Rian Johnson, Barry Jenkins, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Roland Emmerich & More Mourn Closure Of ArcLight Cinemas: “This Is So Painful”
Refresh for updates…On Monday, a number of prominent Hollywood figures took to social media to mourn the closure of Arclight Cinemas.
“Well this sucks,” tweeted Knives Out and The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson. “Every single person who worked at the Arclight loved movies, and you felt it. Sending love to every usher, manager and projectionist who rocked that blue shirt and made it such a special place.”
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Meanwhile, Barry Jenkins—the Oscar winner behind Moonlight, and upcoming Amazon series The Underground Railroad—simply tweeted, “F**K.”
Writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Old Guard, Beyond the Lights), too, felt the hurt, tweeting, “This is so painful. The Arclight is my go-to. Clean, great sound, assigned stadium seating, great popcorn, usher movie introductions. A true movie-going experience.”
Roland Emmerich, the writer-director behind films including Midway and Independence Day, thanked ArcLight and Pacific Theatres (which is also closing) for the “many wonderful cinematic experiences” they provided. “Cinephiles will certainly miss the iconic Cinerama Dome, which is such an integral part of the Los Angeles movie culture!” he added.
Actor and comedian Jamie Kennedy processed the news with a reference to his character, Randy, from the Scream franchise. “WOW!!! This is the 1st place I ever saw 2001. The DOME,” he said. “The experience of going to watch a movie there was otherworldly, being in one was absolutely humbling. If Randy lived in the real world I feel he would have managed the joint!”
Deadline first broke the news today that Arclight and Pacific Theatres would not be reopening, after being financially hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. “This was not the outcome anyone wanted,” said theater owner Decurion, “but despite a huge effort that exhausted all potential options, the company does not have a viable way forward.”
We’ll update this story with further reactions as they come in.
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