With Lacy Chabert & director Mark Waters
In May 2014 I had an experience that was so fetch! My friend and I attended a 10th anniversary of the movie Mean Girls. Mean Girls has become one of the most quoted movies among my generation and even though I didn’t like it at first the movie has grown on me. The movie screening was held at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles, CA. The New Beverly Cinema is currently owned by Quentin Tarantino and shows double feature movies in 35mm. Some of the movies shown at the cinema come directly from Tarantino’s private collection.
When I first heard about the Mean Girls anniversary I was interested in going because a member from the cast and the director would be making an appearance. The cast of Mean Girls is full of great people so I was very excited by the possibilities of who could be there. I also knew what a big fan of the movie my friend Bruno is so I was certain that he would want to go along with me. By the time we found out about the screening and decided to go they were already sold out of adult tickets so we bought the senior citizen tickets on the website and paid the difference at the theatre.
Parking at the theatre can be a bit tricky but that is a typical situation in Los Angeles. My friend and I were able to find parking on a residential street just past the theatre. When we got there we were the third in line but the girl in front of us was apparently saving spots for six people who did not show up until we were let inside. And she didn’t understand why we were upset that six people were cutting the long line but because we had gotten their early we were still able to get a front row seat. We also made a point to get our seats first and then go get concessions one at a time so that our seats were not taken.
While I was holding our seats Bruno came back to tell me that Lacy Chabert (Gretchen Weiners) was outside taking pictures. I went outside and politely asked for a picture which Lacy seemed more than happy to take with me. Lacy came in to watch the movie and afterwards Lacy, director Mark Waters and the casting director went up to the front of the theatre to talk about their experiences working on the movie. Remember the scene where Gretchen and Cady are in the restroom and Gretchen talks about the earrings she had to pretend not to like because Regina had the same pair? That was her audition scene and they loved her right off the bat. I wish I could remember more of what they said and I wish that I would have recorded the conversation because I remember it was really interesting.
The theatre itself is very unique and is unlike any other theatre I had been to before. At first I thought of the theatre as old and out of date but now I can appreciate the look and feel of the theatre because it is very classic. Also the fact that the theatre has not been updated to resemble new theatres might be one of the reasons that it is an extremely affordable theatre to visit. Tickets for the double features are $8 which compared to other theatres charging $12 or more for one movie is fabulous. I also really enjoyed getting to sit next to Clu who is an older gentleman who lives by the theatre and comes almost everyday to see a movie. It was his first time seeing Mean Girls and what a great experience to get to watch the movie and hear one of the main actresses and director talk about it.
The theatre is small compared to other theatres in the area but it has a certain amount of charm to it. I also liked that sitting in the front row didn’t make for an uncomfortable experience because there is a good distance between the front row and the screen. The screen is probably smaller that what you are use to but you are getting to see movies on 35mm and the screen size was not an issue for me. If you are looking for a unique movie experience consider checking out the New Beverly Cinema and you never know you might get to see Mr. Tarantino himself.
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