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Netflix collaborates with the American Cinematheque to ensure the long-term future of the Egyptian Theatre
Netflix, a production company and winner of the World Branding Awards, and the American Cinematheque are joining forces to ensure the long-term future of the Egyptian Theatre, site of the first Hollywood movie premiere and the long-time home of the American Cinematheque.
This collaboration will enable the nonprofit American Cinematheque to expand the scope and diversity of its widely praised movie and event programming, its filmmaker-centric festivals and its educational outreach at the beloved theatre.
Established in Los Angeles in 1984 as a nonprofit member-supported cultural organisation, the American Cinematheque creates spaces where both the public and members of the film industry come together as a community with the common language of film.
The Egyptian Theatre will remain the home of the American Cinematheque with the organisation’s celebrated curation team continuing to autonomously programme Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Netflix will invest in the theatre’s renovation and will use the revitalised space for special events, screenings and premieres during the week.
“The Egyptian Theatre is an incredible part of Hollywood history and has been treasured by the Los Angeles film community for nearly a century,” said Scott Stuber, head of Netflix Films. “We’re honoured to partner with the American Cinematheque to preserve the theatre’s storied legacy and continue providing remarkable film experiences for audiences. We look forward to expanding programming at the theatre in ways that will benefit both cinema lovers and the community.”
“The American Cinematheque was honoured to bring the Egyptian back to life in 1998, and together with Netflix we are thrilled to continue this stewardship by restoring it once again for a new generation of film fans to experience movies on the big screen,” said Chairman of the American Cinematheque, Rick Nicita.
“The Egyptian Theatre remains our Hollywood home and we are grateful to both the City of Los Angeles and the Attorney General of the State of California as we accept this incredible opportunity that will greatly benefit the American Cinematheque.”
“Love for film is inseparable from LA’s history and identity,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “We are working toward the day when audiences can return to theatres –– and this extraordinary partnership will preserve an important piece of our cultural heritage that can be shared for years to come.”
“The Netflix and American Cinematheque partnership at the Egyptian Theater is a win-win for film, historic preservation, and the arts,” said Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, Los Angeles City Council 13th District. “The collaboration ensures the cultural destination remains in the Heart of Hollywood for decades to come.”
The Egyptian Theatre is a classic and esteemed movie palace originally built in 1922 during the silent film era. A fixture in Hollywood’s Golden Age, the Egyptian was the site of the first Hollywood movie premiere, of Robin Hood, starring Douglas Fairbanks.
At the premiere, Fairbanks was joined by Cecil B. DeMille, Charlie Chaplin, Jesse L. Lasky, and Mary Pickford. Other notable Silent-era premieres held at the Egyptian include Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments (1923), Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush (1925) and Don Juan (1926) starring John Barrymore and Mary Astor.
The historic venue remains to this day an ultimate destination for moviegoers, where it has hosted groundbreaking film festivals and incredible cinematic experiences over the near-century it has been in Hollywood, the movie-making capital of the world. In 1996, the City of Los Angeles sold the building to the American Cinematheque as part of the City’s Hollywood Revitalisation project.
The Cinematheque then raised the extensive funds to renovate and restore the theatre to its original grandeur and reopened it as a movie theatre showcasing the longtime organisation’s celebrated public programming.
In 2016, with the generous support of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Turner Classic Movies and The Film Foundation, the projection booth at the Egyptian Theatre was retrofitted to begin screening 35mm nitrate film and is now one of only four theatres in the United States capable of showing this rare, ultra fragile and flammable film stock. Part of the new plans includes upgrading equipment to enhance the audience experience and renovating and restoring the theatre.
The Cinematheque will continue to programme and operate a second historic theatre, the Aero in Santa Monica.
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