A proposal to build “approximately 15 stories” of new housing behind the theater’s facade cleared an early hurdle this month.
Landmark’s California Theatre
Posted inCity
As owners move to sell the California Theatre, fans try to save it
An unidentified prospective buyer has plans to “transform” the 108-year-old California Theatre, one of its owners says.
Posted inBusiness
California Theatre closing: Landmark won’t reopen Berkeley’s movie palace
Landmark Theatres is vacating the century-old theater. One of downtown’s most distinctive buildings now faces an uncertain future.
Posted inObituaries
Donna Kellogg, local musician and adventurer on ‘such a good path’
Donna Kellogg. Illustration by Claudia Escobar/KQED By Sarah Hotchkiss / KQED Donna Kellogg could brighten a room just by walking into it. The 32-year-old Oakland resident worked for Highwire Coffee Roasters at both the company’s San Pablo Avenue and Flowerland nursery locations in Berkeley and Albany. Prior to that, she was a longtime employee at Berkeley’s […]
Posted inArts
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘Chevalier’ and ‘Time to Choose’
Six guys enjoying an extended at-sea stag party in ‘Chevalier’ Six guys enjoying an extended at-sea stag party in ‘Chevalier’ In case you missed it, here’s a link to a fascinating Guardian story about how perceptions of masculinity differ between American and British men. As a man (and I do use the term advisedly) who’s […]
Posted inArts
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘Eye in the Sky’ delivers
Helen Mirren stars in Eye in the Sky which is showing in Berkeley The steady drip of films attempting to make sense of our apparently never-ending ‘War on Terror’ continues. Some, of course, are better than others, but almost all tell their stories entirely from the perspective of Western protagonists struggling with questions of morality […]
Posted inArts
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘Where to Invade Next’
Michael Moore’s latest documentary, Where to Invade Next: opening on Friday in Berkeley We all know what to expect from a Michael Moore film: snark. Though politically pointed and frequently hilarious, Moore’s bad attitude has been offending viewers ever since his groundbreaking boob tube series ‘TV Nation’ aired for a single season in 1994 (who […]
Posted inArts
Big Screen Berkeley: Locally grown produce
Filmmaking has a long, rich history in the East Bay, extending from the World War I-era silent comedies produced at the Essanay-West Studio in Niles (now incorporated in Fremont) to the present-day animated blockbusters created by Emeryville’s Pixar Studios. Despite the best efforts of the Wayans Brothers, however, Oakland has never had its own film […]
Posted inArts
Big Screen Berkeley: A good trailer is hard to find
Do filmmakers and studios pay enough attention to the humble preview? Trailers have only a few minutes in which to pitch their product, but all too frequently they consist of hastily cobbled together collections of off-cuts. (I’ve seen countless previews featuring scenes or shots that ultimately didn’t appear in the movie.) Often they give away […]