Watching Cult Classics in a Cemetery? | John Wyatt Interview

[00:00:00] Before Netflix queues and endless scrolling, movie nights were an event. You hung out with your friends, you went to Blockbuster, you went to a movie theater. But for the last 25 years, Cinespia has actually captured that feeling and turned movie going into a full-blown communal experience under the stars. So today, we're so excited that we're talking to the man behind it all, John Wyatt.

[00:00:22] Welcome to the No More Late Fees podcast. I'm Jackie. And I'm Danielle, and we're just two best friends and ex-blockbuster employees re-watching some of the best and worst movies of the late 90s and 2000s.

[00:00:46] But today, we're joined by John Wyatt, the founder of Cinespea, which is actually celebrating their 25th anniversary season. And what started as a single screening at Hollywood Forever Cemetery has grown into one of Los Angeles' most iconic movie traditions, with screenings at places like the Greek Theater, the Los Angeles Theater, and the Rose Bowl. You guys want to stick around for this one. It's going to be fun.

[00:01:12] Let's start at the beginning. How did Cinespea first come to life? Cinespea started as an Italian film club with me and my buddy. And really, we were just trying to get people in front of cool movies and share movies we loved. And really, we were just trying to get people to go out and go to the movies. It was kind of focused on Italian films briefly.

[00:01:41] But the film club grew really fast. And basically, what we do is go to a repertory theater in town, buy a bunch of tickets, hold a bunch of seats, and then have like a little party, social gathering after. And it kind of just took off, sort of. We had like, we would get 100, 120 people to a screening, which trying to hold those seats and stuff was kind of crazy.

[00:02:11] But it really worked. And then everyone could talk about it afterwards over drinks and snacks. And it was really fun. And we started getting like this following. And it got to a point where I thought, well, why don't we do our own screening, get our own movie, instead of trying to like go into these places. So basically, I started looking for like screening places.

[00:02:38] And movie theaters were kind of expensive for what we were doing. And there's lots of screening rooms in L.A. Because people are always doing little like buzz screenings and premieres. And they're like the most boring, drab, like corporate things you've ever seen. And my friend worked at the cemetery. And so, and they had this big lawn in the middle of the cemetery and a big wall.

[00:03:07] And I said, do you think we could screen something? And he said, ask the owner. The owners were interested in doing events. And it kind of worked out perfect. They were like, okay, let's try one. They're like, who are you? And we did one. And people found out about it. The word got out beyond like our film club. And we had a few hundred people show up.

[00:03:37] And I knew right away. I was like, oh, just hearing everyone cheer and seeing it up on the wall. I was like, this is something that I have to pursue. It's really, it was really cool. And the energy was instantly there. So then we went back and told the cemetery we want to do more. And then the next year we came with even more. And it just built from there.

[00:04:04] But very quickly people showed up. And over the first few screenings, I think we did it all word of mouth. We still have never really done any paid advertising, anything like that. And I think that was part of it. People were like, well, I know a crazy secret. Do you want to like see something really cool? But it also was an odd idea. I've spent a lot of years of my life explaining like the what in the what? You're doing what?

[00:04:32] But it was really kind of right away there was this energy. It just kind of all clicked. And luckily the cemetery is like a really amazing place. At the time, it was just starting to be restored by the current owners. And a lot of what we did went into the restoration of the cemetery. And it went from being abandoned to being like this beautiful place.

[00:05:02] A lot of really interesting people have their final resting place there. So with all the history of Hollywood all around you, and then you're in this open space, it just became this kind of magical thing. And I know it sounds weird if you're not from L.A., but this is like what we do. And no one's sitting on graves. We're on a big open lawn.

[00:05:30] And you're not even allowed to go out in the graves when we're doing our screenings. How did you come up with like the structure? I mean, obviously we know from experience when you build something, you have an initial vision, but obviously you didn't intend at first for it to grow to where it was. So there has to have some building stages. How did you figure out like what kind of movies you were going to do and the parameters so it wouldn't get out of control,

[00:05:59] but still stay in your vision, I guess? Yeah, I mean, it's gone through a lot of stages. We started with 35 millimeter film. We'd usually have to get two projectors to do a changeover, which in the old analog film days, you'd show a reel on one side. And when that reel was ending, you'd start the reel on the second projector. So we would get a truck and like bolt these two projectors down

[00:06:28] in the back of the truck and get this print. And I spent many nights, like all night with my crew, like setting these up. And we're just happy, like digital projectors came in. It was like really difficult. It looked cool though. And we did a lot of Hollywood classics then, like from thirties, forties and fifties because of the setting. And then we'd throw in something like a little more contemporary.

