Dear Friend of the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre,

Thank you for joining more than 1200 concerned citizens who have signed the petition urging the board of the American Cinematheque to hold a public meeting, explain the problems facing the troubled non-profit, halt any potential sale of the Egyptian Theatre and be transparent about its plans moving forward. The petition is directed to the board, to the local city councilmember's office, and to the California Attorney General, who was already investigating the American Cinematheque before it sought to sell the theatre.

We’re very pleased to tell you that Matthew Blake of the Los Angeles Business Journal has written an article, “Will LA Stall Netflix Plan? Deal for Egyptian may face hurdles.” You can read it here.

We hope this article will help get word of this crisis out to a wider audience, especially to members and patrons of the Cinematheque, and will encourage Netflix to consider restoring one of L.A.'s numerous derelict motion picture palaces instead of taking over a community treasure like the Egyptian.

Why are we volunteering so much of our time trying to raise consciousness about this matter? Because the American Cinematheque matters. It exists due to the gift of millions of dollars in public money and countless community volunteer hours. Without both, the earthquake-damaged Egyptian Theatre would likely have been demolished. All this work, money and love puts a tremendous burden on the non-profit board to practice good stewardship and to act in the best interest of the organization's mission, and as representatives of the members. Instead, the board appears to be acting in the interest of a corporation, and is keeping the membership and community in the dark.

The American Cinematheque is the only non-profit film repertory theater in Hollywood, and if the Egyptian is sold to a for-profit corporation, the community will suffer a real loss. No corporation will provide the same range of non-commercial programming or the same sense of community for the members, many of whom have decades long relationships with the place and one another.

It's naive to think this is a binary choice, where the Egyptian Theatre is either shuttered or sold to Netflix. There are a lot of choices. We'd like to hear about them.

That's our story. What's yours? Please continue to share the petition with friends who love the American Cinematheque and want to see it thrive in the historic Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. And stay tuned for additional news as we have it.

Yours for Los Angeles,
Kim Cooper & Richard Schave
Friends of the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre