posted December 29, 2010 02:15 PM                   

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Laemmle's Music Hall Likely to See Its Last Picture Show
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Laemmle's Music Hall Likely to See Its Last Picture Show
Laemmle Music Hall 3
9036 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA
/listings/laemmle-music-hall-3
212613
/locations/2898640

The Beverly Hills movie theater will probably close in early 2011 as it has been unable to reach an accord with its landlord on a new lease.

A real-life drama is playing out at Beverly Hills' last picture show: Laemmle's Music Hall 3 will likely close its doors in early 2011 after almost 40 years on Wilshire Boulevard near Doheny Drive.

It comes down to three factors: attendance is waning, revenue has dropped and its 15-year lease is up, according to Laemmle President Greg Laemmle.

Laemmle said he is not sure there's much of an option. "We'd need a lower rent, although we are renting at under market. Not that the landlords are being unreasonable, but unfortunately business is not good."

The leasing agent for Coldwell Banker Commercial Westmac, David Thind, told Patch that negotiations are continuing. "We won't know anything for sure until after the first of the year."

From Laemmle's point of view, conversations about the fate of the theater "have not been fruitful."

The history of the Music Hall goes back to 1938, when it opened as The Elite. In 1950, KLAC-TV (now KCOP Channel 13) took out a six-year lease on the theater to use it as a live television venue. Rows of seats were removed and a stage was created. Banks of overhead lights and a control booth were added.

It was the Golden Age of Television, and some very popular national shows had their local debuts there, including Liberace and Life With Elizabeth, starring Beverly Hills High alum Betty White. Audience tickets to these shows were such hot commodities that people waited weeks to get in.

After 1956, the Music Hall became a movie house again, and in the early 1970s, the Laemmle chain took over its operation, ultimately converting it to a three-screen multiplex. The company said that until several years ago, the theater was very successful. Then came The Grove Stadium 14, The ArcLight Cinemas and The Landmark at The Westside Pavilion.

"There is a direct relationship between the opening of (those) theaters and attendance waning at the Music Hall," noted Laemmle, whose family business also includes six other locations in Southern California.

Another factor affecting attendance at the Music Hall was the loss of Farsi language films from Iran. "We used to enjoy a regular stream of films from Iran, but apparently because of political changes they've stopped coming into the United States," Laemmle said.

Laemmle also expressed disappointment that residents have not supported the theater's eclectic and independent offerings, which have included experimental indie films as well as foreign pictures and late runs of major movies. During the Academy Awards voting season, the theater has run films that are up for consideration. In November, the Music Hall held a special screening of Waiting for 'Superman,' a documentary about public schools, as a fundraiser for the Beverly Hills Educational Foundation.

Laemmle pointed out that in similar situations, communities have taken over a theater along with a nonprofit organization. American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica on Montana Avenue is an example of one such arrangement.

Finally, lack of adequate and dedicated parking is an issue. Although Music Hall patrons can use the Writers Guild Theater parking lot at night, there are no provisions for matinees.

So with the Music Hall's future in doubt, will another theater operator step in to save it? Probably not, given its real estate listing as "prime Beverly Hills retail space..." with a list of potential alternate uses ("subject to municipal approval") including adult day care facility, potential medical conversion, potential government facility and classroom facilities, among others.

It is a drama with an ending that probably won't be a happy one for movie fans.

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