1
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My entire life has been movies.

2
00:00:32,907 --> 00:00:35,368
I was what they call a latchkey kid.

3
00:00:35,452 --> 00:00:39,664
So, I was brought up with the TV.
That's how I learned to do what I do.

4
00:00:39,748 --> 00:00:43,042
The reason I do what I do
is because of movies.

5
00:00:44,169 --> 00:00:46,963
Without movies, you're only getting

6
00:00:47,130 --> 00:00:52,677
half of the story of what our culture was
at any given time during any decade.

7
00:00:52,761 --> 00:00:54,637
Renting movies was huge.

8
00:00:54,721 --> 00:00:59,142
And when I was a kid,
uh, I had to rent the VCR, too, first.

9
00:00:59,309 --> 00:01:03,521
I would get one for the weekend
and then get a stack of movies,

10
00:01:03,688 --> 00:01:07,067
at least four, and then
watch them over and over.

11
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I've missed that act, like,
getting in your car with your girlfriend

12
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and arguing over
what you were gonna watch.

13
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You had to watch one of her movies
so you could watch one of yours.

14
00:01:16,910 --> 00:01:19,454
It was just a…it was a neat time.

15
00:01:19,579 --> 00:01:22,290
Blockbuster became
the dominant beast.

16
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Like, it was it. It was a name
that you never imagined would go anywhere.

17
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Like McDonald's.

18
00:01:27,337 --> 00:01:30,215
Like, we got to see a corporation
built up in our lifetime.

19
00:01:30,298 --> 00:01:32,425
We also got to see a corporation die.

20
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It's stock. One million shares!

21
00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:41,267
- Oh, my God!
- …of Blockbuster Video stock.

22
00:01:41,351 --> 00:01:43,937
- Oh, no.
- What, is that bad?

23
00:01:44,020 --> 00:01:45,563
I still have a Blockbuster card.

24
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What happened to Blockbuster?

25
00:01:48,441 --> 00:01:50,527
Why did Blockbuster Video
go out of business?

26
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Was it Netflix?

27
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Netflix was really the nail in the coffin.

28
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For sure, Netflix.

29
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- Netflix.
- Netflix.

30
00:01:59,119 --> 00:02:02,372
- Netflix.
- Netflix or streaming or…

31
00:02:02,455 --> 00:02:04,541
Yeah. So look, most people think

32
00:02:04,624 --> 00:02:06,664
Blockbuster went out of business
because of Netflix,

33
00:02:06,709 --> 00:02:08,253
but that's not the truth.

34
00:02:08,336 --> 00:02:11,047
Um, what really happened was…

35
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My hat's off to them, man.
Like, there must be a story behind it.

36
00:02:17,262 --> 00:02:20,932
There must be a reason.
Perfectly rational explanation

37
00:02:21,015 --> 00:02:24,561
for why they're holding out hope.

38
00:02:24,644 --> 00:02:26,324
We all live
in the same plane of existence,

39
00:02:26,396 --> 00:02:29,566
but they live, clearly,
in a different reality than I do.

40
00:02:29,649 --> 00:02:30,984
And I'm not saying mine's better,

41
00:02:31,067 --> 00:02:35,113
but it's like their reality still supports
the neighborhood video store,

42
00:02:35,196 --> 00:02:39,492
whereas my reality,
that's dead as the dodo.

43
00:02:52,547 --> 00:02:55,091
Okay. So once we get in here,
we got, like, 30 seconds,

44
00:02:55,174 --> 00:02:58,052
which is actually longer
than I always give it, but…

45
00:02:58,136 --> 00:02:59,679
to get in the back room.

46
00:03:25,079 --> 00:03:27,916
Yeah. Well, it's Saturday.
It's not as full as it is on Mondays.

