The first stop on Maggie’s tour is the Museum of Jurassic Technology, where you’ll find PST ART’s A Veiled Gazelle: Intimations of the Infinite and Eternal. In the immersive exhibit, visitors can learn about the intricate, geometric patterns in Islamic architecture that have been used for over a thousand years in regions such as Spain and Morocco. “The Museum of Jurassic Technology is one of these fabulous Los Angeles spaces where you really can't talk that much about it,” laughs Mackay.

Next up is the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, a relative newcomer to the LA museum scene, opening in 2021. Here, explore the worlds of Blade Runner, The Matrix, Ghost in the Shell and more in the immersive PST ART exhibition Cyberpunk: Envisioning Possible Futures Through Cinema. “I’m really looking forward to this one,” says Mackay. “Blade Runner is like the most dystopian LA. And the museum in general…the fact that for decades, we never had a museum devoted to film is pretty bananas."

Head next to nearby LACMA, host to PST ART’s exhibition Digital Witness: Revolutions in Design, Photography, and Film. Digital Witness considers the development of image manipulation in design, art, and film, a world in which Photoshop is both software and a verb. “LACMA is an institution where, especially if you go for, like, a jazz night or on one of the days where it’s free, you see everybody,” says Mackay. “You have a sense of ownership, a feeling of belonging when you’re there.”

One of Mackay’s favorite movie theaters in town is the New Beverly, nicknamed The New Bev, a cultural fixture that first opened in 1978 and today, is owned by Quentin Tarantino. “When my kids were really little,” reminisces Mackay, “I didn’t have a local theater to go to, especially one that had programming for young kids. And so, we would trek across town to the New Bev.”

Make your way east to the tour’s next destinations—and treat yourself to iconic film history. Mackay says, when she’s driving somewhere, she’ll sometimes change her route to pass by places that hold meaning for her from the movies. "I didn't know until two days ago, when we showed Clueless at Vidiots, that it was largely shot on the Occidental campus," she says. "That's one of the beauties of being a film lover and living here is that these places are just part of your everyday life."

"Griffith Observatory is so romantic, so cinematic, and I always think of Rebel Without a Cause and Devil in a Blue Dress when I'm there."

"Sunset Tower Hotel is gorgeous and sparkling in The Player, like its own character. We are a city of storytellers and liars and make believers and these places all become part of our narrative.”

If you get hungry during the drive, Mackay loves the Oaxacan restaurant Guelaguetza, one of many examples, for her, of Angelenos’ indomitable spirit. “Los Angeles is bold, full of people who decide every morning that they will get up and do something independent. You have to be fearless to do that—and it's exhausting—but it really makes us who we are. Guelaguetza started out as a teeny tiny family-run place. And now, it's this hugely popular restaurant."

The Vista, in between Los Feliz and Silver Lake, celebrated its hundredth birthday last year. Showing a mix of new releases and classic 35mm flicks, the Vista, like the New Bev, was taken over and revitalized by Quentin Tarantino. “One of the reasons I worked so hard to get the Vidiot’s lease at the Eagle signed so quickly,” Mackay says, “is that the first time I came in I was like, This feels like the Vista. I've never not had a good time at the Vista.”

Head next to Highland Park to catch a show at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater which Mackay calls, “the love of my life. We share a lot of DNA, Bob Baker and Vidiots…these sort of offbeat cultural cornerstones of Los Angeles where generations of people have grown up and for which you feel this extreme affection and sense of protection. It also still feels like so much of what they do is for kids in LA. It feels like a good time, but it’s also an early exposure to the possibility of art."