By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The Admiral Theater is open today, according to its owner and management, despite picketing outside.

We went to the theater this morning after a media advisory from City Councilmember Kshama Sawant‘s office announcing what was on flyers posted around the area (thanks to everyone who sent us photos of those late last night and this morning) – a “rally and strike” alleging that an Admiral Theater staffer had been fired for trying to organize a union and that there were problematic working conditions, plus making demands including a $25 hourly wage.

Sawant herself wasn’t there but a community organizer from her office, Adam Ziemkowski, who said he also is with Workers Strike Back (founded by Sawant), emceed the rally and a news conference for us and the other media crew that showed up. The former worker spoke, as did two men who identified themselves as current workers, and other local labor activists.

First, some background: The Admiral Theater is owned by a Bainbridge Island-based company called Far Away Entertainment, which also owns five other small theaters around the region. At the Admiral, they own the business, but not the city-landmark building, though Far Away led the renovations that converted it into a first-run moviehouse in 2016-2017.

At this morning’s event, we spoke with Kylie (above center), the former manager who was fired; one of the demands is that she be reinstated. She said she had worked for the Admiral for a year and told us her firing earlier this month followed two days in which she had sent messages to management calling out problems. She says she was being “asked to break labor laws” and that the small staff was so overworked they weren’t getting breaks. We checked state systems but couldn’t find any past complaints on record; Kylie said an unfair labor practice claim would be filed today.

We also talked to current employee Matt, who said he has been working for the theater for about six weeks. He’s a West Seattleite and says he “really appreciates what the theater means to the community” and that’s why he wants to see improved working conditions, Besides the demand for a higher wage, he expressed concerns about pest problems in the building, rodents and termites, noting that he had four years of experience in the pest-control business. He said his advice to company management for dealing with the pest problems was disregarded.

Here’s what they and a third worker, plus the event organizer, said at the news conference:

After returning to our HQ, we spoke with Far Away Entertainment owner Jeff Brein by phone. First, he said, since there’s no union, “there’s no strike” – the picketing is “a protest.” He says the protest “took us by surprise” because a proposal to organize a union had not been brought to him or upper management, and they of course would be open to talking about it. “I’m not anti-union, I’d be happy to sit down and talk.” He said Kylie was fired “for what we believe to be just cause.” As for a $25 hourly wage, he says what his company pays is “a fair, workable wage … at or exceeding what Regal and AMC [corporate theater chains] pay.” Business at the Admiral still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, Brein says. “We’re slowly growing back.”

He denies all the other allegations, including that labor laws were broken. “We’re fully compliant with every workplace regulation and have never had a complaint.” He also says they have regular pest-control visits and that the recent sighting of apparent termites was addressed promptly. Mold? He’s not aware of that, though acknowledges some water trouble from a roof leak had to be dealt with, but he says the building is safe. (We checked the city code-compliance files, and no complaints were on record there since one about trash in the alley last year, ultimately ruled unfounded.)

Most of all, Brein said, he’s puzzled that a city councilmember would lash out at his business without attempting to contact him first, but he says he’s never heard from Sawant or her staff.

So what happens now? The picketers say they’ll be there all weekend. (Checking the view of the sidewalk outside the Admiral via the nearest live traffic cam, it appears at least one person is there handing flyers to passersby.) Former manager Kylie says their request for the community is, “Don’t go to the movies right now.” Owner Brein says his message is, “The Admiral is open,” and wants to stay that way: “It’s disheartening to be subjected to this harassment.” Meantime, we’ll watch for the formal filings in the unionization matter.

Interested in behind-the-scenes moviemaking info? Tomorrow (Wednesday) night at West Seattle’s only moviehouse, the historic Admiral Theater, the 6:30 pm showing of Seattle-set/filmed martial-arts comedy “The Paper Tigers“ will be followed by Q&A with its director, Bao Tran. Joining him will be Kris Kristensen, the movie’s West Seattle-residing editor, who did Q&As there last weekend. As first reported here a week and a half ago, The Admiral was particularly excited to book this movie after learning about its backstory, including how its director fought to make it with Asian-American leads despite potential financiers’ suggestions otherwise. And the movie is doing well here – it was first planned for just a one-week run but has been held over at The Admiral for at least one more week.

Last Sunday, we reported on why The Admiral Theater‘s general manager is so excited that they’ll be screening “The Paper Tigers,” a Seattle-set/filmed martial-arts comedy, starting tomorrow. We learned via a comment that the film’s editor is a West Seattle resident, Kris Kristensen, who then emailed today with an announcement: “Since the producers are all in NYC this weekend promoting the film, they’ve asked me to hold down the fort on the West Coast. I will be in attendance at both the Friday and Saturday evening (6:30) screenings at the Admiral Theater to do a Q&A following the screening.” The movie is scheduled for two showings a day during its weeklong run here – you can see the schedule and/or buy advance tickets by going here.

