‘What are the merits of saving an old-fashioned Art Deco, single-screen movie theater?’ Jim Rosenfield asks this question in the midst of our discussion about the January reopening of the Aero Theatre on Montana in Santa Monica. We are sitting in the office of his real estate company, J.S. Rosenfield & Co., which specializes in renovating unique retail properties and is located just a few blocks south of the theatre. Rosenfield answers his own question: ‘Saving the experience’ was the most important reason for preserving the Aero when he and his Chicago-based partner John Bucksbaum purchased it from Sandy Allen in 1997. ‘It’s about the collective, community experience shared with your neighbors and friends.’ But Rosenfield says he’s also nostalgic. A Los Angeles native, he lived on Euclid, around the corner from the theater, for 15 years and used to walk there to see movies, mostly first-run feature films at the end of their run. He didn’t want to see the Aero suffer the same fate as La Reina Theatre, the historic theater he grew up going to in Sherman Oaks, which became a GAP and then a flea market. ‘I remember driving by and the preserved marquee said ‘T-shirts $9.” The Aero was built around the same time as the La Reina, in the late 1930s, by aviation pioneer Donald Douglas, who designed and produced the first propeller-driven commercial aircraft. He started the original Douglas airplane factory in 1921 on Wilshire between 26th St. and Chelsea, the site of today’s Douglas Park, and advanced to prominence with the DC (Douglas Commercial) line in the 1930s. Douglas-built planes were the first used in round-the-world flights that took off from and landed at Clover Field (Santa Monica Airport). Hence, the name of his theatre was the ‘Aero,’ in reference to aerospace. Designed by architect R.M. Woolpert in the style of French Norman architecture, the theatre opened for business on January 10, 1940, and operated with a small staff, seven nights per week. During the war, Douglas’ factory workers could catch a flick whenever they finished their shifts. Aero programming then consisted of double features (that changed three times weekly), Kiddie Matinees and pre-show opportunity drawings for dishware. The theatre changed hands over the years but when it went up for sale in the late 1990s, Rosenfield worried that it would fall into the wrong hands and not be preserved as a theatre. ‘Making a building a landmark preserves the building and architecture but not necessarily the use,’ says Rosenfield, who joined the Santa Monica Landmarks Commission in the process of reviving the Aero. He’s been in the real estate business for almost 20 years, and also owns the Waterworks building on Montana and the Brentwood Country Mart at 26th and San Vicente. ‘I think a lot about what makes a street great,’ says Rosenfield, who was 27 when he started his real estate career by leasing a 70,000-sq.-ft. building in Fresno to Sears in the late 1980s. At the time he says he was financially backed in part by Palisadian Steve Soberoff, whose one-day UCLA class, ‘The Shopping Center Game,’ motivated Rosenfield to enter the shopping center business. Having already earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from UC Berkeley, Rosenfield says he went to Soberoff, who gave him a $100,000 check and a year to prove himself as a successful businessman. The Sears account sealed the deal. Rosenfield, now 42, started buying and investing in properties in Santa Monica because of his connection to the history and love of the area. ‘I used to take the bus from Sherman Oaks to the beach,’ he says. ‘I thought this was heaven.’ After acquiring the theatre in 1997, Rosenfield began looking for an operator. The process took him a long but eventful six years, including trips to the Soho House in England and The Irish Film Institute in Ireland. ‘I decided I would meet with everyone who expressed interest,’ says Rosenfield, who also consulted with Bob Laemmle of the Laemmle Theatres and Robert Redford of Sundance Theatre Chain, in connection with General Cinema. When a lease with Sundance fell through, Rosenfield says he approached the American Cinematheque, a nonprofit organization that had previously restored/rehabilitated Grauman’s 1922 Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, which reopened in December 1998. ‘Jim liked the renovations at the Egyptian a lot,’ says Barbara Smith, director of the American Cinematheque. She thought that expanding their programming to the Aero would increase their audience. ‘A few things had changed in L.A. since we opened at the Egyptian,’ Smith says, referring to the traffic problem that made it difficult for people from the Westside to get to Hollywood to see a movie. ‘The main thing was realizing that we weren’t reaching a huge part of Los Angeles.’ In 2003, Rosenfield’s company signed a 15-year lease with the Cinematheque, which spent about 18 months renovating the Aero to improve its sound and picture. The theatre is now equipped with 70 millimeter projection capabilities as well as a 45-ft. by 25-ft. screen that is three times its original size. Upgrades also included a new high-performance Klipsch sound system with over 10,000 watts, improved acoustics, a new concession counter and more comfortable seats. ‘We really improved the quality of the presentation,’ says Smith, noting that they raised $150,000 on top of the $500,000 grant from computer industry pioneer and film producer Max Palevsky. He was part of the original group that launched the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles in the early 1980s. Rosenfield agrees that the renovations have been impressive. ‘Taking something old and making it work by today’s standards is tricky,’ he says. ‘I don’t think I could’ve found a better operator.’ Programming at the Aero began seven weeks ago and currently runs Wednesday through Sunday. The 70-mm film series, including the films of Marlene Dietrich and Joseph von Sternberg, has already been a big success, according to Smith. ‘No matter how many great DVDs people have, they’re not going to see a film the way it looks in 70 millimeter.’ Most series and individual film programs will play at both the Egyptian and the Aero, on different days, so that patrons have more than one opportunity to see them. The main difference is the theatres, Smith explains, since ‘the Egyptian is a big movie palace and the Aero is the reverse’it’s really a local, community theatre.’ Smith adds that neighborhood residents in Santa Monica tend to rely more on the marquee and want to see what’s playing when they walk or drive by the theatre, which is why the Cinematheque has replaced the antique set of heavy letters with a lightweight set that can be changed easily with a pole. In addition to the marquee, the iconic ticket booth was also preserved, as was the neon clock and the silver Art Deco ladies on each row of seats in the 437-seat theatre. Rosenfield says that even the bathrooms (including one that was added upstairs) ‘carefully replicate the original 1940’s style.’ The three-door entrance to the theatre opens to a new gray and maroon color scheme in the lobby with giant painted letters that spell ‘Aero’ in a streamline design down the east wall. A historian helped with the colors, says Rosenfield, who sees about one movie a week at the Aero. ‘I used to go alone a lot to the theatre and sit in the same place on the right-hand side,’ he says. ‘The other night, I went and sat in the same place and it was filled and everyone was laughing collectively. I work for that. I live for that.’ The historic Aero Theatre is located at 1328 Montana (at 14th St.). Tickets are $9 general admission. For information about American Cinematheque programs now playing at the Aero, go to www.americancinematheque.com or www.aerotheatre.com or contact (323) 466-3456. This weekend features a series of films starring Ronald Colman: on Friday, March 4, a double feature of ‘Lost Horizon’ and ‘Bulldog Drummond,’ 7:30 p.m.; on Saturday, March 5, a family matinee, ‘The Prisoner of Zenda,’ 5 p.m., and a double feature of ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ and ‘If I Were King,’ 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, March 6, the family matinee is ‘The Forgotten Comedy Genius of Silent Cinema: Harry Langdon,’ 5 p.m. followed by two of Langdon’s best-known films, ‘Tramp Tramp Tramp’ and ‘Long Pants,’ both with live musical accompaniment by Robert Israel.

The mighty god of volcanoes has a son named Erichtheus (ir-ek-thee-uhs), but since his name is so hard to pronounce everyone calls him Eric. His dad’s Greek name is Hephaestos (hep-fes-tos), which is also too hard to say, so everyone calls him Vulcan, which is his Roman name and the origin of the word volcano. Eric’s mom is the goddess of the earth. Her name is Gaia and that’s what everyone calls her because it’s so easy to say. In ‘The Boy Who Lived in a Volcano,’ writer Nick French manages to combine Greek and Roman gods with some made-up deities to tell the story of Eric, the super god who wants to use his power for good by saving the world from natural disasters. French, a 1994 graduate of the New York Film Academy, thinks of his spiral notebook stories as visual movie books. ‘To read them is like holding a movie in your hands,’ says French, a Palisades resident who will read from the book on Saturday, March 5 at 3 p. m. on Swarthmore at Village Books. ‘They are colorful and alive with pop.’ French, 35, designs his books like story boards, picking out images in the public domain from the Internet. Often he finds an image that can lead him to a new part of the story. The Volcano book is told in three acts with attention to character development and a big, exciting finish. ‘Kids want a little more edge, action and something much more like a Pixar film,’ says French, who is single. Targeting children from 6 to 12 takes full advantage of the kids’ movie savvy and need to be entertained immediately. French has written three books so far, including the Volcano story. The first book, ‘Jimmy The Wonderdog,’ stars Jimmy, an abandoned puppy who becomes a winner in ability championships, but who faces a number of near-fatal catastrophes that challenge the heart of this champion. His most recent book, ‘A Hamster Named Elvis,’ stars Elvis, who loves to rock out, and his nemesis, the evil 8-year-old who doesn’t treat Elvis well. While French is still looking for a publisher for his stories, he is encouraged by the response to his notebooks, especially from kids. ‘This is really a promotional thing, because I want these books out there.’