[00:06:58] We just had a short learning curve on like how to handle crowds, how to keep things safe. Really, we just tried to keep adding things. The spirit of the original film club kind of never left in that. We always wanted it to be fun. Yes. Maybe you're watching a movie you've never seen. Yes. Maybe it's like an older movie,

[00:07:28] but it's going to be a totally different experience than watching it at home. It's just so much fun seeing with the crowd. So we're like, what else can we do to draw people out, lure them out to see, maybe see a movie from the forties. And we just kept adding things. So first I did a lot of DJing. So we, we would get really good DJs.

[00:07:54] LA has great DJs and it's such a unique place to spin records. We right away got some of the best DJs in LA. And then we started reaching out and getting people like Questlove and Prince Paul and like kind of dream, dream DJs to come. And so the music suddenly was the thing where it was, you're eating food, you're kicking it with your friends.

[00:08:22] You're listening to like cool songs. But as we get closer to the movie, we would like turn on some lights and a little smoke and there's a dance floor. And we would like have like a giant dance party. Also added a photo booth, which we've been doing about 15 years now, build like a custom set, something inspired by the movie. And then we bring in full on professional lighting, professional photographer.

[00:08:52] We just kind of kept adding things. I think that was the biggest thing about the stages of how this developed and just trying to like, think of fun, cool things and all of it, we pop up. So we build it that day and take it down that day of the screening. So people can come the next day and have no idea any of that happened and visit their loved ones. And it's just this calm, peaceful place. So literally movie magic.

[00:09:22] What, what were you doing in the industry or were you in the industry before you even have like started doing this? Because obviously you're telling us so many great things that you were able to infuse. You said that you DJed because that's a lot, like a lot of different skills that you were bringing to, to these screenings. Yeah. Well, I worked in art department for years doing photo and film and commercials and stuff like that.

[00:09:51] So I learned a lot about building sets and decorating sets. And I had some really incredible mentors who were really good at that job. And I think that influenced it. I did work in like fashion photography for years. And we're basically doing a photo shoot in our photo booths. And then just DJing and I collect records.

[00:10:19] The first screening that you did was Strangers on a Train in 2002. When did you realize it was becoming like a cultural institution? Institution. That's, that's an interesting word. I don't, there was like a moment where I'm like very, I was like really focused on making everything happen. And my friend was like, look at what you created. Like, look, look up. And like,

[00:10:48] I kind of like looked up for the first time. I was like, wow, there are a lot of people. I'm like, okay, this is the thing. Institution. I don't know. I guess we're there now. I guess we're there now, but. I would say so. I was telling you before we started that your screenings are in movies. So it's cemented in our memories now. So it's, I think it's, it's definitely an institution at this point.

[00:11:15] Like you can go to someone in the middle of America who's never been to California and they'll actually probably know what those screenings are because they've seen it in movies. I think Valentine's day. I was like, oh, so it makes you, when you go to California, you want to go and visit and, and go to the screening because it's become this part of the movie experience. I feel. Yeah, I definitely hope so.

[00:11:39] Cause I think it's a way that people visiting can really like experience like LA from an Angeleno point of view. Like this is the weird things we do. And like, here's what. But yeah, when we were on an episode of the Simpsons and they call you, they tell you that's happening, they put you in this database if you're a guest and they were like, you're going to be, that was like, okay. Okay. We're an institution.

[00:12:09] Yeah. Yeah. But you know, what's even better for me and more exciting is I've heard stories of, well, for instance, last year we showed sinners around Halloween and we don't usually do a movie the same year it came out. I think that was definitely the first time we've done that, but it's such a phenomenon. So much fun. Sinners in the cemetery.

