WHAT THE NOW-DEFUNCT FOX AND BRUIN MOVIE THEATRES IN WESTWOOD MEAN TO ME

Shockingly to most of us SoCal denizens, both the Fox and Bruin movie theatres in Westwood Village closed down, (for either “good” or, more optimistically, “now,”) last week!

Even though I had not been to either of those two iconic movie theatres in LA in years, (partly due to the pandemic,) my heart sank when I read that they were closing. It came out of the blue. They are (or were) two institutions that I naively thought would outlast all of us! They were no-brainers.

The Fox Westwood Village, the day before it closed. Photo by Karen Salkin, as is the one of both theatres at the top of this page.

As a major part of my initial year in this city, they’ve meant a lot to me to this day! Every time I saw a film in one of them in the past couple of decades, I marveled that, in these days of banal multiplexes, these two gorgeous structures were still going, perhaps not “strong,” but still standing. I often felt like a Norma Desmond-era movie star just entering them.

Being that they both opened in the 1930s, (the Fox Village Opened in 1931 followed by the Bruin in 1937,) I can only imagine how glamorous all the premieres were at these stunning movie houses. Even in modern times, there were many premieres at both, but it seemed mainly at the Village. Occasionally when I’d be driving through there for one reason or another, (usually to pick-up food from one of the many eateries in the area,) I’d see one taking place. I had even been to a couple of openings there myself.

And now, incredibly sadly, they both closed on July 25, just two days before my anniversary with LA! I celebrate that milestone most years with a drive down the coast a bit, as I did that very first day, then up through Westwood to 501 *Gayley Avenue where I first landed as a teen. So the end of this major era is extra poignant to me. * [Note: In a strange bit of irony, when I tried to go to that building to take my yearly picture in front of it last week, the same day that I took the pix of the movie theatres, Gayley Avenue was also closed!!! Temporarily, of course, for construction. But, as frustrating as it was to have my anniversary celebration attempt thwarted, the synchronicity of my most special street in Westwood being closed, as well as the theatres, made me chuckle.]

The Bruin, the day before it closed. Photo by Karen Salkin.

My first job here, (yes, I did have actual employment before the long journey of being a “media personality,” first with my TV show and now this e-zine,) was as the “hot dog girl” at Stan’s Corner Shop in Westwood, which was catty-corner to—you guessed it—the Fox and Bruin movie theaters. I was so fortunate to get to look at their beauty every day. They were so majestic; we didn’t have anything so grand in either my native Brooklyn or the more upscale Manhattan.

And, the best part of those days was that, as a young worker in Westwood Village, I quickly became friends with many others who were employed in that small area, especially on that one block. So I got to see every movie in these two places free! It really was the best of times.

As the years passed, the Fox and Bruin were still my favorite film venues. And then when I started seeing Mr. X, we occasionally enjoyed a five-movie day, and that often included one or two in those houses.

The front of the Bruin the day before it closed. Notice the picture of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine on the left. Photo by Karen Salkin.

As Screen Actors Guild screenings came into play for me, whenever there was a choice of venue, I chose these two. Just even waiting on line to get in still felt special to me, like I was home.

And walking into them made me feel positively regal! There are no other movie house experiences like those two in the rest of Los Angeles; I always felt like Margot Robbie’s character, Sharon Tate, must have in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, even though I wasn’t there to see myself in a motion picture, as she was. (But a girl can always hope!)

The last film I saw at either of them was 2019’s Knives Out before it even came out. It was a SAG screening, with free popcorn and soda, and all the stars speaking after. What a happy memory to close-out this long era on.

The cast of Knives Out speaking after a private industry screening of their film, sitting in front of the curtain at Westwood’s famous Village theatre. Photo by Karen Salkin.

I’ve read that the Village might possibly reopen in the future if rumors are true that it was bought by a group of show business bigwigs that includes Jason Reitman, Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg, Guillermo del Toro, Bradley Cooper, J.J. Abrams and some others. They are purported to be planning to add a bar and restaurant, which makes sense since one entire side of that block, outside of one lone falafel shop that’s still hanging on, is now vacant! (What is happening to my beloved Westwood Village???)

I’m keeping hope alive that at least the gorgeous facade of the Fox Village, along with the retro one of the Bruin, will last in their next incarnations. I’m afraid that someone may just turn them into multiplexes, which I would not love, but that would at least be better than so many other alternatives.

Long live the Bruin and Fox theatres, however they can be saved! And a fond farewell to them if they cannot.