Big Changes at Portland's Hollywood Theatre: Richard Beer Out, Dan Halsted In?

There's at least one big change that's gone down in the past week at Film Action Oregon and the Hollywood Theatre: Richard Beer, the longtime artistic director for Film Action Oregon and the Hollywood Theatre, claims to have been fired.

Perhaps not coincidentally, recent emails regarding the Hollywood Theatre's operations have been sent by Dan Halsted, the guy behind the Grindhouse Film Festival and the Portland International Film Festival's PIFF After Dark series.

Neither a phone call nor an email to Film Action Oregon Executive Director Doug Whyte have been returned. When contacted about the situation, Halsted responded, "I'm not authorized to say anything right now."

I was able to easily get a hold of Beer, however, who offered a polite, if not particularly helpful, "No comment." He then added, "I can say that I am no longer with Film Action Oregon and the Hollywood Theatre, and it was not my choice."

Beer (along with Halsted, and a slew of other local film peeps) recently contributed to the Mercury's rundown of 2010 in film.

Stay tuned to Blogtown for updates.

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