18TH & GRAND:
About the documentary
With Roddy Piper, Julio César Chávez, Gene LeBell, Mamie Van Doren, John Doe, CARLOS PALOMINO, JACKIE KALLEN, Gary Tovar, Jimmy Lennon Jr., James Ellroy, Dick Enberg, The Destroyer AND MORE
Music by Jungle Fire
Songs by Queens of the Stone Age, cannibal & the headhunters, Quetzal, WAR, Shuggie Otis, Dead Kennedys, THE WEIRDOS, CHARLES WRIGHT & THE WATTS 103RD STREET RHYTHM BAND & more
Synopsis
The Olympic Auditorium opened in 1925, a massive, state-of-the-art arena built to match the ambitions of a city on the come. The Olympic was a wild, indestructible palace of violent entertainment for eight decades, and Aileen Eaton managed the mayhem for the better part of its existence. Taking over in the midst of World War II, Eaton thrived in the hyper masculine world of boxing and wrestling, building and influencing stars like Gorgeous George and Muhammad Ali, facing off against Mickey Cohen and the mob, and navigating the Olympic through changing times and tastes. When she retired in 1980, the Olympic became the largest punk rock venue in the U.S. and the launchpad for live music giant Goldenvoice. 18TH & GRAND: THE OLYMPIC AUDITORIUM STORY dynamically recasts the L.A. story, featuring diverse, unforgettable voices, a forgotten heroine, and the battles that shaped a city.
OUR TEAM
StEPHEN DEBRO
Los Angeles native Stephen DeBro Produced and Directed 18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story, immersing himself in the history of a historic fight palace as a means to tell a larger story about the city. DeBro has spent his career championing unique stories and artists. He was in the music business for two decades; most notably, he led the marketing department for the jazz and eclectic music division at Atlantic Records under legendary founder Ahmet Ertegun with a roster that included Kris Kristofferson, George Carlin, and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, among others. He sees 18th & Grand as an opportunity to engage the complex issues of today by seeing their origins in the recent past. 18th & Grand is his directorial debut.
Robert Benavides
Producer Robert Benavides is an Award-Winning and Grammy-Nominated filmmaker whose work has taken him all over the globe. He served as Director of Photography and Producer on the critically-acclaimed documentary Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, which premiered at The Sundance Film Festival and was an Official Selection of The Tribeca Film Festival. The Film won the Audience Award at the L.A. Film Festival for Best Documentary and received a Grammy Nomination for Best Long Form Video. He has worked with recording artists Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Da Baby, Kings of Leon, Jill Scott, and Justin Timberlake. Commercial work includes the brands Honda, Toyota, Pepsi, Adidas, American Express, NBA Entertainment and many more. Robert is a member of the International Cinematographers Guild and lives in Los Angeles.
Tony Peck
Tony Peck is the Director of Photography and Executive Producer for 18th & Grand. A graduate of ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, Tony has worked with a who’s who of creative and corporate clients such as Sprint, IBM, Nissan, Easter Seals, McGraw Hill and others. Tony heads Peck Media, a boutique video production and post production company.
Mayre MCAnulty
Mayre McAnulty was born in Seattle Washington in 1989 and knew nothing of the Olympic Auditorium or Aileen Eaton when she joined the 18th & Grand team in 2018. Mayre provided a generational counterbalance that gave a fresh perspective to the material. As a producer, she made herself indispensable, bringing technical expertise and storytelling know-how, helping hone the enormous amount of footage and archival materials into a focused vision.
Howard Paar
Howard Paar is a Grammy-nominated music supervisor whose credits include 20th Century Women, Diary of a Teenage Girl, Cobain: Montage of Heck, Monster, and many other films and television series. Born and raised in London, Howard made his name in L.A. as a club creator/DJ/promoter, working with such artists as The Specials, The Clash, The English Beat, The Go Go’s and The Cure. Later Howard became Vice President of Media & Artist Relations at Polygram Records, then VP of Soundtracks. Soon after becoming an independent music supervisor, he was nominated for a Grammy for the soundtrack of the award-winning documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys.
Gene Aguilera
Gene Aguilera, also known as the Duke of East L.A., is an Associate Producer for 18th & Grand, bringing his encyclopedic knowledge of local boxing history and the music to the project. Gene has been inducted into the National Boxing Hall of Fame and is the author of Mexican American Boxing in Los Angeles.
Karin Tracy
Karin Tracy has over two decades of design and marketing experience and considers herself a creative storyteller. Originally from the east coast, she moved to Los Angeles in 2013 and met the Olympic Auditorium Project team members shortly after that. The Olympic story grabbed her from several angles but she was most fascinated by the inimitable Aileen Eaton. Karin is entranced by this unique city and is proud to be a part of sharing its history.
PRESS
THE LOS ANGELES AREA EMMY AWARDS
Congratulations to 18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story for its Emmy nomination!
The 75th Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards will be presented Saturday evening, July 22, 2023 at the Four Seasons Hotel Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills. 18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story has been nominated in the category of Indpendent Programming. Congratulations to nominees Steve DeBro, Robert Benavides, Tony Peck and Mayre McAnulty!
UNCUT
“Inside an LA sporting institution”
7/10. Stephen DeBro’s history of the Madison Square Garden of the west has a punk interlude, but the core is the venue’s 40 years under the “dragon lady” Aileen Eaton, a tough promoter who knew how to market violence. Built for the 1932 Olympics, the venue hosted boxing, wrestling, roller derbies and riots, becoming a recalcitrant symbol of old LA. James Ellroy is among the nostalgists, fondly recalling the time patrons threw bottles of piss into the ring. Extras: 8/10. 90 minutes extra footage.
DEADLINE
’18th & Grand’ Documentary: Roddy Piper Describes Walk To The Ring At Legendary Olympic Auditorium; “I Know What A Gladiator In Rome Must’ve Felt Like”
Director Stephen DeBro’s 18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story is a fitting close the Slamdance Film Festival this week.
The film is a raw, often surprising perspective on an overlooked Downtown L.A. landmark, often called the Madison Garden of the West Coast. The concrete bunker-like structure was used for the 1932 Olympics. After that, it saw everything from a golden age of boxing, to wrestling, to roller derby, to punk shows, music videos and movie shoots for classics such as Raging Bull and Million Dollar Baby.
“It was a palace of violence,” DeBro tells Deadline. “People were fighting for a piece of the dream.”
VARIETY
18th & Grand’ Filmmaker on the Rollicking History of L.A.’s Olympic Auditorium and the Powerful Woman Behind a Boxing Empire
Stephen DeBro’s new documentary “18th & Grand” weaves together boxing, wrestling, punk rock, roller derby and local history with an “only in L.A.” perspective that firmly situates the historic auditorium in the city’s culture.
As the filmmaker was researching the history of the Downtown Los Angeles building and its many lives, one aspect stood out: the formidable presence of Aileen Eaton, who became a powerful figure in the sporting world and in Los Angeles business over nearly four decades.
Hyperallergic
How a Legendary Boxing Arena Became a Lens for Los Angeles
If you’ve driven the 10 freeway from Mid-City to Boyle Heights, then you’ve passed by the Grand Olympic Auditorium — you just might not have recognized it. The legendary sports arena, turned punk rock venue, is now a Korean Christian Church called the Glory Church of Jesus Christ.
In 18th and Grand, a new documentary feature film produced by Genpop Entertainment, writer and director Stephen DeBro explores the city’s history through the lens of a venue that could only exist in Los Angeles.
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