Art House Opens in West County

It’s not exactly David trying to slay Goliath. It’s more like David trying to steal the shoes Goliath left out by the backdoor.

OK, the analogy is a little strained. For years, though, giant chain-owned multiplexes have been stomping one- and two-screen theaters out of existence. Now, the two-screen Regent Westlake is fighting back using unexpected weapons: foreign and independent movies.

“We know there is an audience for this type of movie,” said Mark R. Harris, a partner in Regent Entertainment. “We know there are hundreds of films each year that never make it out of West Hollywood or Beverly Hills or Santa Monica.”

The new theater marks its opening today with free--that’s right, lots of extra money for popcorn--screenings of “Looking for Richard,” “Trainspotting,” “Emma” and “Big Night.” And those films are pretty mainstream compared to what Regent has lined up starting Friday: “Prisoner of the Mountains,” Russian filmmaker Sergei Bodrov’s adaptation of a Leo Tolstoy short story updated to the war in Chechnya, and “La Ceremonie,” a darkly comic French thriller by Claude Chabrol.

In coming weeks, the theater will also run the French period comedy “Ridicule,” the grunge music documentary “Hype,” the Australian romance “Angel Baby,” and two films by Danish director Bille August, “Jerusalem” and “Smilla’s Sense of Snow.”

Regent has a long-term lease for the theater in the County Line Shopping Center, at Lakeview Canyon and Agoura roads. Until November, that was the site of the Westlake Village Theater, but it shut its doors the same week that Mann opened an eight-screen theater just a few blocks away.

Regent partner Paul Colichman said he isn’t worried about the multiplex neighbor because they won’t be playing any of the same movies. Regent Realty LP--the partnership with Regent Entertainment that is developing the theaters--isn’t looking to compete with other art houses either. The company is looking for areas that don’t have local theaters that run independent and foreign films, including parts of Los Angeles. Already, a four-theater complex is under construction in the South Beach area of Miami Beach. Ultimately, Regent plans to have 50 screens in 20 cities.

The Regent will be a godsend for Ventura County film buffs in particular, who have had to drive as far as Santa Monica or even Pasadena to find a movie with subtitles. The closest art house is Laemmle’s Encino Town Center 5, nearly 20 miles to the east. But even its screens have been so filled up with American films--like “Marvin’s Room,” starring well-known actors Diane Keaton and Meryl Streep, and Woody Allen’s “Everyone Says I Love You”--that foreign-language films seem to have fallen by the wayside.

Chain owner Robert Laemmle said the number and quality of so-called art films is on the rise, evidenced by how many Academy Award nominations were scooped up this year by “The English Patient,” “Secrets and Lies” and “Sling Blade.”

“It’s a combination of the art house and independent films getting better, at the same time that Hollywood is really not making that type of film,” he said. “Hollywood is making special-effects types of films. They’re going for a film that grosses $100 million and they don’t care if it wins any awards.”

Art films have to be supported in a way much different from blockbusters, explained film marketing consultant David A. Weitzner. They don’t have big-name stars or multimillion-dollar advertising budgets, and instead rely heavily on word of mouth to draw in audiences. “The independent needs theaters who will nurture their product, who won’t panic if the film doesn’t bring in a lot of money the first three days, or the first weekend,” Weitzner said.

Colichman said Regent plans to screen films for up to three weeks at first, and eventually up to four.

That’s a relief especially to distributors of foreign movies, such as New Yorker Films. Susan Wrurbel, New Yorker’s head of theatrical distribution, said there was a time when a good review in the New York Times would guarantee a strong run. Not so any more. In particular, teens and twentysomethings--traditionally heavy filmgoers--seem to be less aware of foreign films than 10 or 20 years ago.

“What Regent is doing is great, because they’re devoted strictly to art [films], so I don’t have to be beholden to chains anymore,” she said. “They could be educating a whole new generation about what’s out there.”

FYI

Free screenings today at the Regent Westlake, 4711 Lakeview Canyon Drive: “Looking for Richard,” 1:30 and 6:30 p.m.; “Trainspotting,” 4 and 9 p.m.; “Emma,” 1 and 6 p.m., and “Big Night,” 3:30 and 8:30 p.m.