Topline:
The David Geffen Theater at the Academy Museum is a modern movie palace with a wide range of programming, where tickets are always just $10.
Why it matters: With the rise of streaming, and the continued effects of the pandemic, many have closed — including, just last month, the nearly 100-year-old Highland Theatre in Los Angeles.
Why now: The Academy Museum has been screening more contemporary films like Nope or even Twister, and Gen Z is responding.
Go deeper:
It’s no secret that movie theaters have been hit hard in recent years. First, pandemic shutdowns in 2020 and then a dearth of product during the dual SAG/WGA strikes of 2023.
Approximately 2,000 screens across the nation have closed. That includes independent movie houses and chain multiplexes like Regal Cinemas. In the last few weeks, theaters in Cincinnati, Dover, Denver, and Boise, have joined L.A.’s Highland Theatre in saying goodbye.
But as we’ve been sharing in recent weeks, there are theaters that have found renewed life, especially around Los Angeles. Whether it's because of celebrity intervention or a serious dose of blood, sweat and occasional tears, one thing unites a lot of these places: repertory films.
The David Geffen Theater at the Academy Museum is a red velvet marvel of a space. The walls, the ceiling, the seats envelop you in a red-carpet-red dome. While it doesn’t have the classic 100-year-old architecture of a place like the Egyptian or the Chinese, it’s a modern movie palace that might be showing anything from 2 Fast 2 Furious to Showgirls to Soy Cuba or Spellbound.
From the street on Wilshire, in the Miracle Mile neighborhood near LACMA and the La Brea Tar Pits, the suspended spherical structure looks more like the Death Star than a 952-seat movie theater. And despite its location, you don’t have to purchase entry to the museum to catch a movie here, and tickets to screenings are just $10, regardless of the movie or guest speaker. (Christopher Nolan on-stage? $10.)
Underground is the Geffen’s sister cinema, the Ted Mann. (The theaters are named after the entertainment magnates and museum’s major donors.)
“Saying that the cinema is in the basement is not doing it justice,” says Academy Museum director of programming, K.J. Relth-Miller. It’s a 277-seat theater that is a visual counter to the Geffen’s overwhelming red — instead, draped in a cool green. Relth-Miller shares: “When the experimental filmmaker Mike Kuchar came into the space, he walked in and said, ‘I'm going to get lost in the cinema forest.’”
Both theaters are truly state of the art — equipped with multi-format projection (that’s the full range of 16mm, 35mm, 70mm, and digital) with Dolby vision and sound.
The screenings at the David Geffen and Ted Mann theaters will always nod to the Academy’s history, with programs like Oscar Sundays, celebrating films that have been honored at the awards. Or, the Branch Selects series, chosen in partnership with the 18 branches of the Academy, each representing a different craft or discipline in filmmaking.
But that doesn’t mean the only films they program are Academy Award winners or nominees. Relth-Miller notes that “the ceremony is one marker of cultural excellence, but we're really interested in moving beyond that.”
Programming at these theaters also explores counter-cultural trends and movements that may not have been recognized by the Academy, like screenings of cult classics by John Waters or talks with filmmakers like punk icon Penelope Spheeris.
And there’s an appetite for this kind of film programming among audiences.
Relth-Miller had been programming films in Los Angeles at UCLA for about six years, screening in the Billy Wilder Theater. There, she had been working with an audience that was skewing 50 and older before the pandemic shut their doors in 2020.
Now at the Academy Museum, which opened its doors in 2021, Relth-Miller is seeing the majority of audience members at screenings are under the age of 40.
(It should be noted that the New Beverly Cinema, just north of the Academy Museum in the Fairfax District, also reported younger audiences coming to the theater post pandemic).
“That's actually a different demographic than what we were seeing citywide in the repertory scene before the pandemic,” says Relth-Miller.
But it was not an easy road getting here.
Architectural plans for the museum’s building were first presented in 2008, shortly before the housing market crash. The initial land purchased for the museum site was sold and plans were put on hold.
In 2012, new plans were presented by architect Renzo Piano for a new location in the former May Company building, a historic Streamline Moderne structure on the corner of Fairfax Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard. The estimated opening date was 2017, but amid fundraising slowdowns, budget increases, and leadership changes, the museum’s launch was pushed to December 2020. That was announced before COVID shutdowns began. Then the museum’s opening was eventually set for September 2021.