47
00:03:31,753 --> 00:03:34,672
Believe it or not,
back in the day when we rented a lot more,

48
00:03:34,756 --> 00:03:36,400
there would be many mornings
when we would come in

49
00:03:36,424 --> 00:03:38,885
and these doors would be open,
movies would be out to here,

50
00:03:38,968 --> 00:03:41,471
and they'd be all the way
filled to the other side.

51
00:03:41,554 --> 00:03:44,432
And so it would take a long time
to get all the movies pulled out.

52
00:03:44,515 --> 00:03:48,269
Now, unfortunately,
it's not as busy as it used to be,

53
00:03:48,353 --> 00:03:49,663
but still a little bit more manageable,

54
00:03:49,687 --> 00:03:51,731
so we can pull the movies out
in the morning.

55
00:03:53,691 --> 00:03:56,236
Once the doors are open,
we fill the candy, we fill the soda,

56
00:03:56,319 --> 00:03:58,363
and then just walk around and make sure

57
00:03:58,529 --> 00:04:00,889
that they didn't leave the broom
in the middle of the floor.

58
00:04:01,616 --> 00:04:02,867
And, you know, stuff like that.

59
00:04:02,992 --> 00:04:04,577
As the "Blockbuster mom,"

60
00:04:04,661 --> 00:04:07,330
um, you know, I'm always…
walking around

61
00:04:07,413 --> 00:04:09,499
reminding them that
I'm really not their mother,

62
00:04:09,582 --> 00:04:11,382
so I don't really need
to clean up after them.

63
00:04:15,964 --> 00:04:17,382
All right. Store's ready to open.

64
00:04:19,425 --> 00:04:22,470
This Blockbuster mom
is Sandi Harding,

65
00:04:22,553 --> 00:04:25,348
the general manager
of the last Blockbuster in Oregon

66
00:04:25,431 --> 00:04:27,850
and one of the last Blockbusters on Earth.

67
00:04:27,934 --> 00:04:29,727
She considers herself a Blockbuster mom

68
00:04:29,811 --> 00:04:32,021
because she's employed
nearly every teenager

69
00:04:32,105 --> 00:04:35,358
in her hometown of Bend
over the last 14 years.

70
00:04:35,441 --> 00:04:38,653
Sandi, how much has changed
since you first started at Blockbuster?

71
00:04:38,736 --> 00:04:41,406
All right, so when I started in 2004,

72
00:04:41,489 --> 00:04:46,411
Blockbuster Video had roughly 9,000 stores
and over 60,000 employees,

73
00:04:46,494 --> 00:04:48,162
um, and now,

74
00:04:48,955 --> 00:04:52,417
we have about 12 stores,
um, and I would say,

75
00:04:52,500 --> 00:04:55,336
with 12 stores, maybe
a couple hundred employees.

76
00:04:55,420 --> 00:04:58,298
From 9,000 stores down to 12.

77
00:04:58,381 --> 00:05:00,300
So, what happened?
Maybe it's best to start

78
00:05:00,425 --> 00:05:02,760
with why video stores exist to begin with.

79
00:05:02,844 --> 00:05:05,471
After all, we don't have
music rental stores,

80
00:05:05,555 --> 00:05:08,391
and besides the library,
we don't have book rental stores.

81
00:05:08,474 --> 00:05:11,728
To explain, meet Alan Payne,
a Blockbuster franchise owner

82
00:05:11,853 --> 00:05:14,272
who once owned 44 stores across America.

83
00:05:14,355 --> 00:05:17,442
But at the time of this interview,
only three remained.

84
00:05:17,525 --> 00:05:19,986
So, tell us, Alan, why video rental?

85
00:05:20,486 --> 00:05:22,196
Why video rental?

86
00:05:22,280 --> 00:05:24,490
Well, you got to go back
to the early days, right?

87
00:05:25,241 --> 00:05:26,743
To the early '80s…

88
00:05:27,452 --> 00:05:32,874
when VCRs came along
and, uh, studios decided

89
00:05:32,957 --> 00:05:37,336
that they were going to sell movies
directly to the consumers.

