Grauman’s Chinese Theater has been LA’s most iconic link to Hollywood's golden age. Everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Brad Pitt have posed for the cameras there but now after 85 years, Warner Brothers and Viacom have sold the Theater and rumors are swirling about what the new owners have in store.
The Hollywood Reporter says producer Don Kushner and filmmaker and club owner Elie Sa’Maha haven’t yet publicly revealed their plans but insiders say they may turn it into a nightclub.
"They want to have multiple purpose, and be able to use it for movies, as now, but also for events where people stand up and not sit in seats, concerts, perhaps dance events," said Alex Ben Block, Senior Editor of The Hollywood Reporter.
But Grauman’s is designated as a Historic Landmark so any changes to it’s unique architecture would have to be approved by city officials following a public hearing.
Certainly other historic theaters like the Mayan in downtown Los Angeles have successfully been turned into nightclubs but the LA conservancy says they’d like to see Grauman’s continue as a movie theater.
"It’s a significant building for LA and across the world known by everyone," said Adrian Scott Fine of Los Angeles Conservancy. "So the idea of altering it or changing significant features would be a travesty and we don’t want that to occur."