”We have had to build an audience from a post pandemic reality,” Relth-Miller says.
The shifting age demos and trends around repertory screenings have opened doors to what is considered a “revival” film.
A successful screening of Twister (1996) took Relth-Miller by surprise. When she first started programming theaters in L.A., less than a decade ago, she recalls, “I felt like it was hard to get folks out for a film from the 90s because the films still felt fresh to the majority of the people who were going out to see repertory screenings, right?”
But younger generations who didn’t have a chance to see those films in theaters, and who are developing a cinephilia on platforms like Letterboxd, are clamoring for an experience.
“Gen Z did not have a chance to see something like Twister in the theater, and so they're gonna show up and see it on 35mm, and sometimes in their first ever opportunity to have a communal experience with it," Relth-Miller says.
In reporting out this series, every cinema operator or programmer I’ve spoken with has talked about movie theaters as a source of memory. Maybe you don’t even remember the movie itself, but you remember the company, the seats, the popcorn. And screening films can be an act of recall too.
“We're like activating ghosts, right?” says Relth-Miller. “We're watching people come to life. We're bringing Katharine Hepburn back to life when we show something like Christopher Strong, and when we screen Spellbound, we're bringing Gregory Peck back to life, before our very eyes.”
The David Geffen and Ted Mann theaters are only three years old — most of their history is yet to come.
“We can feel a sense of history the older a place becomes,” says Relth-Miller. “I think what's the most exciting thing to think about is what this theater will feel like in 20 years…because of the people who have come through it.”
Upcoming film programs include The Sewing Circle: Sapphic Icons of Early Hollywood, In the Midnight Hour: A History of Late-Night Movies and Forever a Contender: A Centennial Tribute to Marlon Brando. You can find a full calendar of screenings here.
Topline:
Metrolink’s Orange County service between the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo and Oceanside stations will be temporarily suspended next week, starting Monday, Oct. 26, through Friday, Oct. 30.
What lines will run? Orange County Line trains will operate only between L.A. Union Station and the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo Station. According to Metrolink, alternate transportation such as buses will not be available.
Why now? A coastal flood warning is in effect for the entire Orange and San Diego coastline Sunday through Thursday. “Astronomical” high tides could create significant coastal flooding starting Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Morning high tides could reach nearly 7 feet Saturday morning and are likely to exceed 7.5 or 8 feet by Monday.
Officials said: “The temporary service adjustment is intended to minimize the potential for widespread delays and cancellations if coastal conditions disrupt rail operations,” Metrolink officials wrote in an announcement Thursday. “This shift will also reduce competing rail traffic and shorten potential weather-related delays for other carriers, including Amtrak Pacific Surfliner and freight trains, that operate along the beachfront corridor near San Clemente.”
Background: The service suspension is along the troubled rail corridor from South Orange County to the San Diego County line. Erosion and landslides along the coastal rail have caused disruptions since 2021.
Dig deeper … The OC Transit Authority is in the middle of creating its 30-year plan for the coastal rail.
Topline:
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office filed charges Wednesday against six parents and one relative of children involved in illegal e-motorcycle use. O.C. District Attorney Todd Spitzer joined AirTalk, LAist 89.3's daily news show, to talk about the charges and rising e-bike-related incidents.
What he's saying: "We have about a 430% increase in emergency room visits by young people today, underage minors, who are being injured as a result of these e-bikes," Spitzer said, referring to incidents in Southern California.
A growing issue: Spitzer pointed out that Wednesday’s charges are the latest in a growing number of cases involving e-bikes, including one incident that resulted in a 13-year-old rider’s death.
Why charge the parents? Spitzer clarified that parents are not being charged with a crime just for giving their child an e-bike. "We're filing when the adult who's responsible for the actions of that child has additional special knowledge that their kid is a danger to the community and, in most cases, to themselves," he said, such as a history of reckless riding or knowledge of illegal modifications.
Example: In the case of the 13-year-old who died after crashing his e-motorcycle, his father could face up to six years in prison.
Listen to the full conversation:
Topline:
The third annual OC Book Fair returns to Old Town Tustin on Nov. 14 with bookish activities, local authors, shopping and more. A portion of El Camino Real will be closed for the free event.
