Guillermo del Toro calls on Toronto mayor to protect historic cinema

Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is calling on Toronto mayor Olivia Chow to "save" a beloved west-end cinema from a pending eviction.

Del Toro asked his 2.4 million followers on X to sign a petition on Thursday that’s garnered more than 20,000 signatures to protect the Revue Cinema.

The non-profit group responsible for operating the 112-year-old theatre on Roncesvalles Avenue, just south of Dundas Street West, was suddenly informed late last week that their lease wouldn't be renewed. The Revue Film Society then sought and obtained a court injunction pausing the eviction last Friday.

“Mayor Olivia Chow can you help save the REVUE, one of Canada's most beloved, non-profit, cultural landmarks,” del Toro posted on X Thursday, also tagging MPP Bhutila Karpoche, Coun. Gord Perks, and MP Arif Viran.

“If not you, WHO can help? Or HOW can I help?”

According to Revue Film Society Chair Grant Oyston, the landlord’s refusal to renew the cinema’s lease was a sudden attempt at a “hostile takeover” of the independent theatre.

"He showed up during a sold-out screening of 'The Matrix,' and he said, 'Folks, you're all out of here as of July 1,'" Oyston said last week. "He expressed he doesn't want to renew our lease, and he wants us out of the building, and he's planning to take it private."

For his part the landlord – Danny Mullin - has told CTV News Toronto that the society has not kept up with needed upkeep and repair of the building. For that reason, he is hoping to terminate the lease and get someone else to take over operations of the theatre.

“We want to get rid of the board, bring it back to private sector. It's very simple," Mullin said last week. "Why do we need the board? They've never done nothing. Every time we sign a new lease, they never fulfill the lease. They're supposed to do work, do the seats; they never do nothing."

Del Toro, who divides his time between Toronto and Los Angeles, has a roster of acclaimed movies filmed in the Toronto area, including "The Shape of Water," “Mimic,” “Crimson Peak,” “Mama” and “Pacific Rim.”

He frequently posts about the things he loves about Toronto, and runs a studio out of three adjacent apartments in the east-end.

Screenings will continue at Revue Cinema until a trial gets underway to determine the theatre’s future.