‘I'm just thrilled': S.F. film community applauds Clay Theatre's anticipated comeback
As San Francisco movie houses continue to struggle in the post-pandemic streaming age, it's notable when a theater gets an encore.
So the recent news that the Clay Theatre in San Francisco's Upper Fillmore is set to reopen as early as 2026 after being shuttered the past five years has been greeted ecstatically by members of the Bay Area film community.
'I think it'll be great,' cult director John Waters, whose films screened at the Clay as midnight movies in the 1970s, told the Chronicle. 'I have a history there because that's where 'Pink Flamingos' first opened (in San Francisco), but I always went there. I saw Andy Warhol's 'Trash' for the first time there, and I lived near there for many, many years — and so did (Waters' frequent star) Divine, at California and Pierce.
'I'm just thrilled. You know, who's opening a new movie theater (these days)?'
In this case, it's tech investor Neil Mehta, who grew up in the neighborhood.
Mehta revealed on Tuesday, June 10, plans to renovate the 115-year-old theater at 2261 Fillmore St. He expects the nearly 5,000-square-foot space to seat 200 and host more than 500 film screenings annually. Though the inside will need to be extensively updated, the Clay's landmarked sign and marquee will remain, according to a statement released by his team.
Mehta has hired Ted Gerike, founder of Los Angeles cinema-bookstore Now Instant, as director and chief creative officer. Mehta and Gerike promise that programming will include first-run premieres, repertory classics, filmmaker talks and 'cinema-focused events.'
'I envision The Clay as both a home for local voices and a bridge connecting San Francisco to the wider world of cinema and ideas,' Gerike said in statement.
Mehta's vision is a return to the Clay's heritage. In 1935, it became one of the first San Francisco movie theaters to focus on international cinema, and its arthouse reputation blossomed under the ownership of longtime Bay Area exhibitor Mel Novikoff, who included the Clay as part of his Surf Theaters local chain along with the Surf, Castro and Lumiere theaters.
Marc Huestis, a longtime filmmaker and impresario, worked at the Clay as 'a popcorn pusher,' as he called it, from 1979 through '85 under Novikoff.
'It was absolutely formative. I can't tell you how much I loved being there,' Huestis said. ''Lust in the Dust' opened at the Clay with Divine. 'Burroughs: The Movie' opened there — Burroughs was kind of half dead and would occasionally smile. It was the jewel in the crown and a cultural institution.
'My hat is off to anyone who will reopen a movie theater.'
Gary Meyer, who co-founded the Landmark Theatres chain, shared an office with Novikoff across from the Clay.
'We always enjoyed watching through the windows as the crowds came on opening Fridays, and then going across the street as shows were getting out to overhear reactions to the movies,' Meyer recalled. 'I am always for new creative ways to bring audiences in, and the proposal for the Clay is exciting and somewhat unique.'
Novikoff died in 1987, and the Clay became part of the Los Angeles-based Pacific Theatres chain. Landmark took over in 1991, and eventually closed the theater in January 2020 due to financial difficulties. Steve Indig, who helped program the Clay as marketing director for Landmark from 2000 to 2015, said the closing was 'a sign of the times.'
From the early aughts into the 2010s, the theater maintained a reputation as an art house and prestige film destination, with local openings and private screenings part of its calendar. Artist and filmmaker Lynn Hershman Leeson, who premiered her 2002 film 'Teknolust' at the the Clay with star Tilda Swinton in attendance, called the theater 'a great theater that gives credibility to film as an artform.'
Midnight movies also continued at the Clay up until its closing, with the cult musical 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' and Tommy Wiseau's 'The Room' screening there monthly.
It's too early to know whether similar programming will return, but the prospect of a bustling movie theater in the neighborhood again is encouraging.
'I personally was pessimistic that the building would ever show movies again, so this is very exciting news,' Indig said. 'I think the neighborhood and greater San Francisco and Bay Area will be motivated to support a revived Clay Theatre, with the right programming.'
Mehta's announcement comes not just as Hollywood continues to reevaluate how it releases films, but at an inflection point for movie theaters locally. While the Roxie Theater launched a capital campaign to buy its historic Mission District home, the Castro Theatre is undergoing a years-long renovation, with the future of repertory film at the venue bleak as it shifts focus to live events.
The promised revival of Clay is also a potential boon for the region's many film festivals, which have been experiencing something of a venue crisis with the closing of several theaters since the start of the pandemic, including the Castro, CGV San Francisco, Landmark's Embarcadero Cinemas and the CineArts Empire, among others.
Todd Traina, a film producer and board president for SFFilm, which operates the San Francisco International Film Festival, lauded plans for the Clay, which boast showing films in both 4K digital and 35mm projection.
Meanwhile, Frameline Executive Director Allegra Madsen observed that 'independent neighborhood theaters often serve as moviegoers' first touch point with indie films, arthouse cinema, and midnight, cult-classic screenings. The sense of community that neighborhood theaters cultivate is so special, so it's great to see that The Clay's revitalization is in progress.'
The Clay Theater is part of the Upper Fillmore Revitalization Project, directed by Cody Allen. A timeline for the renovation work, spearheaded by architectural firm Page & Turnbull, has not been revealed as proposals still need to be submitted to the city later this year.
But some in the neighborhood are already excited about its comeback.
'San Francisco needs ever more space for art and storytelling,' said Joni Binder, an author and former SFFILM board member who lives near the Clay. 'I, for one, am grateful for the significant investment made in both the exhibition of film and architectural love and attention for The Clay.'
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