'Matrix Resurrections' premieres tonight at San Francisco's historic Castro Theater

SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco will roll out a "green" carpet for "The Matrix Resurrections" premiere Saturday at the historic Castro Theater.

The premiere puts a big spotlight on San Francisco. But there's mixed reaction to the event being held in the Castro.

Some merchants say the premiere's timing and road closures hurt their business.

Supporters say the event is good for the city's overall economy.

Hollywood came to the Castro as crews set up for the U.S. premiere of "The Matrix Resurrections."

"It's global news. It's great to see the city in the headlines for that, to see the city portrayed so beautifully in portions of the movie," said Lori Lincoln with the San Francisco Travel Association.

 Scenes from the movie starring Keanu Reeves were filmed at iconic San Francisco locations.

"The Matrix is one of my favorites movies so I'm excited about that," said vendor Danae Lintz who added that the street closure on Castro between Market and 18th, forced her to set up at a spot with less foot traffic. "It's having a personal impact on my business because I would be setting up down there tomorrow and making a lot of money."

The owner of Cliff's Variety, Terry Bennett, said the set-up for the premiere meant all the parking is gone and the road is closed to car traffic. This couldn't come at a worse time, the weekend before Christmas.

"This should be our most profitable weekend of the year, and it's hurting." Bennett estimated the disruptions will cost her up to $50,000 in business.

She said the changes came without notice from city officials and business owners had no input. "The lack of outreach was absolutely appalling. We were completely blindsided by the closures."

At Tanglad, a Vietnamese restaurant, owner Jeannie Alfonso said delivery drivers are having trouble getting to restaurants to pick up food and customers cannot find parking. "It's cold. Nobody's going to go out and walk how many blocks to come here to order food," said Alfonso.

The San Francisco Film Commission issued a written statement, "We realize this production is causing inconvenience and hope the additional foot traffic as a result of this event will make up for this impact."

"There's going to be a lot of attention on this film. That means there's going to be a lot of people who will see beautiful images of San Francisco and hopefully that will make them want to come back here," said Lincoln.

Merchants say when Hollywood comes knocking the next time, they'd like more notice. They're asking the city to do better.

The premiere will be held Saturday at Castro Theater. People are expected to start arriving at 5:30 p.m. The screening is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Merchants said they expect the road closure to last until midnight Saturday.