The two year stand off between some of the movie business' heavy hitters and a group of grassroots organizers to keep the Motion Picture and Television Fund longterm care facitily open has all the makings of a classic underdog story.
Rarer still, it may come with a happy ending.
Also read: TheWrap's Complete Coverage of the MPTF Closure Saga (Timeline)
An MPTF board filled with the likes of DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, Fox Filmed Entertainment Co-chairman and CEO Jim Gianopulos, and former MGM CEO Frank Mancuso were forced to back down under pressure from a few activists with no funding, no clout and nothing but their determination not to give up until they got what they wanted.
“We were David staring down Goliath. We were doing battle with people who are not used to reversing themselves once they have made a decision,” said Richard Stellar, a member of Saving the Lives of Our Own, the group that formed to stop the closure.
In a stunning reversal, the MPTF’s leadership announced on Wednesday that it had entered into a non-binding letter of intent with Providence Health & Services that will keep its longterm care facility and acute care hospital open. Under the agreement, which is still pending approval, Providence would sign a long-term lease for the MPTF hospital facilities and licenses for the 250-bed hospital would be transferred to nearby Providence Tarzana Medical Center.
Also read: MPTF Chief Beitcher Grilled -- 'It’s a Big Win For Everybody'
The credit for keeping the doors open to the money-losing facility lies almost entirely with the 250 member Saving the Lives of Our Own. With many members reaching deep in their own pockets, the grassroots group mounted a sustained assault on the MPTF leadership. They hosted nearly twenty rallies and fundraisers, took out ads in the trade papers and enlisted the powerful law firm of Girardi + Keese.
“I don’t think that any of us really believed that a day like this would be possible. It’s truly humbling,” Dean Butler, a Saving Our Lives Member, told TheWrap.
In the glow of hammering out a potential compromise, even the MPTF leadership is feeling generous.
“We knew that we had to go down the process of closure or risk the Fund, but did we ever give up on an alternative solution? The answer is no. Did [Saving the Lives of Our Own] do a good job of keeping the need in the forefront of our minds? Absolutely,” MPTF CEO Bob Beitcher told TheWrap.
The tentative agreement could also ultimately improve the quality of care on campus. Providence Health will take over the financial obligations of maintaining the hospital and its longterm care services -- something that had been losing the MPTF roughly $10 million a year. As a result, the longterm care facility and other buildings on campus will receive substantial renovations.
Looking back, the speed with which families of MPTF residents coalesced is remarkable, particularly given that most had little if any experience with community organizing.
