Dear Friend of the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre,
Thank you for joining nearly 3200 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 theater.

As you probably know, more than a year after this petition was launched, the long threatened sale of the Egyptian Theatre by the American Cinematheque to Netflix recently closed.

Or at least that’s what the nonprofit and corporation have announced. But no details about the sale have been shared—we don’t know how much money changed hands or what rights and obligations accompany it.

We’re slightly skeptical that the deal closed last week, since in January in Variety, Ted Sarandos (American Cinematheque board member and Netflix executive) described the "recent purchase" of the theater, and Netflix’ plan to make it “a real hub for film culture” and haven for movie aficionados. At that time, no such sale had been reported to the non-profit's membership.

The nonprofit also deleted a tweet (which we captured in a screenshot!) stating that Attorney General Xavier Beccera signed off on the sale. Why the secrecy, guys?

We were extremely disappointed in the articles announcing the sale, as the Los Angeles Times, Variety, Deadline and other outlets all basically reprinted the Netflix press release. Although our petition was mentioned in the Times, and we’ve talked for hours with reporter Ryan Faughnder about this story in the past, we weren’t called for a quote about the sale.

If Ryan had bothered to call us, our quote might have been: “It’s a shameful day when a public asset, given to a nonprofit to serve the community, is conveyed to a corporation with an executive who sat on the board, and drove it into insolvency."

But one reporter did call us that day: Chris Lindahl of IndieWire. He was interested in getting deeper into what it means for the nonprofit to sell the theater to Netflix, and why so many members and Angelenos are concerned. We had a long discussion about the ethical and legal issues raised by the sale, and we’re very pleased with the story he filed: Netflix Finally Sealed the Deal on Hollywood’s Egyptian Theatre, but Not Everyone Is Happy.

We continue to call for an open public meeting, between the board of the American Cinemetheque, the dues paying members of the non-profit, and the general public, and with the new owners of our landmark Egyptian Theatre, Netflix, so that people can finally get answers to the many questions that have been stirring around the theater for more than a year.

In light of the pandemic, this can be a virtual meeting. Surely, Netflix has the technical capacity to organize such an event.

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