EXCLUSIVE: Four-time Oscar nominated filmmaker Jason Reitman became the newest member of the National Assocation of Theatre Owners last night on the Sony lot as part of the exhibitor trade org’s opening festivities for their 2024 Fall Summit.
Reitman, who is leading the charge to renovate and manage the 1931 Spanish revival art deco Westwood Fox Village in LA’s UCLA neighborhood, is part of a small group of filmmakers-turned-exhibitors who are NATO members including Richard Linklater who has the Austin Film Society Cinema, Kevin Smith and his SModCastle Cinemas in Atlanta Highlands, NJ; and Insidious actor and filmmaker Patrick Wilson who has The Playhouse on Main Street in New Canaan, CT.
Related Stories
We spoke with Reitman about the immediate plans for the Westwood Fox Village. After the press tour for his Saturday Night Live origins movie Saturday Night which opens Sept. 27, he’s focusing all of his attention on getting the beloved Los Angeles single screen cinema back open for 2026. As far as whether he’s also planning to save the Village’s sister cinema across the street with his group of filmmakers colleagues, Reitman told us straight in the eye: “No comment.” TBD.
Watch on Deadline
The Bruin opened in 1937 and counts 670 seats while the Fox Village has 1,400 seats.
“It’s a genuine honor to be part of this organization,” Reitman told us last night before screening Saturday Night before exhibitors. “My father loved movie theaters, and cinema was our church. When I was a kid, my father came home one day with a trophy that said NATO on it. Many decades later we would make a Ghostbusters movie together, and we watched that movie together for the first time with an audience at CinemaCon. And we went up to Vegas, sat down with so many people and the movie killed. You gave my father and I an extraordinary moment together that evening. I’m sure he’s watching this moment right now, and he’s really proud.”
“I applaud the money you are re-investing into your movie theaters,” continued Reitman before the group. “It’s fantastic. As you think about what you are doing with your theaters, think not only about the picture, think not only about the sound. Think also about the cultural hub that you are. That’s what we’re doing with the Village. It’s not just a place to go see a movie. We want to build a community hub. I’m so proud to be a member of this organization and thank you for having me.”
With Regency closing The Village and The Bruin on July 25 due to their leases ending, Reitman tells us that in regards to the former, “We’re at the blueprint stage.” The Westwood Fox Village is part of Reitman’s childhood. It’s where he watched Tim Burton’s Batman, but also where he attended one of the most prolific Hollywood premieres in his memory: Warner Bros’ Stanley Kubrick finale Eyes Wide Shut. It’s also where Fox Searchlight held the world premiere to his highest grossing movie at $232M WW, and ultimate Oscar winner, Juno.
The filmmaker added, “The most encouraging thing I can tell you is that we’re not altering anything you love about the Village Theatre. We are simply giving it the love and care we think it deserves, and in some places, returning it to yesteryear. There are some places where it was renovated in the ’80s and ’90s, we’re going earlier. We’re getting in the DeLorean.”
In regards to what expect, the Up in the Air filmmaker said, “A lot of thought is being put into not only how you watch movies there, but how you spend time there. We want this to be a cultural hub. It’s not just about the two hours you spend watching a movie, it’s the coffee you have before, it’s the drink you have after. (It will be place where) people who like movies, love movies, are obsessed about movie, get together and talk about what they’re seeing and what they’re going to see next. We want you to spend real time at this place.”
“One of the great things about the theatrical industry is that this is a passionate industry full of passionate people,” said NATO President and CEO Michael O’Leary in presenting Reitman with his membership. “In a lot of places, the theater is the heartbeat of communities across the United States, in Canada and around the world. And nowhere is that more evident than in independent cinema. As the owner of a one-screen theater, you are newest member of our Independent Theatre Owners Coalition (ITOC) and you will be a great addition to both NATO and to ITOC.”
“The greatest thing about our industry is the passion of the people, and with Jason’s background growing and around this great industry, he brings a unique perspective and all that passion. Having him as a part of our group is an incredible plus,” O’Leary told Deadline earlier in the evening.
O’Leary added about the Westwood Village, “Not only does the theater have a place in the historical film legacy of Los Angeles, but it’s truly a neighborhood community theater. So many of our theaters are like that across our country. Having him come back and breathe life into the Village, the Westwood neighborhood will be better for that.”
Also, in attendance at Reitman’s presentation which brought together 325 cinema leaders were Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Tony Vinciquerra, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group Chairman and CEO Tom Rothman, Sony Pictures Releasing President Adrian Smith and NATO Chair Bob Bagby.
The National Association of Theatre Owners is the largest exhibition trade organization in the world, representing more than 32,000 movie screens in all 50 states, and more than 34,000 additional screens in 89 countries worldwide.