It’s a fun and cool thing to do. It’s Rooftop Movies at The Montalbán where a summer screening series kicked off the other night with The Greatest Showman, the Hugh Jackman/Michelle Williams movie-musical we had never seen. We had a ball. You can have one too. It goes like this. Find your way to the vaunted Ricardo Montalbán Theatre, which for 90+ years has occupied the center of our city — on Vine Street just south of Hollywood Boulevard. Check in at the lobby, then climb the Stairway to Heaven, a five-level catwalk-style exterior staircase that may cause you rue all the brie cheese you have been eating lately; and then pop out onto the solid green Astro-turf-carpeted rooftop.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Boyz In The Hood and Rear Window – are programmed as series-openers starting April 14, to be followed by Kill Bill, Clueless, Casino, Selena, all enjoyed under the stars — and we know they are out there, if only the neon signs of Hollywood would stop refracting them from our vision. Speaking of signs, the Hollywood Boulevard sign-of-all-signs, the beautifully crafted one for the long-gone department store, The Broadway, is right next door. It makes for a smashing selfie-backdrop.
Doors open at six where you can hobnob with drinks (they pour a nice Prosecco); a concession stand (which had a run on Reese’s peanut-butter cups) and kitchen (we had Omar’s Tacos, and they were good). When Ye Olde Sun ducks under the Pacific Ocean, the movie starts up. The projector is state-of-the-art, and the “noise-blocking” Sound-Off headsets are fantastic.
I’m looking at Casino, on Sunday May 21, as a very cool movie to see in this setting. But overall, the film lineup is kind of perfect. The roster is not too heavy, not too light. Not too smart, not too dumb. A big artsmeme thumbs up for the programmer!
Tickets at $28 per buys a single seat, the movie, complementary popcorn, and a hang at a cool venue. A loveseat goes for $58, but that includes a champagne toast plus bottomless popcorn. (Bring your own love.) If it feels a bit pricey, just think … it’s a good cause to give this stalwart theater some additional revenue. Pay up!
Rooftop Movies at The Montalbán | near Hollywood & Vine | evenings thru-out the summer