[00:12:36] It was just such a no brainer. And I worked with Ryan Coogler. He was like, had been before. He's like, we got to do this. So we worked together on getting the studio to let us give us permission. But anyways, Ryan said that he had been coming to Cinespia for years and he came and introduced the film and he said, there was a time when I dreamed of my film being shown here,

[00:13:05] like showing a movie. So this is my dream. Yeah. For me, that was like, wow. Like just to inspire someone like that or have someone come full circle, like from aspiring to make movies and, and then watching something at Cinespia, getting inspired about making movies and then showing their movie there. That was like, okay.

[00:13:30] That's really exciting to me that like it's having an effect and just like inspiring someone to create something great. I, there's nothing better than that in my book anyways. So that was really, that's the kind of thing where I'm like, okay, this is important. Well, now we're seeing this huge resurgence of like in 2000s, nineties nostalgia and beyond the people who actually live there,

[00:14:00] you're seeing like Gen Z kind of becoming obsessed with the aesthetic of it and everything. How, how has that shaped? Like even how you're picking the movies, are you seeing a younger crowd come to the screenings? What has that been like? Yes, definitely. So most of our crowd is early twenties and it's sort of always been that way. So I started it in my mid twenties and it was like people, my age.

[00:14:29] And then we went through millennials. Yeah. Millennials were like down for nineties movies and 2000. I mean, they were down. So the programming shifted a little bit and there's so many like fun, fun, hidden treasures. So many movies that maybe weren't so big when they were released, but millennials had the videotape and it just grew and blew up. Yeah. There's quite a few of those.

[00:14:57] And then now we're still getting people in the early twenties and they're really excited to see those and have no connection whatsoever. It's not like they saw them as kids. So I think that's really interesting. And I think it, again, just proves that movies are powerful and if they're good and well-made or really, really, really bad,

[00:15:25] people are going to want to go out and, and see them. And I'm really happy that people still want to go out. Yeah. I feel like people are craving that connection. And I know you'd spoke of Ryan Coogler. There's a lot of directors who are coming together right now to try to save the theaters. Streaming is very convenient. People want to be at home, but screening, do you feel like your,

[00:15:54] your screenings are in a way supporting theater, staying around because people are finding that community and going to see a movie collectively? I think it plays a part. I mean, it's fun. Yeah. Even I, I go to, I used to go to a lot, a lot of movies. And since the pandemic, it's been less, but every time I go, I'm just like, this is so much fun, but really it's Gen Z that's saving things.

[00:16:23] They're going out there into it. It's beautiful that there's directors that really care about theatrical releases and studios that care and are determined to put movies in theater still, but we're like hitting record box office now. Yeah. And it's the kids. They want to go out. They want to do this. And it's because it's so much fun. Yeah.

[00:16:49] I think because of COVID and they were stuck out inside, it's that craving of like, no, we're going to be outside while probably the older generation, we we've been outside. We're okay now. We've got our memories to keep us warm. They, they, I think they felt a sense of like, we've got to make memories happen. Yeah. Yeah. I definitely think so. And we started before social media. I mean, really we started before.

[00:17:20] In the early days, I would send the thing in the mail. I would get your address and send you the flyer in the mail. Because not everyone had email. It was kind of like some people did some people. That's how old we are at this point. But like, we have seen every iteration of social media and like been through it all. And I think it's helpful to create an environment that looks good. And,

[00:17:49] and it's easy to see what a cool experience it is and setting up little things. It was almost a coincidence, like our photo booth, but it's perfect for social media to show off what you're doing. Yeah. And we'll bring the car from the movie or maybe some props or like, just have like a little cool thing. And I think it really helps to see other people doing it, see them,

[00:18:17] they're having fun and you want to get out there and do it too. And that's been a big part of it for us. Just like making it really picture friendly. No, I mean, I think what it is, it's like, yes, social media is not something that we can ignore. Right. But you can make it an, an IRL experience, make it where people want to enjoy. It's not just a movie.

[00:18:45] It is an entire adventure. And I think that adds layers to it for sure. Yeah, that's exactly right. It's like a whole experience. And the best part about it really is, our little picnic. Cause you're with your friends, you're eating food. It's like this great little social thing. Maybe you're meeting the people next to you. Lots of first dates. It's in this video. And yeah,

[00:19:13] that part's really like the most special part. And that's what people really want. They want that. So we're extremely jealous because you have had some of the actors and creators of these movies come for their anniversary screenings. And stuff like that. And we're like, Oh, we wish we could go. I think I saw Kirsten Dunst at one. Yeah. To see her sitting on the lawn while you're watching, bring it on. I think my brain would like melt. It was really,

[00:19:43] really cool. And we did a whole night dedicated to Kirsten Dunst. Once a year, we do our slumber party where we show movies till late at night. And we decided to do her and it was bring it on. Virgin suicides at midnight. Like it was pretty interesting night, but she was like, I can't make it. And we were like, Oh, and she posted on her thing. I won't be there, but have a great time.

