What happened to the costumed manager at the Vista?

Good morning, it’s Friday, July 24, and you can expect more muggy weather in the 90s that will have you begging for a dry heat.

The post-pandemic story of Los Angeles’ historic movie theaters follows a familiar arc. 

After Covid’s shutdowns, they struggled to reopen or permanently closed. Film buffs worried that the default L.A. movie-going experience would involve AMC’s interminable pre-show of trailers, commercials, and that Nicole Kidman promo that elicits “woos!” from the same type of people who clap when a pilot lands the plane. Finally, after a dark night of the soul, the theaters are saved by a native Angeleno filmmaker with deep pockets (or, this week at least, a friendly multinational media corporation). 

One of the most archetypical examples is Quentin Tarantino’s 2021 purchase of the Vista Theater in Los Feliz. The news that Tarantino rescued the theater, built in 1923, and pledged to keep it largely the same while renovating and refurbishing features like the bathrooms and the screen was greeted with joy in the neighborhood. 

But many also noticed that Tarantino’s purchase did eventually lead to one big change: the departure of the theater’s beloved manager, Victor Martinez, who had gained neighborhood fame for dressing up as characters from movies being screened there.