90
00:05:37,545 --> 00:05:40,423
They could play a movie on the VCR.

91
00:05:40,590 --> 00:05:43,760
Only problem is, they thought
those were worth about $100.

92
00:05:44,802 --> 00:05:47,513
And they probably thought
that was a bargain,

93
00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:52,685
because if you're gonna pay,
at the time, probably $7 to go to a movie,

94
00:05:52,769 --> 00:05:56,939
well, that means 11, 12 people
could watch a movie

95
00:05:57,023 --> 00:05:58,858
one time at your house,

96
00:05:58,941 --> 00:06:01,694
and they're already in the red.
That's the way they would look at it.

97
00:06:01,861 --> 00:06:04,572
So, they had to charge $100 for that.

98
00:06:04,697 --> 00:06:09,869
Very quickly, some very ingenious
entrepreneurs decided that,

99
00:06:09,952 --> 00:06:12,288
"Well, we'll buy them and rent them."

100
00:06:12,413 --> 00:06:16,292
The studios subsequently
sued those stores,

101
00:06:16,375 --> 00:06:18,669
went all the way to the Supreme Court

102
00:06:18,753 --> 00:06:22,090
to determine whether or not
people had a right to do that,

103
00:06:22,173 --> 00:06:24,342
and the Supreme Court
ruled against the studios.

104
00:06:25,093 --> 00:06:26,469
Did you know that?

105
00:06:27,553 --> 00:06:30,264
So, that's what enabled
the business to explode,

106
00:06:30,348 --> 00:06:33,559
because at that time
there was no legal risk.

107
00:06:33,684 --> 00:06:37,396
And the studios
very, very quickly found out

108
00:06:37,563 --> 00:06:39,190
that they were dead wrong,

109
00:06:39,357 --> 00:06:43,444
and that rental became
their biggest source of revenue.

110
00:06:45,613 --> 00:06:46,948
In the '80s and '90s,

111
00:06:47,031 --> 00:06:50,034
a video store
was like a license to print money,

112
00:06:50,118 --> 00:06:51,744
if you could afford to open one.

113
00:06:51,869 --> 00:06:54,163
That allure is what attracted
Ken and Debbie Tisher

114
00:06:54,247 --> 00:06:57,375
to this beautiful town, Bend, Oregon.

115
00:06:58,292 --> 00:07:01,379
In 1990, my wife and I

116
00:07:01,462 --> 00:07:05,675
moved up from California
to Bend to open a video store.

117
00:07:06,050 --> 00:07:09,262
To get it up and running
cost us about $400,000,

118
00:07:09,345 --> 00:07:12,306
which was about all of our savings.

119
00:07:12,390 --> 00:07:16,018
So, we were, uh, hoping it succeeded.

120
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Pacific Video.

121
00:07:18,521 --> 00:07:19,915
That's the name my wife thought up.

122
00:07:19,939 --> 00:07:24,235
We were almost gonna do Coyote Video,
and with a howl.

123
00:07:24,318 --> 00:07:27,196
The "Coyote Video," and, uh…

124
00:07:27,405 --> 00:07:30,908
But we ended up with Pacific Video
and everybody thought we were a franchise.

125
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And like it or not,

126
00:07:32,618 --> 00:07:35,997
a lot of the smaller stores
went by the wayside.

127
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It certainly wasn't our intention,
but it's just the nature of the beast.

128
00:07:40,877 --> 00:07:43,463
Yes, I know. I know. I lied to you, Luke.

129
00:07:43,546 --> 00:07:46,048
I know, I should have told you
the truth about Darth Vader,

130
00:07:46,174 --> 00:07:48,134
but what are you gonna do?

131
00:07:48,301 --> 00:07:50,470
This lightsaber was your father's.

132
00:07:50,553 --> 00:07:54,098
He gave it to me after
five years in that clone war.

133
00:07:54,182 --> 00:07:59,061
You know, I had to hide this saber
in the most uncomfortable place.