[00:20:12] And we just kept asking, kept pushing. And she was like, she, she knew what we did. And, and she knew about our fans. And last minute, she's like, okay, I'm going to surprise the crowd. It was really fun. That's amazing. It was really cool. And we've had so many interesting people because it's such a unique experience to watch 4,000 people, watch your movie.

[00:20:42] So last year we had Ben Stiller come for Zoolander. And he was awesome. He was like, I want to come out in character. I want to do this. We had like a crazy stunt and with a marching band and we had a runway. Oh my gosh. And Zoolander. Yeah. It was, it was really special. And then the movie started and he, his folks were like, all right, let's go, let's go to the thing.

[00:21:12] He's like, no wait, no wait. So it's like the first laugh dropped. And then the second laugh. And he's like, Oh, like you get to see this movie with 4,000 people. And I, he stuck around and watched. And, and I think it's a unique experience for them too. Yeah. But it's a great experience for everyone. And we also have a lot of well-known people coming and just watching movies. movies.

[00:21:36] We have a little like section and we get requests all the time and we, you know, it's kind of smuggled them in and, and then they get to just be a movie goer, just like everyone else. And they love that too. Absolutely. I mean, at the core, I think we just all love movies. So especially actors. So I think they appreciate what you're doing. Exactly. Yeah. We all just love movies and we love to watch movies. Like that's what we do.

[00:22:08] And looking at this season, obviously being your anniversary season, your 25th anniversary in May, your lineup includes E.T. Moulin Rouge, Mulholland Drive. How do you curate the lineup for each season? And in particular, this like banner anniversary season? Well, we work really hard on this aspect of it. And we do like have a bit of a formula. And basically it's like,

[00:22:39] what's going to hold a modern attention span, like throughout a movie, what's going to be fun to watch with a bunch of people? Like you're with your friends, like maybe it's not too heavy of a drama. Right. Although we do that. I mean, Moulin Rouge does have it. It's no one will, there won't be a dry eye in the house. Right. And,

[00:23:06] but you kind of just put yourself in the audience's place and say, okay, is this going to be a great cemetery movie? And sometimes things occur to us and we'll be like, wow, we've never tried that. Yes. I can see this working. And we, we do it, but we're having some fun with the 25th. Moulin Rouge is turning 25. Mulholland Drive is turning 25.

[00:23:33] So we're going to have a few of those that are same age as us, but really it's just about showing movies that are going to be a great experience outdoors with your friends, couple of drinks, some DJs picnic. And then I'm really excited because I'm a June baby and you have even more coming in June. You have fast times at Richmond highs, hi, the matrix.

[00:24:02] And you have a pride screening of Hedwig and the angry inch, which Jackie and I are even more excited about. Cause we covered it on the podcast. Jackie got to see it on. On Broadway. On Broadway. Yeah. Oh, how cool. Yeah. I'm really excited for that. Also turning 25. And I just feel like just, that's going to be the best vibe. But it'd be in the, in the world of that movie. It's just like,

[00:24:28] I can't wait to see who shows up and like how everyone's going to dress up and we get the best costumes and outfits. Like it's crazy. Like how dedicated people are and how creative they get. And everyone's like ready to get their photo taken in the photo booth. And so I think that's going to be like a really, really special night. I'm really excited for that one.

[00:24:57] What are your goals now that you're 20? What's it look like for the next 25 years? Well, we want to make sure that this keeps going and we partner with different studios doing different things. Our main partner is Amazon MGM studios. So for instance,

[00:25:20] we're going to do a special screening of legally blonde this year to celebrate the new legally blonde show. Oh, L. Wow. That's with Amazon MGM. We're going to have some special surprises and doing things like that. Like these collaborations have been really fun and it's sort of spotlighting a certain movie and celebrating it.

