an optimist, though.
With vaccinations becoming widely available, ArcLights closing comes just as a return to theaters was within view.
But I wasnt expecting it to leave me.
I was really hoping to get a drink and go seeCruellasoon.
That was the one thing about L.A.
I was looking forward to after the pandemic to see all my friends and be there again.
So Im really sad about that.
But Im just trying to remember the fond memories.
