City of Culver City, California
Joint City Council/Agency Agenda Item Report
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council and Redevelopment Agency consider the
recommendation of the Cultural Affairs Commission and approve the plans for the
Made in Culver City Film Festival (The “Festival”) presented in honor of the 90
th
Anniversary of the City of Culver City, and that the Agency authorize the expenditure
of $15,000 from the funds allocated in Redevelopment Agency budget for fiscal year
2007-08.
BACKGROUND:
On February 26, 2007, staff received direction from the Council to research and
prepare a proposal for Made in Culver City – a one-day film festival presented in
honor of the 90
th
Anniversary of the City of Culver City - to celebrate some of the
film classics that were produced in Culver City, “The Heart of Screenland.” The 90
th
Anniversary date is Thursday, September 20, 2007, and the Festival would be held
on Sunday, September 23, 2007, after the completion of the Jewish High Holy
Days. Staff received support for the idea of partnering with a professional film
organization to secure the films and also received direction to explore the use of
the Pacific Theatres as a possible venue for this event. In addition, staff was
directed to explore use of mobile displays for historic photos.
Meeting Date: 08/13/07 Item Number: J-1
AGENDA ITEM: A Joint Item to Consider the Made in Culver City Film Festival
Produced in Honor of the 90
th
Anniversary of the City of Culver City.
Contact Person/Dept.: Susan
Obrow/Community Development Dept.
Phone Number: 310.253.5762
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: []
Public Notification: Chamber of Commerce; Culver City Historical Society; Master
Notification List (08/08/07).
Department Approval:
Sol Blumenfeld (07/30/07)
City Attorney Approval
Carol Schwab (08/06/07)
City Controller Approval:
Marlee Chang (08/06/07)
City Manager Approval:
Jerry Fulwood (08/08/07) City of Culver City, California
Joint City Council/Agency Agenda Item Report
DISCUSSION:
After examining the requirements necessary to utilize mobile photo displays, staff
concluded that a mobile display would be prohibitively costly and logistically
difficult. To properly mount such a display would cost approximate $4000 for the
display itself before including costs to transport, display and secure the exhibition.
Rather, staff recommends concentrating efforts and available funds toward a film
festival that will appeal to residents and visitors alike.
Made in Culver City will generate positive publicity for the City and provide
economic impact on the restaurants in the area by presenting a free public event
on a Sunday. Made in Culver City offers an opportunity for residents and visitors of
all generations to see classic films projected on the large screen. Marketing
material will promote Downtown Culver City with a dining and parking guide as well
as a walking tour highlighting landmarks connected to the films. The self-guided
walking tour will include the Culver Hotel and Main Street (as seen in the Laurel
and Hardy shorts) as well as the public art zoetropes dotting Downtown.
The two hundred-seat Council Chambers will be transformed into a family theatre
during the afternoon with repeated showings of Laurel and Hardy shorts as well as
a screening of Tom and Jerry’s The Cat Concerto. In the evening, the City Hall
Courtyard will be an open-air theatre, accommodating hundreds of people, where
The Cat Concerto and An American in Paris, starring Gene Kelly in one of MGM’s
greatest Academy Award-winning musicals, will be projected. Sun sets at 6:49PM
and the screening, preceded by official welcoming speeches, may begin after
7:00pm.
Staff considered numerous venues for this event. Though the Pacific Theatres
was initially considered as a viable venue, several factors have made use of the
theatre impractical. Though the Agency is able to reserve one screen, in a room
seating approximately 300 people, the Agency is contractually obligated to
reimburse the theatre for lost revenue during any use of the facility. The cost of
reimbursement alone made this option untenable. As well, the Laurel and Hardy
prints are in 16mm and cannot be run on the platter system of a commercial
theatre and also would not fill the screen appropriately in the theatre. Another
challenge to presenting the Festival at the Pacific Theatres is the lack of control in
the venue since the theatre would be open for business as usual.
Staff reviewed the use of other venues including the Kirk Douglas Theatre,
Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Robert Frost Auditorium, and The Culver Studios. City of Culver City, California
Joint City Council/Agency Agenda Item Report
The Kirk Douglas Theatre is not available that day, and the other three venues
were cost prohibitive and presented individual challenges that prevented their use.
Staff examined the success of Music in the Chambers and the Culver City Music
Festival and noted how viable City Hall is as an event venue. Staff has a prepared
a proposal and budget for Made in Culver City to be presented at City Hall on
Sunday, September 23, 2007.