That’s the trailer for “The Paper Tigers,” a martial-arts comedy that’s scheduled for a week-long run at West Seattle’s only moviehouse, The Admiral Theater, starting Friday (May 14th). The Admiral’s general manager Marina Kosenko emailed to let us know about it because this is a Seattle-set/filmed movie with “quite a backstory,” as she explains:

“Writer/director Bao Tran pitched the screenplay to Hollywood. The financiers wanted to produce, with the caveat that the actors be white. Instead of capitulating to Hollywood’s frequent whitewashing, he returned to Seattle and started a very successful fundraiser, which spurred private donors to pitch in as well. Filming started in Seattle in 2019, and included an extensive local crew. The film will be released 5/7 in only one local theater, Cinemark Lincoln Square Cinemas in Bellevue. I didn’t find out about the movie until Monday when I saw it on several news platforms. Unfortunately, our bookings for the 5/7-5/13 week were already solidified, but I’ve since had conversations with our booker, Jeff Brein (owner), Bao Tran, and their distributor to bring the film to The Admiral. I’m super excited about this film and think the West Seattle audience will appreciate it as well, given the content, local ties, and perseverance of the Paper Tigers crew.”

Among the outlets that have reported on the movie’s backstory is Northwest Asian Weekly. If you’re not up for in-theater viewing yet, the movie also will be released for video-on-demand Friday; if you are, you can check the schedule and buy online tickets via the website for The Admiral (which is at 2343 California SW).

Three notes for the rest of your Friday:

ADMIRAL THEATER REOPENING: As we first reported last week, today is reopening day for The Historic Admiral Theater (thanks to Peter Morse from nearby Mission Cantina [WSB sponsor] for the top photo). First movie’s at 3:30 pm – the marquee is updated, the lineup is set, the staff is ready:

The photo is from Admiral employee Diane, who writes:

We have been rushing to get the Admiral ready for our first moviegoers. We are so excited. We are opening with a skeleton crew of 4. Our general manager is Larry Wymer. We are going to do the best we can to make the movie experience enjoyable while having rules to keep everyone safe and comfortable. We are only going to have 2 movie showings per day (25% capacity) and we made sure to give us, the staff, enough time between movies to disinfect the theaters and common areas.

Welcome back!

The Admiral’s parent company Far Away Entertainment details its safety policies here. And if you’re not ready to go back to the movies, you can still support The Admiral via “virtual cinema.”

IN-CAR MOVIE RAINED OUT AGAIN: The West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s plan to show “The Secret Life of Pets” to an in-their-cars crowd at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) has now been thwarted by weather two Fridays in a row – rain is expected to return tonight – so they are shelving it until next year.

ANTI-RACISM VIGIL: Organizer Nancy says the weekly vigil in North Delridge is on:

We’ll be back on the Delridge pedestrian overpass again. I hope you’ll join us as we take a public stand against racism.

What: Delridge weekly anti-racism vigil
When: Friday, October 16th, from 5:30-6:30 pm
Where: Pedestrian overpass on Delridge at the Delridge Community Center/Youngstown Cultural Arts Center.

Please remember to wear your masks!

If you can’t come in person, please consider passing on the info to your networks.

That’s a preview of “On the Brink,” a documentary that’ll be screened at West Seattle’s Admiral Theater, three weeks from tonight. Though it focuses on dramatic change in another Seattle neighborhood, the team behind it says it’s relevant to others including ours:

We have partnered with the Admiral Theater to screen the documentary “On the Brink” for the first time in our West Seattle community. The event will also feature a Q&A with the Filmmaker, Professor Jeff Shulman of University of Washington, and cast members.

The movie explores the hyperbolic growth of Seattle and its ramifications to local communities and neighborhoods. The Seattle Times hailed it as “a cautionary tale and a call to action in the face of Seattle’s rapid growth.” Crosscut wrote, “The history lesson here is one all Seattleites would benefit from learning.”

While the documentary takes place in Seattle’s Central District, it evokes the human impact of a transformation that is occurring in neighborhoods throughout Seattle. West Seattle is experiencing rapid changes and the Historic Admiral Theater is hosting the screening as a community event to start a constructive dialogue about our neighborhood’s growth.

Please join us and help spread the word about this event on Sunday, September 8th at 7PM at Admiral Theater.

Tickets are $13 and are available on the Admiral Theater’s website. All ticket sales will be donated to Southwest Youth and Family Services. Southwest Youth and Family Services partners with youth and families to transform their futures through its counseling, education, family support and youth development programs.

Just a quick reminder in case you missed the announcement over the holidays – you’re invited to a free morning showing of “Mary Poppins Returns” tomorrow (Saturday, January 5th) at the Admiral Theater. No admission charge – the showing is sponsored by West Seattle dad (and King County Executive) Dow Constantine to boost WestSide Baby in its work helping thousands of kids and their families, so if you can, bring “diapers (sizes 4-6), wipes, new kids socks/undies, or funds in any amount to help kids and families in need.” The movie’s at 10 am; the theater is at 2343 California SW; first-come, first-served!