Who Can Save The Hollywood ArcLight?

HOLLYWOOD, CA — Calls to save the Hollywood Arclight are only getting louder in the wake of the news that Pacific and Arclight Theatres would not reopen after the pandemic. Social media has been ablaze with memories and tributes, while a Change.com petition titled "Save The Cinerama Dome" had brought in nearly 20,000 signatures as of April 21, 10 days after its creation

The venue means a lot to Hollywood; not just the fans, but to many accomplished actors, and filmmakers who were fortunate enough to have their work shown on the big screen at the dome. Jon M. Chu, the director of "Crazy Rich Asians" and "In the Heights," told the L.A. Times of the moment he premiered his first feature film at the dome, impacting him so much he had to take some of the theater home with him.

"In the middle of the screening, I snuck out so I could ask the guys rolling up the red carpet if I could cut a piece off for my memories," Chu said. "They looked at me suspiciously, but then I explained I was the director and their faces lit up. They immediately grabbed scissors and cut me a giant square that I still have today in my house."

The dome was declared a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1998, and has seen a number of timely makeovers in the time since. It was once decked in green with tubular ears for Shrek 2 and later adorned with a sliding Spiderman figure for the release of "Spider-Man 2" in 2004.

The Hollywood ArcLight was also featured in Quentin Tarantino's film "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," and has appeared in "Entourage" and other TV shows. According to Deadline, the venue is one of the highest-grossing movie theaters in America.

News of the planned closure first came down on April 11 through a statement posted to Pacifictheaters.com.

"After shutting our doors more than a year ago, today we must share the difficult and sad news that Pacific will not be reopening its ArcLight Cinemas and Pacific Theatres locations," the statement reads."This was not the outcome anyone wanted, but despite a huge effort that exhausted all potential options, the company does not have a viable way forward."

Still, many are fighting to see the dome not only remain intact, but continue to be a safe haven for Hollywood moviegoers. Director Edgar Wright felt the best way to save the theater was to nudge moviegoers back to the big screen, by making the captivating movies impossible to ignore.

The solution, is, as it has always been, to make films for the cinema screen, and then for studios and exhibitors to work together so we can see them safely and, by doing so, encourage the audiences back," Wright told the Times. "Both those filmmakers, and some others, have stood by the power of the cinema experience, and feel keenly what people often forget, that exhibition and the big screen experience is still the foundation of the business. It’s been easy, in the pandemic year and the dominance of streamers, for many to forget that people like going to the movies.

READ MORE: Cinerama Dome Will Not Reopen After Coronavirus