B.J. Novak Spotlights The Brattle Theater

It’s fun when media press tours produce cool and unexpected tangential pieces like “My Favorite Cinema.” A part of Focus Features PR map, the segment speaks to filmmakers/artists about their favorite movie theater. In support of VENGEANCE, the movie he wrote/directed/starred in, B.J. Novak discusses the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Admittedly this mostly caught my eye because, being from Massachusetts, I am very familiar with the Brattle. It’s part of a building (Brattle Hall) that’s been around since the 19th century, and the theater itself has been in operation since 1953. Brattle Theater is a single-screen repertory cinema, meaning it plays older titles. But it also does a lot of fun events showing various contemporary indie/arthouse films or spotlighting certain auteurs—I saw an advanced screening of THE WORLD’S END there with Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost in attendance.

As Novak notes, the seats are not comfortable. Any movie theater made before like 1988 was apparently unaware of any sort of ergonomic options for coziness nor did it understand why human beings may prefer to not be in seats that feel like some sort of parochial school punishment. It’s a hidden gem in Cambridge, MA, that is certainly worth checking out if you are in the area. This video from Focus Features talks about the Brattle Theater’s history, relationship with Harvard, technology, programming, and more.

Learn even more about this historic and dope cultural fixture by following the Brattle Theater on Twitter and check out the Brattle Theater Foundation for information about events and ways to help keep this cinematic institution going for another 70 years.

Novak’s film VENGEANCE is currently in theaters and on demand now.