134
00:07:59,145 --> 00:08:02,148
Yabba-dabba-doo!

135
00:08:02,231 --> 00:08:06,861
Fred Flintstone here,
and this is The Last Blockbuster.

136
00:08:06,944 --> 00:08:09,655
Oh, brother.

137
00:08:09,739 --> 00:08:13,784
My life without movies
would be an empty void.

138
00:08:13,910 --> 00:08:17,205
In a world of no movies, one man…

139
00:08:17,288 --> 00:08:18,849
Now, there was always
video stores growing up

140
00:08:18,873 --> 00:08:20,433
before Blockbuster that we would go to.

141
00:08:20,458 --> 00:08:22,561
There was Captain Video in Santa Barbara,
where I'm from.

142
00:08:22,585 --> 00:08:26,214
Uh, renting a movie for me
when I was a child was an event.

143
00:08:26,297 --> 00:08:29,133
It entailed me and my sister and my mom
all going together,

144
00:08:29,217 --> 00:08:30,843
and my mom would pick one,

145
00:08:30,927 --> 00:08:34,055
and she'd allow me and my sister
to each pick a video,

146
00:08:34,138 --> 00:08:37,183
and so it always became
a bit like a treasure hunt.

147
00:08:37,642 --> 00:08:41,229
I remember the first time
I went to rent a movie.

148
00:08:41,395 --> 00:08:42,772
And I said to the clerk,

149
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"Give us, like, the most
disgusting horror movie that you have."

150
00:08:48,402 --> 00:08:51,656
And he gave us Bloodsucking Freaks,

151
00:08:51,739 --> 00:08:56,536
which, if you've never seen the movie,
still, to this day, holds up

152
00:08:56,619 --> 00:09:00,456
as, like, a horrifying
transgression of cinema.

153
00:09:03,834 --> 00:09:06,230
I kind of get the impression
that it was this way everywhere,

154
00:09:06,254 --> 00:09:08,934
but I don't know if it was,
but I could rent all the rated R movies.

155
00:09:08,965 --> 00:09:12,176
You know, so I'd just rent
Friday the 13th, one through seven and…

156
00:09:12,301 --> 00:09:14,053
I was hooked on the videotape.

157
00:09:14,136 --> 00:09:16,013
And the third movie I got,

158
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which I watched,
and I just kept paying the late fee,

159
00:09:20,142 --> 00:09:21,519
was Scarface…

160
00:09:22,186 --> 00:09:23,187
which at the time,

161
00:09:23,312 --> 00:09:26,107
for like a 13 or 14-year-old
was not a great idea,

162
00:09:26,190 --> 00:09:27,567
but for me…

163
00:09:28,150 --> 00:09:29,150
It really shaped me.

164
00:09:29,193 --> 00:09:30,695
I remember telling my dad

165
00:09:30,778 --> 00:09:33,739
I wanted to rent that Pink Panther movie

166
00:09:33,864 --> 00:09:36,742
because it had the cartoon Pink Panther
on the cover,

167
00:09:36,826 --> 00:09:38,286
and I remember him saying,

168
00:09:38,369 --> 00:09:41,038
"This isn't what you think it is.
You're not gonna like it."

169
00:09:41,122 --> 00:09:44,250
And we got into an argument,
and he said, "Okay, you can rent it,

170
00:09:44,333 --> 00:09:46,502
"but you're going to have to watch it."

171
00:09:46,586 --> 00:09:48,546
And I said, "Fine."

172
00:09:48,671 --> 00:09:51,090
And so that's how I saw
the Peter Sellers Pink Panther

173
00:09:51,173 --> 00:09:54,594
when I was six years old,
and had little to no idea

174
00:09:54,677 --> 00:09:56,846
what I was watching the whole time.

175
00:10:03,269 --> 00:10:07,773
Classic movie, Heavy Metal.
Uh, my nine-year-old son has seen this.

