Quentin Tarantino is a true fan of film, and he's doing everything he can to keep the format and the theater experience alive in the age of digital. Now, he's taking over programming at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles to keep that experience going.
According to Variety, Tarantino will be taking over as programming director for the repertory theater after owning it since 2007. This will include screening 35mm film prints from his own collection and as part of double feature nights.
Tarantino purchased the New Beverly Cinema back in 2007 after the death of its owner, Sherman Torgan, according to Slashfilm. Sherman Torgan's son, Michael Torgan, has been programming director since that time. However, Tarantino is now slated to take over that role.
Tarantino described the New Beverly as his own little "bastion for 35 millimeter films." The director has been famously against digital projection, the method of showing movies through computers rather than physical film prints. Earlier this year, Tarantino went as far as to call digital projection "the death of cinema," according to The Telegraph.
In addition to some upgrades to the New Beverly, including a 16mm projector and new sound system, Tarantino will actually be getting rid of the digital projector brought into the theater by former manager Michael Torgan. These digital projectors have increasingly been brought into small theaters in an attempt to keep up with an industry which has become almost entirely digital.
In addition to screenings of classic films, such as Sergio Leone westerns, fans can also look forward to screenings of Tarantino's own movies projected on film. One movie from his own library will be shown each Friday at midnight, according to Variety.
Tarantino takes over as programming director for the New Beverly Theater next month.