HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – For the last three years Christian Meoli has been living the dream, showing independent films and cult favorites at his small movie theater, the Arena Cinelounge, in the heart of Hollywood.
“When the lights go down and it says 'Feature Presentation,' that’s the magic time,” he told Spectrum News 1.
But these days, Meoli is taking some of his favorite Hollywood icons off the screen and moving them right into his seats, placing two cardboard cutouts of film’s most iconic figures for each empty chair.
“We’re only going to be able to allow 15 people per screening when we first open, so I thought it was a good idea to bring in some Hollywood seat fillers,” he said.
The idea came from a nearby mural on Hollywood Boulevard, featuring movie legends like Charlie Chaplin, James Dean, and Marilyn Monroe sitting in a theater.
“Movies are about coming together and bringing people together and if we can offer even the illusion of a full house during this small period of time,” he said. “I think it’s fun and audiences will embrace it.”
For the last few weeks, Meoli has been busy preparing for his big reopening, installing new air purifiers, a contactless box office, and even pre-packaged concessions.
He was set to open a week ago but then, at the last minute, Los Angeles County changed course, barring theaters from reopening.
“We’re all like, 'What’s going on here? We don’t understand,'” he said. “You can get a tattoo, you can go to a nail salon, you can go to a massage parlor, all of which I did this weekend by the way, and you can’t go to a cinema?”
He was hoping to debut with a new IFC film called Baby Teeth. But government rules took a bite out of that plan. Same with another movie he had ready to go, a restored version of the 1988 film, The Unbearable Lightness of Being. The lights went out on that one too.
But this Friday they’re back in all their glory.
“It’s going to be such an amazing feeling when audiences are back,” he said.
If ticket sales are any indication, many of them will. His shows are already selling out.
“People want to come back to movie theaters.”
Meoli knows a last-minute call by health officials can delay another opening. L.A. County told Spectrum News 1 it was still monitoring the situation before it determines the appropriate date for reopening. But Meoli says he's hopeful.
“We are wanting people to come back and join us for the movie-going experience,” he said. “It’s the best.”