Possible New Projector Could Arrive at San Pedro’s Historic Movie Palace

The Warner Grand Theatre is San Pedro’s gem of the art deco era — a piece of Hollywood that saw long lines of moviegoers in its heyday. But in order to thrive as a movie house and film festival venue in the digital age, it needs an updated piece of equipment: a $75,000 to $90,000 digital projector that could mean the theatre could screen second- or even first-run films.

There isn’t exactly money lying around for this kind of expenditure. Amid deep budget cuts, the City put out a call for a new operator to take over the theatre several years ago. So the folks at the Grand Vision Foundation, the nonprofit that saved the theatre in 1996 and supports its preservation, started thinking of ways to raise the money.

But instead of launching a fundraiser or Kickstarter campaign, Alan Johnson, a board member and downtown real estate developer who is also on the team overseeing the makeover of Ports O’ Call Village, has generously proposed purchasing the projector himself.

“We’re really not yet fully decided on how it’s going to work and we have a lot to work out with the City, but Liz and I have basically decided we’re just going to put the money up for the projector,” he said. Grand Vision Executive Director Liz Schindler Johnson is his wife. “It’s not really going to be a donation, I’m not giving it to the City or donating it to Grand Vision,” he said.

The idea is that when more film festivals and others start showing at the theatre with the new projector, the revenue generated can pay back the cost of it.

“Something like that. The details haven’t been worked out yet,” Johnson said. “To me, it’s just important that the theatre have that technology and I hope that means we get booked more. When people are willing to come and show in your town and use the old historic theatre, we’ve got to make it easier on them.”

The theatre’s current small projector sits on the front of the balcony, can’t fill the entire screen and isn’t of the greatest or clearest high-definition quality. The new high quality projector would have a powerful lamp and sit back in the projector booth, opening up possibilities for more screenings and second- or even first-run films. More movies could mean more people going out downtown.

“It’s a unique place and to make it a full-fledged movie house for the foreseeable future, we really need this,” Johnson said. “To have the most modern technology in this grand old movie palace is a nice analog for San Pedro. That we can be very modern and yet have a wonderful sense of history, too — that’s an experience you don’t get at regular movie theaters today.”

Photo: A view of the Warner Grand Theatre’s projection booth from the stage. (photo by John Mattera)