LOS ANGELES, April 11, 2018—Tickets went on sale today to the public for the thirty-second season of Last Remaining Seats, the Los Angeles Conservancy’s signature series of classic films in historic theatres.

 

Last Remaining Seats presents films as they are meant to be seen: on the big screen, in a beautiful theatre, surrounded by fellow fans, and accompanied by vintage cartoons, special guests, and more. 

 

While most of the screenings will take place in the movie palaces of downtown L.A., the series will travel to San Gabriel for the very first time for a screening at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse. 

 

Tickets cost $22 for the general public, $18 for Conservancy members, and (new this year) $16 for youth 17 and under. Proceeds support the Conservancy’s efforts to preserve historic places throughout L.A. County. Tickets are available at laconservancy.org/last-remaining-seats.

 

In addition to the screenings, the Conservancy will offer exclusive theatre and backstage tours, bar trivia after Saturday screenings, and free theatre Q&As. Details and tickets are available at laconservancy.org/last-remaining-seats-special-events.

Most of the films screened during Last Remaining Seats have spanned a range of genres, from silent gems and musical comedies to hard-boiled noir and Latin American classics. Yet most of the actors on screen (and filmmakers off-screen) haven’t reflected the vast diversity of Los Angeles. 

 

With this in mind, staff and volunteers carefully curated this year’s lineup to include a range of themes and perspectives. In addition to being particularly timely and relevant, the 2018 lineup reflects the Conservancy’s renewed commitment to diversity and inclusion.

All locations, dates, and films are subject to change. 

 

Saturday, June 2, 8PM   

State Theatre (1921), downtown L.A.

The series returns to the State Theatre after twenty years for a story of hope set against the viciousness of American politics, starring James Stewart.

 

Saturday, June 9, 8PM

Million Dollar Theatre (1918), downtown L.A.

Co-Presented by the Latin American Cinemateca of Los Angeles

Based on the 1976 novel by Argentine writer Manuel Puig, this Brazilian-American film follows a trans-woman (William Hurt) and a freedom fighter (Raul Julia), cellmates in a Buenos Aires prison.

 

Wednesday, June 13, 8PM   

The Theatre at Ace Hotel (1927), downtown L.A.

A black detective (Sidney Poitier) and a racist white police chief (Rod Steiger) work together to solve a murder in a small Mississippi town.

 

Saturday, June 16, 2PM

Los Angeles Theatre (1931), downtown L.A.

Set in a world where humans and cartoons coexist, a human private detective who distrusts toons finds himself wrapped up in a murder case in which toon actor Roger Rabbit is the prime suspect.

 

Saturday, June 16, 8PM

Los Angeles Theatre (1931), downtown L.A.

Birds suddenly and inexplicably become violent in this Alfred Hitchcock horror classic.

 

Wednesday, June 20, 8PM

Orpheum Theatre (1926), downtown L.A.

Buster Keaton stars in this silent comedy, with live accompaniment on the Orpheum’s Mighty Wurlitzer organ.

 

Saturday, June 23, 6PM 

San Gabriel Mission Playhouse (1927), San Gabriel

Based on the novel by Amy Tan, the film chronicles the relationships between four Chinese mothers and their Chinese-American daughters.

Series Star Sponsors: Hollywood Foreign Press Association

 

Series Supporting Sponsor: Walter J. and Holly O. Thomson Foundation; Ray and Dagmar Dolby Family Fund

 

Series Sponsors: Comcast NBCUniversal; Grand Central Market; Roy Allen White; The Theatre at Ace Hotel; Trina Turk / Mr Turk

 

Screening Sponsors: The Edison/Clifton’s Republic; Cathy and Steve Needleman; Paramount Pictures 

 

Media Sponsors: Los Angeles Downtown News; Laemmle Theatres; Los Angeles magazine

 

Community Partners: Downtown Center Business Improvement District; Historic Core Business Improvement District; LA Fashion District Business Improvement District

 

Major funding for the Conservancy’s programs is provided by the LaFetra Foundation and the Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation.

Last Remaining Seats began in 1987 as a way to draw attention to the spectacular yet overlooked and underused historic theatres of Los Angeles. The film series has since become a summer tradition, drawing thousands of people from the region, the nation, and outside the U.S.

The Los Angeles Conservancy is a nonprofit membership organization that works through education and advocacy to recognize, preserve, and revitalize the historic architectural and cultural resources of Los Angeles County. What began as a volunteer group in 1978 now has the largest membership of any local preservation organization in the U.S.

Tiffany Narváez, (213) 430-4208, tnarvaez@laconservancy.org