Laemmle Glendale Independent Cinema: $7 Tuesdays and Q&As

Every film at Laemmle Glendale costs $7 on Tuesdays, which makes it one of the cheapest art house nights in Los Angeles County. The cinema sits at 207 N. Maryland Avenue in downtown Glendale, on the northwest corner of Maryland and Wilson avenues and one block east of Brand Boulevard. On the other weeknights, Monday through Thursday, an adult ticket is $14, and seniors, children and military pay $11.

Laemmle Theatres was founded in 1938 by Kurt and Max Laemmle, nephews of Carl Laemmle, who started Universal Pictures. Nearly nine decades later the company is still a family-run circuit built around foreign-language films, documentaries and American independents, the kind of titles that rarely land in the multiplexes along Brand.

The Glendale house is one of seven Laemmle locations in Southern California, alongside the Royal in West LA, the Monica Film Center in Santa Monica, NoHo 7, Town Center 5 in Encino, Newhall and Claremont 5. If a film you want has finished at one of them, it is often still showing at another.

Glendale has become a regular stop for filmmaker Q&As. On October 22, director Matt Stuertz and star Jackie Kelly take questions after the 7:15 pm show of Human, moderated by Becca Howard. On October 23 and 24, co-directors Stephen Maing and Eric Daniel Metzgar talk after the 7:10 pm shows of The Great Experiment.

On October 28, director Habiba Nosheen joins the 7:30 pm show of The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony, with filmmaker Senain Kheshgi moderating. These evenings are what make an independent cinema worth the drive: the person who made the film is ten feet from your seat, and the room is small enough for a real conversation.

The current slate shows the range. You Can See Everything runs 175 minutes, and Musk runs 235, a four-hour sit that starts at 1 pm or 6 pm. Digger, Naza and the documentary There's No Place Like Home share the other screens, and a revival of Atonement is in its last days with a 4:30 pm show.

Laemmle marks the last day of each run as Ends Thursday on its listings, which is a useful nudge. Films turn over every week, so if something has been on your list, the final Thursday is not the night to wait for.

Buying is simple on the theater page: showtimes in blue are open for online purchase, and showtimes in red are already sold out, which happens most often on Q&A nights. There is also a printable showtime list for the week, handy if you are planning around a long film like Musk, and Laemmle Premiere Cards and gift cards are sold through the same site.

Laemmle's pricing changes by day and by start time. On Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays, adults pay $17, and children 11 and under, seniors 62 and over and military with ID pay $14. Students with ID pay $14 for films that start after 6 pm, and any weekend film that starts before 2 pm is $14 for everyone.

Monday to Thursday is cheaper: $14 for adults, $11 for children, seniors and military, and an $11 bargain price for anything that starts before 6 pm. Seniors get the best deal of all on weekdays, $8 for any film that starts before 6 pm Monday to Friday. Tuesday overrides everything at $7 a film. Series, festival titles and special engagements marked SE have their own pricing, so the numbers above apply to regular runs.

The cheapest parking in downtown Glendale is part of the deal. Validated parking is in The Exchange Parking Garage at 115 North Artsakh Avenue, across Wilson just south of the theater, and four hours cost $1 with validation, enough for a long film and dinner. Without validation, City Lots 3 and 4 on Maryland, about half a block north, are paid lots, and there are meters on Wilson and the surrounding streets.

Driving in on the 134, exit at Brand Boulevard, head south on Brand and turn left on Wilson Avenue. The theater is on your left before you reach Maryland.

One block west, the Alex Theatre on Brand Boulevard is Glendale's 1925 movie palace turned performing arts hall, and its neon tower is the landmark of the street at night. A few blocks south, the Americana at Brand shopping district has a musical fountain and a lawn that make an easy pre-show stop with kids.

Across from the Americana, the Museum of Neon Art collects signs from old Los Angeles businesses, a fitting detour before a film. Glendale's Armenian bakeries and grill houses line Brand and the side streets, and a plate of kebab before a 7 pm show is a local habit worth adopting.

Laemmle Glendale suits Eastside and Valley moviegoers who want art house programming without the drive to the Westside. Burbank, Atwater Village, Eagle Rock and Los Feliz are all a short hop away, and the $1 parking removes the usual Los Angeles penalty for driving to the movies. Families get a $11 child ticket on weeknights, and retirees with free afternoons can see a new release for $8.

Address: Laemmle Glendale, 207 N. Maryland Avenue, Glendale, CA 91206, at Wilson Avenue. Hours: showtimes vary by day and are posted on laemmle.com, On Thursday, October 22 the first show started at 12:45 pm and the last at 7:40 pm.

Tickets: Monday to Thursday $14 adults and $11 for children, seniors and military; Friday to Sunday and holidays $17 adults and $14 for children, seniors, students after 6 pm and military; Tuesday $7 for every film; seniors $8 before 6 pm on weekdays. Parking: $1 for four hours with validation at The Exchange garage. Ask the Karpo APP to time dinner on Brand around a 7:15 pm Q&A screening, and it will plan the walk from the garage.