176
00:10:07,857 --> 00:10:11,360
And he's less impressed
by the kickass lady

177
00:10:11,444 --> 00:10:14,405
holding a sword, flying on a giant bird,

178
00:10:14,572 --> 00:10:19,619
and more bewildered…
or impressed by the insides.

179
00:10:19,702 --> 00:10:21,704
He's like, "How does that even work?"

180
00:10:22,455 --> 00:10:26,834
And he just was looking at it.
"Wait, the movie's on the tape?

181
00:10:26,917 --> 00:10:32,173
"And then you put the tape in the thing?"
"Yeah, buddy. Pretty simple."

182
00:10:32,381 --> 00:10:34,383
Going to the video store with, like,

183
00:10:34,467 --> 00:10:39,597
your mom or your dad or your friends,
getting a video, and getting a pizza,

184
00:10:39,680 --> 00:10:45,061
and coming home, and, like,
watching a pizza with… Or watching a…

185
00:10:46,854 --> 00:10:49,190
And I always remember
being disappointed

186
00:10:49,315 --> 00:10:51,317
if what I wanted was not there.

187
00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:52,502
And then, the first thing you do

188
00:10:52,526 --> 00:10:54,004
is you go right to the counter,
and you go,

189
00:10:54,028 --> 00:10:56,572
"Hey, um, when's this film
supposed to be turned back in?"

190
00:10:56,656 --> 00:10:58,699
You know? And I remember
times when they'd say,

191
00:10:58,783 --> 00:11:00,368
"Well, it's supposed to be…it's late.

192
00:11:00,451 --> 00:11:02,662
"It's supposed to be back in
by, you know, by noon."

193
00:11:02,745 --> 00:11:04,265
So, you'd kinda hang out, kinda going,

194
00:11:04,330 --> 00:11:07,416
"Hey, what movie is that you dropped?"
"Oh, hey I'll take that." You know.

195
00:11:08,459 --> 00:11:11,003
And then Blockbuster came along.
And then it was like,

196
00:11:11,128 --> 00:11:14,673
it's not just a little closet
with a couple of videos.

197
00:11:14,757 --> 00:11:17,218
It became this world of videos.

198
00:11:18,010 --> 00:11:20,572
There's also something kind of comforting
about the blue and the yellow,

199
00:11:20,596 --> 00:11:22,264
and you're just like, "Oh, okay,

200
00:11:22,431 --> 00:11:25,559
"I can chill in here at midnight,
nothing bad will happen."

201
00:11:25,643 --> 00:11:28,479
And it was…

202
00:11:28,562 --> 00:11:30,207
I am sure everybody's saying that already.

203
00:11:30,231 --> 00:11:35,111
There's this peace when you walk in
and you go, "The world is mine.

204
00:11:35,194 --> 00:11:37,113
"I can accomplish anything right now."

205
00:11:37,196 --> 00:11:41,283
Everything is at my fingertips.
I love it. I miss it like crazy.

206
00:11:42,034 --> 00:11:44,078
Blockbuster
is America's family video store.

207
00:11:44,161 --> 00:11:46,705
You know, we have more
kids' videos than any place else?

208
00:11:46,789 --> 00:11:48,749
More movies, more nights, more fun.

209
00:11:48,833 --> 00:11:52,962
♪ Blockbuster Video
Wow! What a difference ♪

210
00:11:53,045 --> 00:11:55,131
So, just what did make
Blockbuster different?

211
00:11:55,214 --> 00:11:57,133
Maybe we should look at
how it got started.

212
00:11:57,216 --> 00:12:00,219
It took place in the '80s,
so let's cue up some '80s music.

213
00:12:00,302 --> 00:12:03,472
Or for budget reasons,
something that sounds like '80s music.

214
00:12:03,556 --> 00:12:05,641
Perfect.

215
00:12:05,724 --> 00:12:07,435
The year was 1985.

216
00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:11,230
David Cook was a software engineer
in the oil and gas industry in Texas.

