Dear Friend of the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre,

Thank you for joining 3979 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 has been shuttered for more than a year. Netflix plans to keep it closed 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.

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, and they returned on April 15.

Thanks to an interested viewer, video of Netflix' presentation about their proposed changes to the landmark Egyptian Theatre, and comments from concerned community members, is now available on the Internet Archive.

And community members citizens had plenty to say… about inappropriate LED signage and loss of American Cinematheque branding, proposed removal of the beloved courtyard palm trees and potential damage to the theater’s acoustics.

The most worrying complaints came from members of the film community, warning that Netflix’ plan to destroy the jewel box Spielberg screening room would effectively kill small festivals like LA Filmforum.

Even though the Spielberg isn’t one of the historic resources that the CHC oversees, Commissioner Barry Molifsky was also concerned, and asked Netflix if they would consider turning one of the vacant storefronts into a small film venue. Absolutely not—they need this space for their catering kitchen, and have no interest in changing the historic use from Mercantile (catering is retail now?).

The Commissioners didn’t push harder, but there’s only so much they can do. However, this is something that Councilman Mitch O’Farrell could lobby Netflix to accommodate, assuming he cared. Drop him a line if you care, too.

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. We will continue to let you know when there are opportunities for the public to be heard.

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