Insert Foot at the Castro Theatre.

People get hysterical over things they love. I get it. I once fought a biker who didn’t understand Chris Mullin’s brilliance during a Warriors-Clippers game in L.A. It’s how we show the world what matters to us and what kind of people we are. Since we don’t put bumper stickers on our rear ends (bumstickers?), we shout loud and proud whenever we have an opinion.

Especially the past half-decade, where shouting something over and over somehow makes people more believable (and, conversely, drowns the other half of the planet out, making them yell even louder in response).

I would say, however, it’s smart to wait and see what Another Planet Entertainment actually does with the Castro Theatre in San Francisco before yelling too much.

I would also say – very carefully – that I understand the territorial pissings of the Castro community over the news that Another Planet is taking over operational duties of the iconic Bay Area theater, even prompting onsite protests after the news broke last month. The Castro District is historically a close-knit community, out of both love and necessity. If it’s suspicious of an outside entity coming in to change things, who could blame it?

The fear is that many of the fantastic film-based programs that make the Castro Theatre so special will vanish, in favor of live music, which is obviously APE’s specialty. The company has already said live music will be a component moving forward, but what does that mean for film?

APE says film will remain. But APE also just signed its contract and is probably still figuring out not only what it wants to do, but what it can do at the Castro. It’s not realistic to say the landscape hasn’t shifted dramatically the past couple years. Almost no one can reliably predict where things are headed.

I can’t really speak to whether the community’s loud skepticism is logical because I’ve never lived there and never been part of its community. As an outsider from the East Bay, I wouldn’t presume.

But I can say the Castro Theatre is an amazing filmgoing experience. My first time there was in the early ’90s to see “A Streetcar Named Desire,” and I’ll never forget the crowd’s reaction to Marlon Brando, as if he was about to step off the screen and take a seat with them to talk about how wonderful he used to be. I’ve spent enough time as a visitor in the community to understand it’s special, even in a city almost biologically comprised of special communities.

The Nasser family has owned and run the theater since 1922, and change is scary, especially when that which may change is so beloved. San Francisco, for all its progressivism, doesn’t always respond well to change involving its institutions. That’s a nice way of saying for such an inclusive and welcoming city, outsiders shouldn’t fuck with it.

But … Another Planet isn’t exactly a corporate carpetbagger from Texas. It was born in 2003 in Berkeley (the inspiration for the name because Berkeley, like San Francisco, can be like another planet to outsiders). Gregg Perloff left his gig as President of Bill Graham Presents to found the upstart with other BGP veterans like Sherry Wasserman, after much corporate takeover ugliness at BGP. Another Planet wasted no time elbowing into agreements with venues and scoring huge shows (they barely had time to unpack the office furniture before landing a massive Bruce Springsteen show at the former AT&T Park).

Perloff learned the business at Bill Graham’s side, which should speak to what he knows and values about the Bay Area. APE went on to re-open and rejuvenate Bay Area landmarks like the amazing Fox Theater and the much-more-manageable-than-it-used-to-be Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (they plan overdue renovations/restorations at the Castro). APE also put San Francisco on the world map of great music festivals with Outside Lands.

So, yes, it’s a big-league company. Perloff – who I’ve met a few times and once sat in his office while he tried convincing me parking was no problem at the Greek Theatre in 2003 – is a tough businessman. But he’s also a Bay Area guy. He knows the people and knows the landscape, at least as well as anyone in his position.

If change has to come to the Castro – and now into the third year of the pandemic, change is becoming the norm in every business – Another Planet probably has a more realistic chance than most at keeping that big, beautiful iconic neon marquee lit in the years to come. Just don’t stop yelling about what you want there. Doing that is just as much of a San Francisco institution.

Follow music critic Tony Hicks at Twitter.com/TonyBaloney1967.