Following the November closing of long-running San Francisco neighborhood video store and archive Le Video, it was announced today that Alamo Drafthouse founder and CEO Tim League, along with Academy Award-nominated producer Megan Ellison and her Annapurna Pictures, has arranged for the preservation of the Le Video collection.
Bay Area residents will soon be able to access portions of the Le Video archive at San Francisco's new Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Exact details are still pending, but Alamo Drafthouse will partner with Mission neighborhood video store Lost Weekend to rent selections from the Le Video archive in the spacious lobby of the new theater, along with a deeply curated collection of films from the Lost Weekend archive.
"The experience of going to my local video store when I was young made me the movie fan I am today," says Drafthouse founder and CEO Tim League. "Despite the fact that great video stores like Le Video are closing all over the country, I am confident that a new iteration of the video store experience can exist, and even thrive today. A passionate video store clerk can do what no algorithm can. They can recommend your new favorite movie, one that can't be predicted from your past viewing habits."
The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema will open for Star Wars on the 17th of December. The Lost Weekend lobby video store is slated to begin in January. Subscribe to the Alamo Drafthouse newsletter or follow @drafthouseSF on twitter for news as it happens.
