Dear Friend of the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre,

Thank you for joining 3458 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.

The Egyptian was sold to Netflix for $14.4 Million, and like all Los Angeles venues, has been shuttered for more than a year.
Netflix has let it be known that they have plans to keep the Egyptian closed for an indefinite period of time while they undertake major renovations / alterations, with the intent of shrinking the number of seats in the theater, removing the small Spielberg screening room and balcony, and changing the lobby layout.

We think it would be better for the community of film lovers if the versatile and beloved Spielberg screening room was not removed.

Because the Egyptian Theatre is a designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, Netflix cannot continue making decisions about the property in secret, but must make public presentations to the Cultural Heritage Commission, requesting their approval to move forward with any changes to the landmark.

On January 7, Netflix made their first such presentation, as discussed in our previous update, which includes a link to watch the video.

At that hearing, the Commissioners heard some critical public feedback, and directed Netflix to return in a few months with a more specific proposal for their changes to the Egyptian.

You can preview their slideshow now, which is still pretty light when it comes to specifics, but does show the neon blade sign on Hollywood Boulevard changed from Egyptian lapis lazuli blue to Netflix red, a switch that would require changes to color of the illuminating gas as well. We think the blue is more attractive.

Tomorrow, on Thursday April 15 at 11am, the Cultural Heritage Commission will hold a Zoom meeting, with Netflix and its architects making an updated presentation on what they want to do. The public has a voice in what they are allowed to do to this landmark. Please use it.

You can attend the CHC meeting on your computer, or call in on your phone. Members of the public will have an opportunity to make public comment expressing their opinion about items on the agenda—The Egyptian is Agenda Item 4. If you’d rather send an email, you can do that by Thursday morning before 10am at chc@lacity.org

A PDF link to the agenda and instructions for attending the meeting is here.

LISTENING ONLY: To listen by phone, dial (213) 621-2489 or (818) 904-9450. To watch on Zoom, click https://planning-lacity-org.zoom.us/j/82388393666 and use meeting ID 823 8839 3666 and password 522057.

MAKING PUBLIC COMMENT: Members of the public who wish to participate in the meeting and offer public comment can either access the Zoom link above or call 1 (213) 338-8477 or 1 (669) 900-9128 and use Meeting ID No. 823 8839 3666 and then press #. Press # again when prompted for participant ID. You may use password: 522057.

If a lot of people call in on Thursday, public comment may be limited to one minute, so be prepared to be brief. You can say a lot in one minute. Please note that the CHC is only concerned with safeguarding the landmark building, not in any concerns you might have about the non-profit and its programming, so you should include concerns about preservation in your comment.

Here’s a suggestion of something you might say if you call in — feel free to use this as your starting point, and to personalize it:

“My name is (*____) and I’m a Longtime (* Member and/or Patron) of American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre. I am concerned about Netflix’ plan to keep the theater closed indefinitely while making major changes. Is this work true to the spirit of preserving the landmark, or mainly intended to give Netflix a state-of-the-art red carpet venue? Please provide strong oversight to make sure the Egyptian is protected, that it continues to project film—including the highly flammable vintage nitrate prints which very few venues can safely show—and remains a treasure of our community for another 99 years. I question if it is really necessary to remove the Spielberg Theatre, which is home to so many small festivals that have no other venue in Hollywood and has itself become part of the theater's history? My favorite thing about the seeing a film at Egyptian Theatre is (*______). ”

We are hopeful that with the oversight of the Cultural Heritage Commission and the public, the future of the Egyptian Theatre will be a positive one. Looking forward to hearing from many of you Thursday in public comment.

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