It’s about Modesto, but ‘American Graffiti’ is blocked from summer celebration this year

The film that’s the backbone of Modesto’s Graffiti Summer celebration won’t be part of this year’s June festivities.

Distributors of Modesto native George Lucas’ “American Graffiti” have removed The State Theatre’s rights to show the film that month, according to venue Executive Director Gabi Guerrini.

It will be the first time anyone at the theater can recall that the movie won’t be part of the Graffiti Summer events.

“(The film is) the kickoff to Graffiti month and there’s just nothing we can do about that,” she said.

But the rights removal is temporary. Universal Pictures is remastering the 1973 film to mark its 50th anniversary and won’t allow screenings of the original until the new version is released, Guerrini said.

“We begged and we pleaded, we pulled out all the stops,” she said. “They just said that they couldn’t do it.”

The State will be able to show the new version when it premieres, likely in August, Guerrini said.

“American Graffiti” is the seminal 1973 film by Lucas, a graduate of Downey High School. It was inspired by his experiences cruising downtown Modesto as a teenager in the early 1960s.

The State Theatre still will be part of the monthlong Graffiti Summer celebration, Guerrini said. It will hold the annual singalong to the film “Grease” on June 10 and will screen “Cars” as a Graffiti Summer event for children on June 17.

Other traditional Graffiti Summer activities are expected to go on as planned.