UA Westwood
Theater Location: 10887 Lindbrook Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Theater Open Date: April 11, 1969
Theater Status: Vacant, Closed July 30, 2009 (Designated Historical Landmark July 30, 1992)
Cast Affiliations
- None (pre Audience Participation)
History
The United Artists Theater Westwood was located on Lindbrook Drive in Westwood Village, CA, a West Los Angeles community surrounding UCLA. Westwood Village was (and remains) a hub of movie premieres. In mid to late 20th century, the small town was a major destination for film-goers, with over 20 screens. The midsize UA Theater (commonly referred to as "The UA Westwood") opened in 1969, in a refurbished 1929 Ralph's supermarket, one of Westwood Village's first six buildings. It was simple, yet comfortable, making it perfect for debuts that were less likely to be a block-buster.
Because of the unprecedented success in Westwood Village a year before for the 20th Century Fox film Phantom of the Paradise at a neighboring theater, The UA Westwood was chosen to host the exclusive US debut of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which opened there on September 26, 1975. In a unique move for the time, tickets were sold in advance via mail order in special envelopes that were available at the theater and other "hip" locations around town. The opening night was a complete sell out, and it is rumored that Andy Warhol, Mick and Bianca Jagger were turned away for not having advance tickets. From the first night it played, The Rocky Horror Picture Show had midnight screenings as part of its schedule.
The initial week of its run was exclusive to the UA Westwood, and included the Super Heroes Cut of the film. Observing the downbeat ending's effect on the audience, Lou Adler requested the ending be updated to what became the standard version for the film from October 1975 until the 1990s, when it was added back in to most prints.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show opened in 10 other theaters a week after opening at the UA Westwood, but failed to attract an audience. In Westwood, it was the opposite. The screenings often sold out, but it was also noted that many of the same people were coming over and over to see it. Enthusiastic audience members familiar with the play started making call-backs to the screen mimicking the Roxy Cast album in its initial run at the UA Westwood, the first actual audience participation was born. Additionally, the first known Frank N Furter impersonator, Michael Wolfson of The Rocky Horror Revue began creating his costume while returning to multiple screenings at the UA Westwood in its initial run in 1975.
As part of the opening, a giant 6-foot cut out of Tim Curry as Frank N Furter (a photo from a Roxy Cast photo session) was unveiled in the lobby.
Rocky Horror played there until December 25, 1975, when it moved to its sister theater, the UA Cinema Center, just outside of Westwood Village, where it played several times a day through April 1976. It returned in early October of 1976, and in 1977 became exclusively a midnight movie at that location.
Historical Landmark
On June 21, 1988, the building was designated as Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #360 by the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission. It was added to the National Register Of Historic Places on July 30, 1992.
In the 1990s, the UA Westwood (which had morphed into The UA Egyptian, and then the Odeon Cinema) was sold to the Mann theater chain, and it was remodeled and renamed The Festival. Although the Festival still stands, it has been vacant since 2009. Because the building that houses the theater is a historic landmark, the theater could be repurposed at some point, but it can not be demolished.
On October 30, 2015, the City of Los Angles officially declared the day as Rocky Horror Picture Show Day in celebration of the 40th anniversary of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. A ceremony presenting a historic marker for the UA Westwood took place. Lou Adler, Tim Curry and Sal Piro were on hand to accept the plaque, which will be mounted on one of the pillars outside the theater. Because of the buildings historic landmark status, the marker will remain as long as the structure is protected by the city.
References
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #360[1]