[00:25:49] And then maybe bringing some of the people from the film and having special surprises and just things that are related to the film that you can pose with like a little photo moment or maybe some songs that like obliquely like, you know, play some thing. And so like, you can just get way into your fandom of the movie. And yeah, we're looking to do a lot more things like that collaborations.

[00:26:18] And we're also partnering with this famous L.A. candy company called C's Candy. Oh, everyone in L.A. loves it. Yeah. They've been around over a hundred years and they're having an anniversary and we're doing like a special C's Cinesphere 25th. box of candy. You can only get it. Cinesphere. And we're also working with some L.A. artists.

[00:26:49] We're going to be announcing some things soon where we're going to do some really cool things with some prominent L.A. artists that are from here, born and raised and just celebrating L.A. And I think it's like the perfect time for that. So we're looking to do more stuff like that in the next 25 years and really just keep it going. Keep showing movies.

[00:27:16] Keep giving people a place to come and socialize and have a nice time. And we just really are focused on making things fun this year because we all need some fun right now. Yes. Levity is definitely needed. And as I told you before, Jackie and I used to work at Blockbuster. So we have one question for you really quick.

[00:27:43] So we were, as Blockbuster employees, we got to recommend movies and we called them employee picks. So before we let you go, can you give us three movies that are underrated classics that people need to revisit or maybe visit for the first time? Oh, my golly. I know we put you on the spot. Sorry. No, that's OK. I'm just like. It's such a tough one. So hard to choose. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:28:13] Well, for the younger generation, I would say I would recommend Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Yeah. And I'm recommending that because we are showing it this summer and I'm realizing a lot of young people don't know what it is and haven't seen it. And I think it's it's cool for a few reasons.

[00:28:36] One, it kind of it was the original like teen like sex movie that started like a whole tidal wave of similar films that didn't really get what Fast Times was about. Fast Times was directed by a woman. It's got a woman's perspective in it. And it's such a fun, funny movie.

[00:29:04] I'm going to I'm going to recommend that. I would say for anyone who's never seen All About Eve that they should watch that. It's from 1950. I know it's really old, but it's such a like great story that anyone can relate to about someone with some success and a person coming and encroaching on them and like gaming and like trying to like get up.

[00:29:32] And like it turns into like one of the best like. Catty brawls of all times. And I know that a lot of people saw that Cinespea for the first time and like were really inspired and really loved it. So I'm going to go ahead and just recommend a really old movie that's going to be All About Eve. Last one. Last one.

[00:30:01] Well, I would say if you're into horror movies. I would recommend a movie a lot of people may not have seen that's very famous to horror people. And that's the original Suspiria, the Italian Suspiria. It's visually so incredible. And it's very weird.

[00:30:27] But it's a whole style of film called Giallo Films from Italy. And they're really, really stylish, really cool, little scary, really fun. If you're into horror and you haven't seen Suspiria, I would say definitely that's in the employee pick of Cinespea. These are your amazing picks. Well, thanks.

[00:30:54] I haven't seen that one. I've seen the other two. I'm a bit of a horror baby. I get scared too easy. But if you say it's good, I'm going to try it. I will try it. It's good. But it's a proper horror movie. If you don't like horror movies, then maybe not. I'll wait until Jackie comes and visits again. I'll show you to hold my hand. I can't. I have watched Suspiria when I was in college. It's really weird.

[00:31:23] But it's sometimes good to see something weird and expand your horizons. And it's also really beautiful. And it's been copied by a million people. So you'll see like references. You'll be like, oh, someone stole that. Yes. Well, John, I want to thank you for joining us. And also just helping keeping the whole movie making magic alive for many generations.

[00:31:54] And also just anybody who's listening, I'm sure is inspired for the fact that you can just have one idea and grow it into something beyond your wildest dreams. And I think that's one of the things we try to carry on the show. So thank you. Oh, thank you so much. I mean, you two also are keeping the torch going. I love it. I still rent movies. I still go to the video store like three times a week.

[00:32:21] So I'm like still in the rental zone. But yeah, I went to Blockbuster over 10 million times in my life. So thank you for your service. Absolutely. Thank you again to John for reminding people that movies are even better when experienced together. And as always, be kind and rewind. Thank you. You. Thank you.