News On The Rialto

A lot of grand old cinemas in LA County have shut down, unable to compete with the multiplex.

Now I hear one of my favorites, The Rialto in Pasadena, has closed. Landmark Theatres, which runs quite a few art houses, just couldn't afford to keep the gigantic single-screen open.

I haven't been there in a while (I'm LAGuy, not PasadenaGuy), but over the years I've seen my fair share of films at the Rialto. I saw Donnie Darko there a few years ago, though I'm not sure if I've seen anything since.

The theatre, inside and out, was used in several Hollywood films. It's the cinema showing See You Next Wednesday (a John Landis inside gag) in The Kentucky Fried Movie; it's where studio exec Tim Robbins meets and soon offs writer Vincent D'Onofrio in The Player; and it's where Stab, Scream 2's film-within-a-film, premieres.

So farewell, Rialto. People want shoeboxes or stadium seating.