Los Angeles & Southern California - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [159]
* * *
MOVIES UNDER THE STARS
Angelenos love their movies and their fine weather, so it’s only logical to combine the two. Screenings under the stars have become a popular summer tradition with classic and contemporary flicks spooling off in various locations around town. Come early to stake out a good spot and bring pillows, blankets and snacks.
Cinespia (Map; www.cemeteryscreenings.com; admission $10; Sat May-Oct) has a ‘to-die-for’ location at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, the place of perpetual slumber for a galaxy of old-time movie stars. Classics by Milos Forman, Robert Altman and Alfred Hitchcock are projected onto a mausoleum wall around 9pm, but the hipster crowd starts lining up long before gates open at 7:30pm for picnics and cocktails (yes, alcohol is allowed!) while a DJ spins smooth soundtracks.
If that’s too morbid for you, catch the Pacific sea breeze while camping out on the Santa Monica Pier where the Santa Monica Drive-In at the Pier (Map; www.santamonicapier.org; admission free) presents populist faves every Tuesday in September. Despite the name, cars are not allowed. Tickets are free but must be picked up at the Santa Monica Visitors Center. Donations benefiting nonprofit Arts Fighting Cancer are appreciated.
If a day at Universal Studios hasn’t left you exhausted, stick around for the Big Free Outdoor Movie (Map; 818-622-1111; www.citywalkhollywood.com; Universal City Walk; admission free; Thu Jul & Aug). The line-up focuses on old and new classics, produced by Universal of course, and presented on a giant screen right on the Universal City Walk.
Nearby Burbank also gets in on the act with its Summer Nights at Burbank Town Center (Map; 818-566-8617; www.burbanktowncenter.com; admission free; Wed mid-Jul–mid-Aug) showing recent blockbusters in a block party setting around the intersection of San Fernando Blvd and Cypress St.
A more low-key event is Outdoor Movie Nights (off Map; www.sppreservation.org; 913 Meridian Ave; admission free; dusk Sat Jul & Aug) in South Pasadena, where family-oriented flicks such as Babe and The Wizard of Oz are beamed onto a tarp hanging from the 1888 Meridian Iron Works. It’s close to the Metro Gold Line’s Mission St station.
* * *
AMC Century City 15 (Map; 310-289-4262; www.amctheatres.com; Westfield Shoppingtown Century City, 10250 Santa Monica Blvd; adult/child/senior $11/8/9) Since being expanded and updated, this mall-based multiplex can now shower up to 3000 flick fans in 15 theatres with blockbuster movies on wall-to-wall screens, stadium-style ‘loveseats’ with lifting armrests and top-notch sound.
California Science Center IMAX (Map; 213-744-7400; www.californiasciencecenter.org/Imax/Features/Features.php; Exposition Park, 700 State Dr, near Downtown; adult/child/student & senior $8/4.50/5.75; ) It takes a 3-D projector the size of a Volkswagen to project the high-tech IMAX movies on a screen soaring seven stories tall and stretching 90ft wide. Most of the nature-themed films are family-friendly.
Pacific Theatres Vineland Drive-In (Map; 626-961-9262; www.pacifictheatres.org; 443 N Vineland Ave, City of Industry; tickets $7) Nostalgia requires a long drive, but nowhere else in Southern California can you catch a first-run flick from the comfort of your Cadillac. There are four large screens with Dolby sound piped in directly to your FM radio.
Live Music
Big-name acts appear at several venues around town, including the Staples Center, the Gibson Amphitheatre next to Universal Studios Hollywood, the historic Wiltern Theater near Downtown and, in summer, the Hollywood Bowl and the Greek Theatre in Griffith Park. For world music, check out what’s playing at the Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood.
The following are