ANGIE LEVINE/Daily Bruin Staff A uniplex just south of Wilshire
Boulevard, Crest Theater ““ famous for its murals of Hollywood
in the 1940s and of an earlier Westwood Village ““ captures
the attention of passersby with its neon lights.
By Dexter Gauntlett
DAILY BRUIN STAFF
After losing two movie theaters in the last three months, some
would argue it would take nothing less than the military to prevent
the squandering of Westwood’s longstanding “dinner and
a movie” culture.
Having served as a paratrooper and an intelligence agent in
Heidelberg Germany, Robert Bucksbaum, the new owner of the Crest
Theater, might be that man.
Located on Westwood Boulevard, just south of Wilshire, the
theater’s lease expires in December 2002. Bids at asking
price were posted by proposals to turn the theater into either a
swap-meet, an adult venue or a church.
Bucksbaum may have done the financial equivalent of jumping out
of an airplane, paying $3.2 million for the theater, but he said he
would mortgage his life to save it.
“I just wouldn’t have been able to stomach losing
that theater,” he said.
“It would have been a disaster,” he added.
EVE COHEN/Daily Bruin Paintings, such as the snack bar’s, add to
the theater’s old-fashioned ambiance. Meanwhile, the ceiling
constellations and shooting stars provide a celestial feeling.
In 1986, after driving from New Jersey to L.A. with the intent
of getting his own movie script read, Bucksbaum recalls putting off
sleep in favor of seeing a film at the Crest.
Since then, his dream of owning the theater has become a
reality.
Bucksbaum ““ who is also the CEO of Reelsource.com, an
online newsletter of the movie industry ““ bought the theater
with the intention of preserving it as a single-screen theater.
The Crest is one of Westwood’s most artistic and historic
theaters, with murals depicting ancient buildings from 1940s
Hollywood and The Village of old.
One of the most unique aspects of the theater is the
astronomically exact ceiling constellations and the shooting star
that illuminates the pre-showtime sky.
Bucksbaum’s goal is to preserve this uniqueness and is
determined to expose the rest of Westwood to his love of the
theater, hoping the public will then follow suit.
“It’s a matter of getting the right mix. If you get
a really animated movie, I can get them emotionally attached to the
theater,” Bucksbaum said.
Motivated by the memory his mother preached to him of
showmanship in the 1940s, Bucksbaum became a promotions specialist.
His efforts ““ including offering a 10-pound Nestle’s
Crunch Bar at “Ice Age” for the best winter wardrobe
and a Nerf pitching contest for “The Rookie” ““
single-handedly revived a small theater in Wofford Heights, a town
of 2,800 people.
EVE COHEN/Daily Bruin New Crest owner, Robert Bucksbaum.
Bucksbaum acknowledges that the movie atmosphere is slightly
more competitive in Westwood, but he said he’s willing to
stand out in the middle of the street to get people to come and see
movies at the Crest.
With home-entertainment becoming more popular and affordable,
Bucksbaum is determined to get people back out to The Village.
“Right now theaters are under siege “¦ DVD,
Pay-per-view, I want to get people off the couch and into the
theater,” Bucksbaum said.
“The real movie experience is going to a single screen and
that’s what’s I hope to bring back to the Crest,”
he added.
Bucksbaum also said he understands the symbiotic relationship
crucial to Westwood’s economy. He said the loss of the Crest
Theater would have been devastating to restaurants in The
Village.
Tony Monousos, manager at nearby Delphi restaurant, said that
they experienced a loss in business when the United Artist Theater
shut down in February, and having the Crest becoming anything but a
movie theater would mean more financial trouble.
“That theater is very important,” he said.
Lila Rioth, board member for Westwood Homeowners Association
said Bucksbaum “is a hero” for purchasing the
theater.
The Crest used to be owned by Disney and continues to play
movies for the family, a tradition Bucksbaum, father of 3-year-old
twin boys, hopes to continue.
“It’s so important to us that it stays a single
screen theater, it’s also wonderful because it runs family
films,” Rioth said.
Some students were skeptical of Bucksbaum’s crusade for
loyalty, citing cheap tickets as their number one priority.
“There’s no reason for students who live on campus
to go south of Wilshire for movies,” said second-year
business/economics student Kim Klitofsky.
“Students aren’t against the theater, it would just
be difficult to get them down there without a student
discount,” Klitofsky said.