Jason Reitman Among Coalition Of Top Filmmakers Finalizing Acquisition Of Westwood’s Village Theater

A coalition of leading feature directors led by Juno’s Jason Reitman has finalized its acquisition of Westwood’s historic 93-year-old movie palace, the Village Theater.

Other top filmmakers joining him as investors in the deal, first spotlighted recently by The Ankler, include J.J. Abrams, Judd Apatow, Damien Chazelle, Chris Columbus, Ryan Coogler, Bradley Cooper, Alfonso Cuarón, Jonathan Dayton, Guillermo del Toro, Valerie Faris, Hannah Fidell, Alejandro González Iñárritu, James Gunn, Sian Heder, Rian Johnson, Gil Kenan, Karyn Kusama, Justin Lin, Phil Lord, David Lowery, Christopher McQuarrie, Chris Miller, Christopher Nolan, Alexander Payne, Todd Phillips, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Reitman, Jay Roach, Seth Rogen, Emma Seligman, Brad Silberling, Steven Spielberg, Emma Thomas, Denis Villeneuve, Lulu Wang, and Chloé Zhao.

Going forward, the theater will showcase a mixture of first-run films and repertory programming from the theater’s caretakers, whose mission is to preserve the Village as a cultural landmark. Projection will take place in 35mm, 70mm and digital.

“I’ve been coming to Westwood for as long as I can remember. Many of my movies, including Juno, Up In The Air, and Ghostbusters Afterlife all premiered at the corner of Broxton and Weyburn,” recalled Reitman in a statement on the deal. “When the Village Theater went on the market, I had visions of how quickly the National Theater became a block of condos. I immediately made an offer and hoped my fellow directors would join me on this adventure. We take this stewardship very seriously and hope to offer a true community for anyone who loves the movies.”

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