Movies on the menu

There was no movie playing at the long-awaited opening of CineSpace, but that didn’t stop the supper club’s introductory bash from carrying all of the hype of a blockbuster movie premiere. A red carpet on Hollywood Boulevard welcomed B-list celebrities including Shannon Elizabeth, James Wilder and Tatiana Ali to the party Thursday night that attracted more than 1,000 celebrants, who lined Ivar Avenue for their chance to be seen inside.

When CineSpace opens its doors to the public on Jan. 3, it promises to be a movie lover’s dream, an upscale restaurant, bar and screening room where diners can enjoy contemporary American cuisine and sip cocktails while watching independent art-house films, classics, music videos and video art.

Last week, it was sheer Hollywood nightclub glitz -- that is, until the twin trees came out. About 90 minutes into the party, two evergreen and very tall vines on stilts slowly made their way around the 8,300-square-foot club, interacting with each other and morphing into and out of elegant shapes.

“It’s very freaky,” said Jennifer Thompson of Studio City who kept spilling the two cosmopolitans she was holding in her efforts to elude one particularly pushy vine. The vines, as it turned out, were not trying to scare anybody. The cramped surroundings made it tough for Vine to Vine, two performance artists from Orlando, to slowly animate and reveal themselves to the happening and Hollywood set.

“We’re not trying to intimidate anyone,” said Priscilla Blight, president of Second Nature Productions, which has been producing the living garden show for six years. “It was just so busy in there.”

So busy that CineSpace co-owner Kimberly Herrmann had little time to notice the vine act’s effect on her crowd or the abstract video paintings by C2 in the main dining room.

“This is basically three years of my life right here,” said Herrmann, 31, surveying the room’s unfinished design elements. “And it’s not even halfway done. But I’m thrilled that people are finally getting a chance to see it. This is like a wedding. I’ve never had all of the people in my life in one room like this.”

Herrmann, a former MTV producer who earned an MBA from San Francisco State University, and her boyfriend, Errol Roussel, who got his MBA at Pepperdine University, have been planning their business venture since they graduated four years ago.

“We both had that entrepreneurial spirit and we started a small concierge business, but that wasn’t a good fit for us,” said Roussel, 34. “Then one day over dinner, we just started thinking and came up with this.”

Although there are other restaurants around the nation where diners can watch movies -- Foreign Cinema in San Francisco, Cinema Grill in Atlanta, and Screening Room in New York -- in those spots the films are more background scenery or shown in a separate room. CineSpace is attempting to blend the two experiences, offering upscale dining but keeping the focus on the movie. It will also provide a lounge for art and photo exhibitions, fashion shows and DJ showcases. Executive chef Monica May, formerly of North, hopes to dazzle with her lobster pot pie, pan-fried buttermilk chicken and country-style meatloaf.

“We really want to be regarded as a community place and open space for all kinds of artistry,” said co-owner David Dickerson, 32. “There isn’t any area we won’t delve into.” As the director of programming, Dickerson -- a lifelong student of cinema with a bachelor’s degree in TV and film from the University of Maryland -- is the man behind the curtain. He envisions CineSpace as a relaxing spot for movie lovers as well as a meeting place for industry executives.

CineSpace opens to the public with a documentary, “American Pimp.” Herrmann has plans for a Sunday family movie night, an afternoon for moms and children on Mondays, and a monthly Francis Ford Coppola night in which Coppola wines and Italian fare will accompany one of the director’s classics.

On the second floor of a restored historic building, Cine- Space’s original brick walls have been exposed to create an urban, modern look.

The 1922 Churrigueresque-style retail building originally housed Schwab’s Men’s Haberdashery. The popular nightclub, Ivar, is now on the first floor.

“This is pretty swanky, cool and crazy,” said Diora McKelvy, a 30-year-old nurse who lives in San Diego. “They’ve got a little more work to do on it, but it’s a great concept and great people are behind it.”

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CineSpace

Where: 6356 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood

When: Opens on Jan. 3 with a showing of “American Pimp.” Dinner is 5 p.m.-1 a.m. daily. Opens for lunch in February; hours expand to 11 a.m.-1 a.m.

Price: Dinner entrees, $15-$30; lunch entrees, $6-$7. There is no additional cost for the film.

Info: (323) 228-4830