Staff has consulted with the Culver City Historical Society, Sony Pictures
Entertainment, the Mary Pickford Foundation and the UCLA Film and Television
Archive (the “Archive”). The Archive has offered access to its archival prints for the
Festival with the understanding that the event would be free to the public and that
the archival prints would be screened in an appropriate manner. The staff of the
Archive provided a connection to Warner Bros. Studios which is the caretaker for
the MGM film collection. Additional films have been temporarily reserved at Warner
Bros. Studios for the Festival, at a reduced rate, with the understanding that the
event would be free to the public.
Subsequently, Warner Bros. Studios informed staff that it needs to withdraw The
Wizard of Oz from the proposed list of selections for the Festival. Warner Bros.
Studios is producing a large charity event in October during which the film will be
screened. Staff contacted the Archive and secured Laurel and Hardy’s Hog Wild
which features a location on Madison Avenue in Culver City. This adjustment will
allow the Festival to present the family program of Laurel and Hardy shorts, as well
as a Tom and Jerry cartoon, three times to the public during the afternoon. Staff
notified each of the Cultural Affairs Commissioners of this change.
The proposed films for the Made in Culver City Film Festival are:
Laurel and Hardy’s Putting Pants on Philip
1927 Hal Roach Studios -16mm – UCLA – 19 minutes (silent)
Laurel and Hardy’s Hog Wild
1930 Hal Roach Studios – 16mm – UCLA – 19 minutes
Laurel and Hardy’s County Hospital
1932 Hal Roach Studios -16mm – UCLA – 19 minutes
Tom and Jerry’s The Cat Concerto
1946 MGM – 16mm – UCLA – 8 minutes
An American in Paris
1951 MGM- 35mm – Warner Bros. – 113 minutes City of Culver City, California
Joint City Council/Agency Agenda Item Report
Cultural Affairs Commission Comments
At a special meeting of the Cultural Affairs Commission on July 25, 2007, the plans
for the Festival were reviewed and approved 5-0. The Cultural Affairs Commission
approved the plans for the Made in Culver City Film Festival as presented,
recommending City Hall as the location for the City’s 90
th
Anniversary event, and
supporting the expenditure of $10,000 from the Special Events allocation in the
Agency’s Cultural Affairs Budget, with the additional recommendation of including an
animated film screened in the Council Chambers and a request for staff to evaluate
a film for the Courtyard, other than Gone with the Wind, that would be of shorter
duration but with similar signature value. Staff informed the Commission that Tom
and Jerry’s The Cat Concerto as well as An American in Paris were both available
on 16mm from the UCLA Film and Television Archive.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
PROPOSED BUDGET
Rent 0
Chairs 0 Music Festival Chairs
Lighting 0 Music Festival Lighting
Security 0 Volunteers in Patrol
Warner Brothers film fees for use of films 500
The Cat Concerto
An American in Paris
UCLA Laurel & Hardy film fees 0
Putting Pants on Philip
Hog Wild
County Hospital
Courtyard Projection 4,000
Screen/Projector/Sound/
Labor/Projectionist
Chambers Projection 1,500
Screen/Projector/Sound
Projectionist
City of Culver City, California
Joint City Council/Agency Agenda Item Report
Marketing
Advertising 2,000
Flyers, Programs 2,000
Graphic Services 1,000
Cleaning Crew 1,000
Event Production Staff 1,000
Misc. Production Expense 2,000
ESTIMATED TOTAL $15,000
RECOMMENDED FUNDING SOURCES:
Redevelopment Agency / Cultural Affairs/ Special Events $10,000
Redevelopment Agency / Economic Development/Marketing $ 5,000
MOTION:
That the City Council
Approve the plans for the Made in Culver City Film Festival as presented, and
select City Hall as the location for the City’s 90
th
Anniversary event as
recommended by the Cultural Affairs Commission and as outlined above in the
staff report.
AND
That the Culver City Redevelopment Agency
Authorize funding for the Made in Culver City Film Festival through $10,000
from the Special Events allocation in the Cultural Affairs Budget (Account
number 55094450) for Fiscal Year 2007-08, as supported by the Cultural
Affairs Commission, and $5,000 from the funds allocated in Economic
Development Marketing Services (Account number 55090200.610200) for
Fiscal Year 2007-08).