What to expect: Attendees will be able to watch author talks, get books signed, participate in community roundtables and more. The fair lineup features indie bookstores, including local shops like Arvida Book Co., Heartbound Book Shop and the Untold Story Bookstore.
What you need to know: The fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. along El Camino Real between Main and Second streets and on Third Street between C Street and Prospect Avenue.
What about parking? Free street parking will be available throughout Old Town Tustin, as well as at the Tustin Public Library and the Civic Center. More free parking will also be available at the C Street Parking Structure, located behind 158 W. Main St.
For more info: Visit the OC Book Fair site.
Topline:
In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled what is likely one of the last large climate announcements of his tenure: California will move forward with linking its decade-old carbon market with a newly formed market in Washington state, aiming to merge it with the market California already shares with Quebec. Newsom said California was “choosing certainty, partnership, and clean energy” amid a stream of federal climate policy rollbacks. As Newsom leaves his post, many policy and climate experts say the adjustments to the program put California’s climate goals further out of reach. The program provides billions of dollars in funding for climate and other programs.
Why it matters: With little talk of climate policy in the governor's race, Californians are largely left guessing about how Steve Hilton or Xavier Becerra would handle the program or California’s broader climate ambitions. The Becerra campaign did not respond to multiple emailed requests for comment. Hilton told CalMatters he would move to suspend the carbon market — which he called “a disaster of a program” — entirely.
What's at stake: Whoever wins in November can appoint a handful of new members to the California Air Resources Board, which has to finish writing the linkage rules and will propose the budget that leans on carbon market revenue. The next governor will also help decide how aggressively California leads on climate, after a year of mixed signals about where the program is headed.
The backstory: Twenty years ago, lawmakers made California the first state to mandate broad cuts in greenhouse gas emissions with AB 32, the landmark carbon emissions reduction law, which authorized the subsequent creation of a market. The law requires the program to be as cost-effective as possible while maximizing benefits to the state’s economy.
In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled what is likely one of the last large climate announcements of his tenure: California will move forward with linking its decade-old carbon market with a newly formed market in Washington state, aiming to merge it with the market California already shares with Quebec.
Newsom said California was “choosing certainty, partnership, and clean energy” amid a stream of federal climate policy rollbacks.
But the announcement didn’t distract environmental advocates from the sting of a challenging year back home for the so-called “cap-and-invest” program. As Newsom leaves his post, many policy and climate experts say the adjustments to the program put California’s climate goals further out of reach. The program provides billions of dollars in funding for climate and other programs.
Yet with little talk of climate policy in the governor's race, Californians are largely left guessing about how Steve Hilton or Xavier Becerra would handle the program or California’s broader climate ambitions. The Becerra campaign did not respond to multiple emailed requests for comment. Hilton told CalMatters he would move to suspend the carbon market — which he called “a disaster of a program” — entirely.
Twenty years ago, lawmakers made California the first state to mandate broad cuts in greenhouse gas emissions with AB 32, the landmark carbon emissions reduction law, which authorized the subsequent creation of a market. The law requires the program to be as cost-effective as possible while maximizing benefits to the state’s economy.
Whoever wins in November can appoint a handful of new members to the California Air Resources Board, which has to finish writing the linkage rules and will propose the budget that leans on carbon market revenue. The next governor will also help decide how aggressively California leads on climate, after a year of mixed signals about where the program is headed.
“It's really set up the politics of these issues to get worse and not better over time, and that is the problem that is being tossed like a live grenade into the lap of the next governor,” said Danny Cullenward, an economist who sits on an advisory committee focused on the carbon market.
In May, a process to reauthorize the keystone climate program ended with a controversial agreement that the Legislative Analyst’s Office projects will roughly halve annual auction revenue, offering about $2 billion less in funding for priority environmental programs while opening a separate pool of free permits for polluters that pledge to invest in decarbonization, valued at as much as $4 billion.
Oil companies fought the initial cap-and-invest reauthorization proposal, arguing it would encourage companies to leave the state or further increase fuel prices. The California Air Resources Board, which manages the program, said the increased allowances it eventually approved were meant to balance affordability and economic uncertainty alongside emissions targets. In an email, a board spokesperson said the new incentives would not have any impact on the market’s auction revenue. (The Western States Petroleum Association, which represents refiners in the state, declined an interview for this story.)
The concern comes as California prepares to elect its next governor and nears its own 2030 target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40% below 1990 levels, on its way to zeroing out emissions by 2045.
