City of Culver City, California
Joint City Council/Agency Agenda Item Report
Page 1 of 5
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the Culver City City Council (“The Council”) 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 Culver City Redevelopment
Agency (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 the golden
film classics that were produced in “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. Staff also received direction to explore the use of
the Pacific Theatres as a possible venue for this event. Staff was directed to
explore use of mobile displays for historic photos.
Meeting Date: 07/23/07 Item Number: J-1
AGENDA ITEM: 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
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 (7/18/07).
Department Approval:
Sol Blumenfeld (07/18/07)
City Attorney Approval
Carol Schwab
City Controller Approval:
Marlee Chang
City Manager Approval:
Jerry Fulwood City of Culver City, California
Joint City Council/Agency Agenda Item Report
Page 2 of 5
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 while promoting Culver City
and realizing a positive financial impact on downtown businesses.
Made in Culver City will celebrate the revitalized Downtown area, 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 – films that are set in Atlanta or Oz but were actually
made in Culver City. 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 landmarks such as
the Culver Hotel and Main Street (as seen in the Laurel and Hardy shorts) and the
Mansion Building at The Culver Studios (as seen in Gone with the Wind) as well as
the public art zeotropes dotting Downtown
The two hundred-seat Council Chambers will be transformed into a family theatre
with repeated showings of Laurel and Hardy shorts as well as a screening of The
Wizard of Oz, and will be open to the public throughout the afternoon. In the
evening, the City Hall Courtyard will be an open-air theatre, accommodating
hundreds of people, where Gone with the Wind will be projected. Sun sets at
6:49PM and the screening, preceded by official welcoming speeches, may begin at
7:00pm. A string quartet from the Culver City Symphony will perform excerpts from
the score of Gone with the Wind before the performance and at Intermission.
Staff considered numerous venues for this event. Though the Pacific Theatres
was initially considered a highly desirable venue for this event, several factors
have made use of the theatre undesirable. 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 would not fill the screen appropriately in the theatre.
Another drawback of 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.
City of Culver City, California
Joint City Council/Agency Agenda Item Report
Page 3 of 5
Staff reviewed the use of other venues including the Kirk Douglas Theatre,
Veterans Memorial Auditorium, Robert Frost Auditorium, and The Culver Studios.
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 well suited 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
rd
.
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. Studio 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.
The proposed films for the Made in Culver City Film Festival are:
The Wizard of Oz
1939 MGM - 35mm – Warner Bros. – 100 min
Laurel and Hardy’s Putting Pants on Philip
1927 Hal Roach Studios -16mm – UCLA – 20 min
Laurel and Hardy’s County Hospital
1932 Hal Roach Studios -16mm – UCLA – 20 min
Gone with the Wind
1939 Selznick International Pictures/MGM- 35mm – Warner Bros. – 230 min
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
PROPOSED BUDGET
Rent $0
Security $0 - VIP
City of Culver City, California
Joint City Council/Agency Agenda Item Report
Page 4 of 5
Warner Brothers film fees for use of films $700
Gone with the Wind
The Wizard of Oz
UCLA Laurel & Hardy film fees $0
Putting Pants on Philip
County Hospital
Courtyard Projection $3,000
Screen/Projector/Sound/
Labor/Projectionist
Chambers Projection $1,300
Screen/Projector/Sound
Projectionist
Chairs $0
Courtyard Lights $0
Marketing
Advertising $2,000
Flyers, Programs $2,000
Graphic Services $1,000
Culver City Symphony $1,000
Cleaning Crew $1,000
Event Production Staff $1,000
Misc. Production Expense $2,000
DRAFT TOTAL $15,000
FUNDING SOURCES:
Redevelopment Agency / Cultural Affairs/ Special Events $10,000
Redevelopment Agency / Economic Development/Marketing $ 5,000
City of Culver City, California
Joint City Council/Agency Agenda Item Report
Page 5 of 5
MOTION:
1. 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.
2. 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, and $5,000 from the funds allocated in Economic Development Marketing
Services (Account number 55090200.610200) for Fiscal Year 2007-08).