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Be Kind, Rewind: Vidiots is back! The beloved video store and cultural institution is coming to Eagle Rock in 2020 with a restored 90-year-old, 200-seat theater and a storefront with over 50,000 videos for rent in DVD, VHS and Blu-ray. The eagle has landed, sheesh.
Vidiots’ new digs will be the former Eagle Theatre at 4884 Eagle Rock Blvd, which first opened as the Yosemite Theatre in 1929. According to Cinema Treasures the venue’s multi-purpose past includes early days as a vaudeville and silent film spot, multiple 20th century renovations, a 70’s run as an adult film theatre, and most recently as home to a church for the Brazilian based Universal Church of the Kingdom of God.
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The new tenants aim include a smaller screening room for special events, workshops and more esoteric programming. The folks behind the relaunch are also partnering with local restaurants on a rotating menu. What better place for something like this than L.A., a city teeming with film-junkies and fantastic food. Mwah.
Vidiots first-opened in Santa Monica in 1985, and is slated to come back in fall of 2020, just before its 35th birthday. It’s long been a home for cinephiles, lovers of cult-classics and devotees of brick-and-mortar film-finding expeditions. This new location carries the same spirit, or hopes to, and lands smack dab in one of L.A.’s quirkiest neighborhoods.
Famed director Jason Reitman donated a 35mm projection system to the theater, and the new build-out already includes plans for state-of-the-art sound and visuals. The Vidiots team have been busy – even though the theater doesn’t open for another year – partnering with Alamo Drafthouse on Video Vortex, which offers free movie rentals at L.A. Drafthouse. They’ve also struck up partnerships with other L.A. institutions, including an upcoming series of 16mm films at The Bootleg Theater.
For more information on Vidiots visit vidiotsfoundation.org
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