How a Local Theater is Giving Moviegoers a Brand-New Experience

In the heart of Davenport, a recently-built theater offers something unique to local moviegoers. The Last Picture House, a theater opened in late 2023 by Quad Cities natives, aims to provide a better movie-viewing experience to all film fans in the area. 

Scott Beck and Bryan Woods decided to move back to the Quad Cities to work on a new kind of project — a local theater to bring some of their Hollywood experience back to their own home town.

Scott Beck and Bryan Woods

The Beginning

In 2019, filmmakers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods were fresh off the success of one their most recent movies, A Quiet Place. This incredibly successful movie had just made $340.9 million at the box office. However, after all of this Hollywood success, these filmmakers started drafting a plan to create a new theater experience in Davenport, Iowa of all places. 

Long before their success, Beck and Woods were both raised in Bettendorf, Iowa. Quickly becoming friends, they bonded over their love of film at the University of Iowa. From here, the two have written, directed, or produced many movies together, including hits like A Quiet Place (2018), 65 (2023), and Heretic (2024). The pair has had a very successful career in Hollywood, working with some of the most popular actors today. 

The Theater

One of the three theaters in The Last Picture House

However, after a few years, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods decided to move back to the Quad Cities to work on a new kind of project — a local theater to bring some of their Hollywood experience back to their own home town. Once they planned everything out, the project involved massive remodeling and building to create The Last Picture House as it stands today.

The completed building houses three theaters: two main indoor theaters and one smaller rooftop theater. While many theaters have older, outdated, and dirty theaters, The Last Picture House is still very well-maintained. Everything was very recently built, allowing the building to be in the great condition it is now. Additionally, the building displays a lot of props and movie memorabilia from famous movies. From props from some classic movies to outfits worn in some of Beck and Woods’ films, this theater’s collection is truly impressive.

A Unique Experience

Beck and Woods wanted to bring unique experiences to the Quad Cities. In addition to new releases, The Last Picture House often has screenings of many famous classic movies as well, giving you the chance to see movies on the big-screen you wouldn’t have otherwise seen. Because there aren’t many theaters in this building, the selection of movies to go and watch can be limited. However, the movies shown are chosen well and aren’t showing for too long, allowing for more movies to cycle through. 

Additionally, Scott Beck and Bryan Woods have used their theater as a chance to host some special events in the Quad Cities. Over time, they’ve held exclusive early premiers to many movies, which are often sold-out events. As well as this, usually once a month The Last Picture House hosts a special screening of a movie, followed by a Q&A with someone involved in making the movie, ranging from directors to actors and actresses. Beck and Woods have been able to use their Hollywood connections to get some notable people in current popular movies to come all the way to Iowa for these Q&A sessions. Overall, these experiences bring something to the Quad Cities that we haven’t seen before, providing many with very unique events to attend. 

Conclusions

The Last Picture House, started by Hollywood filmmakers from our area, provides a refreshing experience for anyone who likes to go see movies. Their beautifully designed theaters and unique events are something we don’t ever really get around here, but this new theater is changing that. 

If you enjoy watching movies in theaters and haven’t gone to The Last Picture House yet, this theater might be a great place to go. This amazing new theater has an interesting backstory and is a very special place in our area that I’m sure many people will enjoy for years to come.