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Wes Anderson's Asteroid City Take Over in Los Angeles Extended: How to Visit
Love Wes Anderson's aesthetic so much you want to live in it? You can visit the official Asteroid City Pop-Up for another week in Los Angeles.
Wes Anderson fans in New York City and Los Angeles, get yourself suited up and head to the exclusive Asteroid City Pop-Up activations at the Landmark Theatres Sunset and Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan. Both theaters cater to the cinephile crowd and are celebrating Wes Anderson's Focus Features sci-fi / dramedy, Asteroid City — out in limited theatrical release on June 16 and wide release on June 23 — by turning both theaters into the dusty little town.
RELATED: Asteroid City Reviews: Critics Weigh in on Wes Anderson’s Retro Sci-Fi Story in the Desert
Both movie houses are currently screening the film early and allow any visitor to have a wander in their lobbies to see the mini set reproductions and photo opportunities plucked right from the film.
For Landmark Theatres Sunset, Asteroid City is actually its inaugural title as it reopens the Sunset Blvd. theater under Landmark ownership. SYFY WIRE visited the Pop-Up for an early press day to take a look at the Anderson magic, and speak to Landmark Theaters president Kevin Holloway about wrapping the theater with all things Asteroid City for its grand opening.
There are two ticket experiences currently available: Standard Experience or Premium Experience. The Standard includes admission to the movie and access to the Pop-Up, while the Premium includes admission to the movie, an exclusive t-shirt only available at the Pop-Up, and a concessions combo. Audiences can still experience this special engagement through July 6.
In developing the Asteroid City Pop-Up with Focus Features, Holloway told SYFY WIRE that the idea came from their long-standing relationship with the studio. "When we were thinking about how to open this theater in a really impactful way, our timing lined up with the release in a way that really gave us an opportunity to think about which films to showcase. And in this case, we decided we're just gonna do this one [movie]," he said of Asteroid City being the only film playing at the grand reopening.
As the Landmark was still under renovation, Holloway said it was the perfect time for Focus to swoop in and wrap the whole lobby with signage, wallpaper and lighting grabbed straight from the film. Actual costumes and props featured in film are included in the display.The Pop-Up covers two floors of the cinema. Plus, there are social media-worthy photo ops, including reproductions of the two cabins where Augie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman) and Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson) have their deep conversations, and the podium where General Grif Gibson (Wright) hosts the Junior Stargazer awards.
"I've got to hand the credit to [Focus'] experiential and creative team," Holloway said. "I walked in for the first time seeing this finished this morning. and I was floored. Obviously, we've done a lot of these types of activations in the past, but we're not always the people that are going in and building out the sets and the props, and thinking about the curatorial aspect. In this case, I think of it really as we had a canvas and they had the brushes and colors. We thought: let's blend them together and really celebrate in a way that helps the theater to open in a strong manner, and also helps the theater to help promote this film, which will be obviously expanded in the next coming weeks."
With a lot of local theaters closing around the country, and especially in Los Angeles, the Landmark represents a win for audiences who want to have the full movie theater experience. And Holloway promises the theater will be hosting more events catering to the city's cinephiles.
"It definitely gets the gears turning into opportunities and different films where this could be fun to do," he said. "We'll definitely get our heads together after this one and think about maybe the next few things that we can organize around. It's all about the emphasis on partnership, collaboration, and ... what art and independent specialty cinema means to [L.A.] Because it's really important to do something a little more when and where you can to really underscore those titles and how important they are to the film ecosystem."
Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan will also have similar installations, an aliens merch store and a special menu based on the diner offerings in Asteroid City.
Can't make it to one these theaters? Get your sci-fi film fix until the film's June 23 wide release by checking out some of these flicks on Peacock!
