rebrand
Cinefamily founder and board member Sammy Harkham took a break between stints of film programming at his theater on Fairfax to write about Hollywood men behaving badly. We take a closer look at Sammy’s graphic novel and his broken promises of creating a safe and responsible workplace.
Read MoreRather than oversee Cinefamily or Fairfax Cinema, Dan Harkham develops hotels. What can we learn from a 20-year old dispute involving a Harkham strike, rabbis marching with bitter herbs, and a hotel rebranding?
Read MoreAfter more than two years of planning, Dan and Sammy Harkham’s Fairfax Cinema opened its doors to the public on December 25, 2019. The new staff report having to address old business.
Read MoreAccording to The Hollywood Reporter, Fairfax Cinema—the rebranded Cinefamily entity—will open next week with a 35mm run of “Uncut Gems,” the new Safdie Brothers movie starring Adam Sandler. Yet inaccuracies in THR reporting left readers scratching their heads, and roiling anger over the Cinefamily scandal spilled into social media and may have caused the filmmakers to rethink their plans.
Read MoreFancy new seating, fancy new lighting, and “a fall opening with much the same program as Cinefamily.” Now, about that Certificate of Occupancy…
Read MoreAugust 2019 will mark two years since jerks like Hadrian Belove and Shadie Elnashai ruined Cinefamily. Two years since jerks on Cinefamily’s Board rushed to shut the organization down rather than fix it, and paid for a secret report allegedly clearing them of wrongdoing. Two years since jerks like Dan and Sammy Harkham oversaw its demise, grabbed what they could, and tried for a rebrand and a do-over.
We attempt to mark the occasion, visit a new cinema, and provide a programming note…
Read MoreAn intrepid visitor to 611 N. Fairfax sends along these fresh pictures of the renovations Dan and Sammy Harkham are making to the Silent Movie Theater.
Read MoreOnce in a while, the ol’ Google Alert delivers a real gem, like Ethan and Bethanie Newman’s recent podcast about the Silent Movie Theater.
Read MoreA disclosure from the Harkhams’ former lobbyist raises new questions about the viability of the project, and signals that the renovations and rebranding may not be on track.
Read MoreCinefamily / Fairfax’s Dan Harkham has brought a veteran lobbyist onto the team. Apex LA’s Margaret Taylor is expected to help the Harkhams secure a conditional use permit to allow beer and wine sales at the rebranded Fairfax Cinema at the Silent Movie Theater.
Read MoreCinefamily ceased operations in August 2017 and Dan Harkham launched Fairfax Cinema shortly thereafter. But Cinefamily continues to exist as a legal entity. Newly-discovered state filings suggest Cinefamily finally closed. Except here’s why it didn’t.
Read MoreIn late 2018 the Harkhams applied for a Certificate of Occupancy from the L.A. Department of Building and Safety for the Silent Movie Theater’s Fairfax Cinema (Cinefamily). As of this writing in early February 2019, the application is still pending. New documents indicate that plans for the venue may have changed yet again, possibly related to an alcohol licensing challenge with the state ABC.
Read MoreIn November 2017, months after closing their doors, Cinefamily was named as a defendant in yet another lawsuit. (Hadrian Belove was also named as a defendant.)
Read MoreIn which we get a look at some of the blueprints the Harkhams submitted for approval at the Silent Movie Theater’s Fairfax Cinema (rebrand of Cinefamily), following the #MeToo scandal.
Read MoreAfter yet another derailed attempt at straightforward communications with the Harkhams about Cinefamily, Fairfax Cinema, and the Silent Movie Theater, we release this letter, marking the one-year anniversary of the Board’s failure.
Read MoreRecent filings with the L.A. Department of Building and Safety indicate Cinefamily/Fairfax plans to begin renovations on the Silent Movie Theater. According to the city engineer overseeing the permit application, “they are doing some interior and exterior work to the existing theater,” including “proposing a small bar at the rear.”
Read MoreAccording to a new filing with the Los Angeles County Recorder's office, amidst all of the existing debt the Harkhams appear to have... taken on more debt!
The April 13, 2018 filing by Community Bank of Pasadena indicates a $250,000 promissory note secured by the Silent Movie Theater. Community Bank already holds a first mortgage in excess of one million dollars based on a 2015 refinancing of the property.
Read MoreWe reached out to several indie distributors. Some had been approached by Fairfax Cinema, but none was prepared to do business with the Cinefamily rebrand, citing outstanding debts and “financial scammery.” Former Cinefamily members throw shade.
Read MoreFormer Cinefamily Program Director Kate Rouhandeh will be Fairfax Cinema’s Director of Programming. She tells film distribution companies that Fairfax is currently being renovated and will open in summer or fall 2018.
Read MoreCinefamily’s Erin Hensley confirms that Fairfax Cinema will be a for-profit business, that Dan Harkham is the sole owner, and that Fairfax plans to operate at the Silent Movie Theater showing the same mix of content as Cinefamily. But here’s why they don’t want you to call it a rebranding.
Read More
![“Uncut Gems” [Was] to Open Cinefamily / Fairfax on Christmas 2019 [Updated]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5d859da3ebd96315b08954f5/1576697160012-KX13QRW4X6J7UEUUJL2N/sandler.jpg)
