EXCERPTS & LINKS TO MEDIA REPORTS:

Castro Theatre in Turmoil Over Sudden Sacking
by Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle, November 3, 2004:

Owner Ted Nasser summoned [Monga] to the theater last Tuesday to tell her ‘I would immediately have no contact with the theater. I can’t even begin to think what is in their minds,’ she said, referring to the Nasser family. The Nassers built the Castro and have owned it since 1922, but took over active management only in 2001. They have installed new seats and made other improvements

During her 16 years as the Castro’s director of programming, Monga developed a national reputation for her eclectic scheduling, mixing first-run features with classics and the offbeat...It is believed that the Nassers would like to screen more family fare. Karen Nasser recently initiated Sunday morning children’s films such as ‘National Velvet’ and ‘Cheaper by the Dozen.

Karen is hankering for the job (of film programmer) because she thinks it is glamorous and easy,’ said Elliot Lavine, an independent distributor who used to program films at the Roxie. ‘She has no idea of what goes into it, and Ted wouldn’t know a good movie from an ashtray.’

Castro's New Booker
by Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle, November 26, 2004 (Partway down the page)

Newly hired programmer Richard Blacklock (who works out of Los Angeles and schedules for 17 theatres in that area) said he has about 25 holes to fill in the Castro’s schedule, some of them resulting from 'Travellers and Magicians', 'The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill' and 'Days of Being Wild' being pulled in protest of Monga’s firing. They will move to other theaters, as will the popular Film Noir Festival, which noir expert Eddie Muller usually puts on at the Castro in January.

A shake-up at the Castro Theatre brings change – and perhaps big trouble – for movie lovers in San Francisco
by Johnny Ray Huston, San Francisco Bay Guardian, Nov. 17 - Nov. 23 2004 • Vol. 39, No. 07

The art to Monga's programming is a major reason the Castro has had a crucial role in screening the film restoration efforts of Martin Scorsese and Coppola; she's also provided a grand avenue for newer filmmakers working outside the Hollywood system... It's crucial for the owners of the Castro to get the big picture about what kind of big pictures this theater has presented to the city and the world, and what it takes to present them properly. "When the people of San Francisco think about the Castro, they don't think about Ted [Nasser, the Castro's owner], and they don't think about me," Monga says. "They think it's their Castro Theatre. They run the place too – the community has a huge stake in this place."

Noir Film Fest Leaves Castro
by Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle, November 24, 2004

The first major defection from the Castro Theatre since the staff shakeup there was announced...."Noir City: The San Francisco Film Noir Festival" will move to the Balboa Theater.

Castro Theatre Firing Prompts San Francisco Uproar
All Things Considered, NPR, December 18, 2004

Managers of San Francisco's famed Castro Theatre have fired long-time film programmer Anita Monga. Fans of Monga and the Castro plan street protests. Fawnee Evnochides reports.

Changes at the Castro Upset Many Film Buffs
by Leslie Fulbright, San Francisco Chronicle, Sunday, December 19, 2004

More than 100 sign-waving film lovers, including an Oscar-winning documentarian, gathered outside the Castro Theatre on Saturday to denounce the firing of renowned film programmer Anita Monga.

Script Doctor
by Cheryl Eddy, San Francisco Bay Guardian, Dec. 22 - Dec. 28 2004• Vol. 39, No. 12

The new Castro Theatre calendar is dominated by the Berlin and Beyond Film Festival -- scheduled while Anita Monga, the highly respected programmer who was recently fired, was still on the job (see " Coming Soon ," 11/17/04) -- and classic films like West Side Story and On the Waterfront. What lies past February is unknown...

Filmgoers Protest
by Carolyn Marshall, New York Times, December 24, 2004

The historic Castro Theater in San Francisco, an Art Deco film palace known for eclectic presentations and film noir retrospectives, became the focus of protests last week when cinema lovers and other arts devotees voiced concern about the advent of so-called family-friendly programming.