Park City, Utah is sometimes called "Hollywood East" during a certain January fortnight, given the fact that many movie players take over the mountain town during the Sundance Film Festival.
But perhaps West Hollywood will now be known as "Park City West," in part, given the fact that the new and highly anticipated Sundance movie theater is set to make its grand opening in the old Laemmle Sunset 5 space. The date is Friday, Aug. 31 and the official name? Sundance Sunset Cinema.
If you've lived in Los Angeles for any length of time, and you are an indie film person, you likely saw at least one or two important films at the Sunset 5. Meaning that its closure last year spelled the sad end to a great place for catching offbeat fare.
But Sundance, of course, is a brand synonymous with indie fare and offbeat offerings. The redesigned spaces -- which will include "comfy rocking love chairs" and "new digital presentation" as well as "new sound" -- will be as state-of-the-art as all get-out. If you've been to Park City, you know that, charmingly, this isn't always the case with the film festival itself; we once watched some shorts in a cramped little bar, or so our movie-saturated memory tells us. Was it a library? Sundance, we love you and your quirks.
In short, indie people? The new theater is pretty much everything and more, with the higher ticket prices that go along with an older theater receiving major updates. An adult matinee is $11, with an amenity fee (you can read more about what those amenity fees go to).
And, if you're curious? West Hollywood isn't the first city to get a Sundance Cinema; several other locales have claimed earlier rights. But we have to be happy that Park City is now here, year-round, in our own environs. This doesn't mean we have to wear big, puffy jackets and ski hats when we go to see a film there, though, right? Though we might kind of want to.
Follow NBCLA for the latest LA news, events and entertainment: iPhone/iPad App | Facebook; | Twitter; | Google+; | Instagram; | RSS; | Text Alerts | Email Alerts