‘We made it snow at the Bel Air Bay Club,’ Debra Parr says in an excited voice injected with all the warmth of a mother recalling memories of her kids growing up. She’s sitting on the tiny turquoise couch in her 20- by 12-ft. office on Entrada, describing another special celebration that she planned with her event design firm, Amazing Grace. The photo album on her lap is filled with colorful images from birthday parties, weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, fundraisers and other events Parr has designed. One Chinese-American wedding last October featured an orange-and-white color theme with elements of the bride’s Chinese heritage woven into the decorations and ceremony, including cherry trees brought in for the occasion. However, because they were ‘a hip, metropolitan couple,’ according to Parr, everything had a contemporary, city feel. For example, modernized white lanterns hung from the trees in Maguire Gardens in Downtown Los Angeles, where the wedding was held, and each table at the reception (at Cafe Pinot) was named after a quality such as luck or grace. Even the waiters wore orange ties. ‘I’m really good with space planning and decor,’ says Parr, who earned her bachelor’s degree in art history and architecture from UCLA. She started her own interior design business, Debra Parr and Associates, straight out of college in 1987 and worked from her home in Brentwood. ‘I just hung up my shingle,’ Parr says, recollecting some of her first jobs’covering a couch and designing a nursery. ‘A couple of people gave me a chance.’ Her background in interior design, coupled with her savvy sense of style and love for planning meaningful events, eventually led her to pursue event design. ‘Having grown up outside of Montreal, some of my aesthetic sensibility comes from that European style,’ says Parr, who began modeling in Quebec at the age of 14. She moved to the United States to model in 1979 but ultimately decided to go to college instead. However, Parr says that ‘being part of the fashion world and knowing how to pull things together’ has definitely helped with both her interior and event design businesses. She also had the opportunity to travel with her husband, Rob Parr, a fitness trainer, in the late 1980s, while he trained Madonna on two world tours. ‘I got to be a sponge,’ Parr says about her experience attending and observing grand-scale parties held for the pop star in various countries. She started Amazing Grace in 2000 at Colorado and 26th St., and initially was working mainly for her interior design clients who were hiring her to do parties. After doing some pro bono work for charities, her business grew by word of mouth. When Parr was hired to design a party for Hillary Clinton in a Beverly Hills home, she decided on a Zen/Asian tea instead of the typical British tea. She has also produced events for Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Yet Parr’s passion also seems to come from helping her clients celebrate their special events while forming one-on-one relationships with the people she works with. ‘I feel privileged that families let me into their lives for a time and I want everything to go perfectly,’ she says. ‘You remember these moments in your life, not always at a party but during the day, when you get goose bumps’I’m looking for that feeling whenever possible.’ Parr is especially experienced in the realm of Sweet Sixteens and bar/bat mitzvahs because she has children around these ages’12-year-old twins Hunter and Chandler, and a 16-year-old son, Jordan. In fact, they were the reason she found her current space at Entrada, which used to be a surf shop that her children frequented. Amazing Grace has been there for about a year and a half, and Parr likes the convenience of being so close to her Santa Monica Canyon home. In the tiny office, Parr has a basket of materials and samples for each client she’s working with, and photos of her clients hang on a bulletin board. Most hire her one year in advance, though she says she has pulled events together in six weeks. ‘I try to have only one event on any given weekend,’ says Parr, who works with a two-person staff including assistants Nancy and Claudia, as well as a crew of art students who help with the installation of the event. ‘We love being a boutique business and really want to be available to the client.’ Parr does not charge for the initial ‘meet and greet.’ After the consultation, clients can hire her for a flat fee (which she says about 85 percent opt to do) or by the hour if, for example, they are already far along in the planning process and just need some hourly consulting. ‘The flat fee has nothing to do with the budget,’ Parr explains, adding that she is good at giving her clients an accurate reflection of what they can have within their budget. The definitive issues, she says, are what time frame they have to plan the event, the scope of the event and the budget. Amazing Grace helps with everything from locations and scheduling to recommendations for a photographer, DJ or a cake. Parr is involved in every step, from drawing floor plans for the venue to designing the hostess gift. One of her funky, innovative ideas for a party favor is a customized viewfinder. She’s also done candy bars wrapped in the colors of the party. Once, she rented the Big Blue Bus as transportation for a party and put customized posters on the side. At a Harry Potter-themed bar mitzvah held at the Beverly Wilshire hotel, Amazing Grace set up a ‘potion/lotion station’ where children made bath salts and essential oils. At a 50th wedding anniversary party, each table was decorated with items that referenced a part of the couple’s history together. Parr has also created and produced parties with themes such as 1940/’50s, toga (‘Animal House meets Caesar’s Palace’), ‘enchanted forest’ and, of course, the Academy Awards. In Pacific Palisades, she has designed bat mitzvah parties at Kehillat Israel and decorated people’s homes for Halloween. About 90 percent of her clientele is from the Westside, with the majority from the Palisades, though she has also produced events in Long Beach, New York and Montreal. Parr continues to practice interior design, which makes up about 25 to 30 percent of her business, since she says it ‘keeps me fresh and inspired.’ Parr, who describes her own style as ‘aristocratic bohemian,’ says she came up with the name ‘Amazing Grace’ when she was in a store on the Third Street Promenade listening to the gospel song. ‘I thought, ‘This is how I want to live my life,” she says. ‘It’s what we really aspire to in our business.’ Amazing Grace is located at 140 Entrada. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Contact: 453-8494.