Vidiots Co-Founders, Patty Polinger & Cathy Tauber
In this Roundtable, we are joined by Patty Polinger and Cathy Tauber, the founders of the iconic Los Angeles video store, Vidiots. Vidiots opened its doors in Santa Monica in 1985 with a mission to provide access to art house films and rare titles. During its tenure, it served as a community space with events and became a mecca for cinephiles. Vidiots had to close its doors in 2017, but has found a new home at the Eagle Theatre in Eagle Rock. Construction will begin this summer with a plan to open its doors in the first quarter of 2022. The Eagle Theatre location will include a video store, a 250 seat cinema, as well as a 40 seat micro cinema, a bar, and an event space. We sat down with Patty and Cathy to discuss the history of their beloved store, the steps they took trying and ultimately succeeding in saving it, and their hope for the future of the theater experience.
You can find a link to a virtual tour of the Eagle Theatre with renderings of what the finished space will look like, as well as a link to donate to the Vidiots Foundation below:
