Despite Obstacles, Watts Theater Project Rolls On

An honest movie advertisement would read like this: Coming to a theater near you! (Unless you happen to live in Watts. In that case there is no theater near you. And to see this movie you must hop on a bus or get in your car and trek out to Hawthorne or over to University Village or farther.)

No ad or trailer would ever say it, but theatergoers who live in Watts know: Near is actually quite far, and it has been for 30 years.

“You should not have to catch a bus seven miles to see a movie--and that’s about what you have to do now,” said Barbara Stanton, executive director of the Watts Cinema and Education Center.

Stanton has spent nearly three years trying to open a one-screen theater at Markham Middle School in Watts. Beginning with little more than a pocketful of hope, her nonprofit organization has amassed an impressive coalition of residents, politicians, celebrities and industry types who support the idea. And some have backed their support with money and donations to the tune of $2.1 million.

But don’t start buttering the popcorn just yet.

The project is short $2 million needed for operational and programming costs, a fact that forced a delay of the opening, which had been scheduled for this year. Furthermore, Magic Johnson Theatres has raised questions about whether Watts Cinema can show first-run movies, Stanton said.

Yet Stanton and the Watts Cinema staff are unfazed. Watts will have a theater.

“I love this song,” Stanton said in the middle of an interview as “I Believe I Can Fly” played on the radio. “I want to play this in the theater.”

Stanton has to believe in things impossible to get this job done. Having thick skin helps too.

“There were many people laughing in our faces,” she said, reflecting on her experience.

Stanton grew up on Zamora Avenue in Watts. Back then there was a theater on 103rd Street between Alameda Street and Compton Avenue, she said.

“In 1965 after the first rebellion the businesses fled,” Stanton said. “What fled with them was the theaters.”

With its sloping floors and projection room, the auditorium at Markham is a perfect location for a theater, she said. The auditorium sits on the corner of 104th Street and Compton and has an entrance that allows patrons to enter the theater without entering the school. An architect has designed an addition to accommodate a concession area and extra restrooms.

Working with Mann Theatres--a major backer of the project--Watts Cinema has gathered 725 new plush seats from Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke. Major studios have promised free or reduced film rentals. Engineers at the MTA, Boeing Co., Pacific Telesis, TRW and Mann have agreed to provide technical assistance.

And of course, money.

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Last year, Watts Cinema received a $1.4-million award from Los Angeles’ Community Redevelopment Agency to renovate the auditorium. Money has also come from PepsiCo, TRW, City National Bank and fund-raisers.

And after much lobbying--including a caravan of more than 40 people to a school board meeting--Stanton worked out an agreement that allows free use of the theater during non-school hours.

The theater would be open to the public after 3 p.m. and on weekends. Patrons would pay a reduced $3.50 admission, $2 for children and seniors. Watts Cinema has created a commercial subsidiary to run the theater. All profits will be returned to the nonprofit Watts Cinema, Stanton said.

Stanton said the question of competition with Magic Johnson Theatres arose in a discussion with Ken Lombard, Johnson Theatres president. She said she was told that her organization might face legal trouble if it attempted to show first-run movies.

“I think he saw us as competition somehow,” Stanton said. “How can we be competition to anyone with one screen?”

Lombard said his organization would not take legal action against Watts Cinema over the question of competition. Such matters are typically handled by distributors, he said. And on the issue of the theater’s existence, he said, Magic Johnson Theatres is taking a wait-and-see approach.

“It’s hard to comment on whether we think it’s competitive or not until we have all the details,” he said. “We’ll wait and see if they’re successful with it. At that time we’ll decide what our position is.”

Lombard said Magic Johnson Theatres does attract patrons from Watts.

“We, at this point, do have what we consider to be tremendous support from members of the Watts community,” he said. “We do have patrons that travel that far.”

But for Stanton the issue is far bigger than Hollywood films. It is a question of the community taking the initiative to fulfill its own needs--in a manner that makes good business sense for all parties involved, she said.

And the theater would not only be used for films, but for cultural programs such as dance performances, jazz concerts and plays.

Certain days will be devoted to Spanish-language films, said Robert Wheaton, a filmmaker who serves as the group’s director of marketing. He has already drawn up a film list. In addition to Hollywood movies, the theater will showcase student films, shorts, documentaries and foreign films that open new worlds and experiences, he said.

“The arts are a wonderful way to be able to do that,” he said.

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Independent films like Ethiopian-born Haile Gerima’s “Sankofa,” widely embraced by the African American community, would be perfect for the theater, Wheaton said. And the films of local independent filmmakers who often lack venues to display their work could find a home there, he said.

“The challenge will be to get the audience accustomed to seeing these kinds of films and to come out and support these films,” Wheaton said.

Local schools will benefit from the project’s nonprofit training component, he said. With the help of Paramount, Watts Cinema will train students in film industry careers such as lighting and stage design, he said.

Stanton said Markham and Locke High School are being considered for an animation training program offered by Disney.

“We’ll have animation in the ‘hood,” Stanton said.

Already students at Markham are reaping some of the benefits of the planned theater. Last month more than three dozen film industry professionals turned out for a Career Awareness Day that Watts Cinema organized at the school.

Cathy Montoya, an electrician at Paramount Studios, saw the day as an opportunity “to plant a seed,” to introduce students to a different side of Hollywood and its possibilities.

“My main focus was to let them know that they could do anything,” she said. “There are career opportunities at a movie studio, and you don’t have to be an actor or an actress. You can make more money behind the scenes than you can in front of the camera.”

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Mike Pippi, director of artist development for Walt Disney Feature Animation, spoke at the career day and commended Watts Cinema’s work.

“We strongly believe this type of education not only helps develop talent for future employment throughout the entertainment industry, but also helps create better people and better citizens,” he said.

The idea of a theater in Markham is not new. In 1966 then-City Councilman Tom Bradley persuaded Bruce Corwin of Metropolitan Theaters to open a theater in Watts. Patrons paid 25 cents. After a few years the theater “petered out,” Corwin said.

Stanton, who is already planning her next fund-raiser, is convinced the second time around will be better.

“Rather than be a shrinking violet,” she said, “we’re getting ready to kick butt.”

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Not Playing Near You

Watts residents must travel several miles to reach the nearest movie theaters. Here are some popular sites.

* Hawthorne Plaza 6 Theaters

* University Village 3 Theaters near USC

* Magic Johnson Theaters near Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza

* Del Amo Cinema 6 near Del Amo Fashion Square