Another Planet Entertainment Announces Partnership with Castro Theatre Owners
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Bay Area concert promoter Another Planet Entertainment on Wednesday announced it is partnering with the owners of San Francisco's Castro Theatre to refurbish the landmark building and present live events at the venue.
The concert promoter said it would team with Bay Properties, Inc., owners of the Castro Theatre since the historic structure was first erected 100 years ago, on both the rehabilitation of the building and programming of events held there.
In a press release posted on the Another Planet Entertainment website, the concert promoter said it plans to implement "significant improvements to the sound, lighting, production, HVAC and the theatre's trademark marquee, among other facets of the building."
Bay Properties Vice-President Chris Nasser Padian touted the move as "the next evolution of our historic theatre" in the press release.
The release noted the promoter's past work to preserve and improve historic buildings such as Oakland's Fox Theater, the Greek Theatre in Berkeley and San Francisco's Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.
"The Castro Theatre is a wonderful building that we will upgrade for more use in the future," said Another Planet Entertainment CEO and co-founder Gregg Perloff in the release.
The release said the venue would host a variety of events, including comedy, music and film, as well as community and private events.
The Castro Theatre has been hosting some live concerts presented by independent show promoter FolkYEAH in recent months, but only a handful of films -- including the premiere of The Matrix Resurrections -- have screened at the beloved movie house since the beginning of the pandemic.
The website for the Castro, which used to feature the theater's online film schedule, now redirects to a page on the Another Planet website with a link to the official announcement and an email address for private event rentals.
In the past, the Castro has been one of the main movie houses for several major local film festivals, including the San Francisco International Film Festival, Frameline (the San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival) and Noir City.
Some people were bemoaning the end of the Castro Theatre's run as an independent repertory film house on social media, including the Mission District's Roxie Theater.
It's a sad day for the movies in San Francisco.
— Roxie Theater (@roxietheater) January 19, 2022
The Castro's Twitter post on the announcement showed the negative reactions of dozens of heartbroken film fans.
— kelly p. (@k_pendergrast) January 19, 2022