“This is not a question anymore of whether or not we'll reach the target. This is a guarantee that we won't,” said Katie Valenzuela, a consultant for Communities for a Better Environment who previously co-chaired an environmental justice committee that advised regulators on the state’s program.
State officials have long framed cap-and-invest as a backstop, keeping the state on track for its climate targets by ratcheting down the emissions limit even if other programs fall short. Advocates worry the changes will have a chilling effect rather than signal the market’s long-term strength, just as California loses ground to federal rollbacks.
“It is going to become very difficult for us to say we are a climate leader when we are visibly missing our targets,” Cullenward said.
Others remain more optimistic. Cap-and-invest is one tool in California’s toolbox, even if this year dulled it. Meredith Fowlie, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, said the program is not optimal but has done the basics of its job: sending a price signal to drive down emissions while raising revenues for important programs.
Linking with Washington’s market will strengthen California’s program overall, air board Chair Lauren Sanchez wrote to Newsom in September. In addition to creating a larger market with more credits available to industries in both states, the link is expected to raise carbon credit prices in California, where recent auctions have yielded prices at state minimums. A connected market could also lower prices in Washington, making the state’s more stringent program less lucrative. Low prices reduce the program’s revenues and starve polluting industries’ incentive to invest in lowering emissions.
Regulators have not yet established a rulemaking timeline for the linkage process, a spokesperson for the board told CalMatters, but the board expects the joint market to begin operating next year.
Chloe Ames, policy adviser at NextGen Policy, an organization founded by former gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer, called linkage a strong step forward. The group is disappointed by the other changes made to cap-and-invest this year, she said, and will keep urging the legislature to adjust the industry incentives and California’s next governor to take climate seriously.
“It's been more challenging for us to say that we're a climate leader, and that's why we need to step up,” Ames said. “In this work, what are you going to do other than to be hopeful?”
Since the market began, revenue has funded a wide range of priorities, including job training, clean energy and affordable housing. Managing those investments, alongside costs to Californians and emissions cuts, has been a balancing act — one the next governor will inherit, Fowlie said. “Some of those objectives are potentially in tension,” she said. “A sole focus on designing the program to meet our greenhouse gas reductions misses this really important larger picture that this program is about more than that.”
The legislature approved the program’s reauthorization and the state’s air regulators lay out its rules, but a governor has influence over how that process plays out and can exert his own priorities, Cullenward said.
Beyond the carbon market, governors have wider latitude: Newsom has used his executive authority on wildfires, water shortages and clean energy.
In the governor’s race, neither candidate has centered climate in his campaign. In their one debate, both candidates steered a question about climate change’s impacts toward affordability concerns, offering little detail on the actual climate policies they favor.
“I think it's fair to say that climate probably isn't the top priority of either one,” said Barry Vesser, the chief operating officer at the Climate Center, a California environmental group that opposed this year’s changes to the carbon market.
Becerra’s campaign website emphasizes affordability in climate policy. He has faced criticism for defending Chevron and for accepting large oil and gas donations. As attorney general, though, he defended the state’s carbon program in court, arguing that “carbon pollution knows no borders” and promising that California would fight the first Trump administration’s rollbacks.
Hilton has rallied against California’s Democratic establishment, and he told CalMatters he would aim to de-bloat the bureaucracy guiding the state’s climate policies. He likened the market’s recent programmatic changes to “rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.” Hilton, who considers himself an environmentalist, has argued for redirecting resources from current climate programs and wildfire mitigation toward management of the state’s natural lands. He also wants to rework renewable incentives to create “a level playing field” for technologies like rooftop solar, hydropower and geothermal energy. His strategy, he claims, will reduce economic burdens for Californians while exceeding the state’s climate targets.
The relative lack of attention to climate policy is a missed opportunity, according to Valenzuela and Vesser. They see a chance for the next governor to more directly and publicly connect climate programs to affordability, a key concern for likely voters and an issue on which Becerra and Hilton agree.
Ultimately, the race’s rhetoric has advocates like Valenzuela “freaked out.” She points to a “huge chasm” between present reality and the policies that would put California on the right track. The state has little time left for the aggressive action its climate ambitions require, she and other advocates say, and it’s time to start dealing in reality.
“There's not many more governors left we can kick the can to before that bill comes due,” Cullenward said.
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