217
00:12:11,313 --> 00:12:12,898
When that industry hit the crapper,

218
00:12:12,982 --> 00:12:15,568
Cook's wife convinced him
to start a video store.

219
00:12:15,651 --> 00:12:19,155
Cook opened a store in Dallas
and named it Blockbuster Video.

220
00:12:19,238 --> 00:12:21,198
From the start,
he made Blockbuster different

221
00:12:21,282 --> 00:12:24,243
by having a bigger selection,
staying open until midnight,

222
00:12:24,326 --> 00:12:26,620
and actually putting the tapes
out on the shelves.

223
00:12:26,704 --> 00:12:29,540
While most video stores
kept the merchandise behind the counter,

224
00:12:29,623 --> 00:12:34,295
at Blockbuster, you could pick up the box,
take a closer look and read the back.

225
00:12:34,378 --> 00:12:37,882
At the same time, Cook wanted
the experience to be family friendly.

226
00:12:37,965 --> 00:12:40,718
That means something was missing.

227
00:12:40,885 --> 00:12:43,971
That door that was made of beads.

228
00:12:44,180 --> 00:12:46,974
That you had to be 18,
to look over, but you kinda glared over.

229
00:12:47,057 --> 00:12:51,228
There were usually bells attached to it
so that the person behind the desk knew

230
00:12:51,312 --> 00:12:53,314
when someone was coming
or going from there.

231
00:12:53,397 --> 00:12:55,608
But then when Blockbuster came,
it was like…

232
00:12:55,691 --> 00:12:59,111
sterile, clean.

233
00:12:59,987 --> 00:13:02,865
You'd get a call or a person
in a week looking…

234
00:13:02,948 --> 00:13:04,342
And there would be people that you would…

235
00:13:04,366 --> 00:13:06,827
I'm not saying people
in like a trench coat and a hat,

236
00:13:06,911 --> 00:13:09,205
these are, like, suburban dads,

237
00:13:09,288 --> 00:13:11,665
looking for, like,
"Where's the cheerleader movie?"

238
00:13:11,749 --> 00:13:13,269
It's like, "We don't got that, buddy."

239
00:13:13,375 --> 00:13:15,586
But what may be
the single most important thing

240
00:13:15,669 --> 00:13:17,838
that made Blockbuster different
was Cook's software.

241
00:13:18,339 --> 00:13:21,717
While other mom and pop stores
were still using pencils and log books,

242
00:13:21,884 --> 00:13:24,053
Cook used databases
to streamline his inventory

243
00:13:24,136 --> 00:13:26,388
and make checking videos
in and out more efficient.

244
00:13:26,514 --> 00:13:30,309
That meant he could replicate stores
much more quickly than competitors.

245
00:13:30,392 --> 00:13:33,187
Just a year later,
Blockbuster had 20 stores,

246
00:13:33,270 --> 00:13:36,232
and that caught the attention
of garbage man, Wayne Huizenga.

247
00:13:36,315 --> 00:13:39,944
Well, less a garbage man
and more the CEO of Waste Management,

248
00:13:40,027 --> 00:13:41,987
the largest garbage company
in the country.

249
00:13:42,071 --> 00:13:44,990
While Cook was looking
to grow the business through franchising,

250
00:13:45,074 --> 00:13:48,244
Huizenga bought Blockbuster,
and was able to bring in enough capital

251
00:13:48,327 --> 00:13:50,663
to grow the company quickly
by gobbling up competitors

252
00:13:50,746 --> 00:13:52,623
and converting them to Blockbusters.

253
00:13:52,706 --> 00:13:54,667
Corporate Blockbuster had begun,

254
00:13:54,750 --> 00:13:57,253
and at one point, there was
a new Blockbuster opening

255
00:13:57,336 --> 00:13:59,380
every 17 hours.

256
00:13:59,463 --> 00:14:00,631
Wow.

257
00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:03,133
Usually I'll be at home,

258
00:14:03,300 --> 00:14:07,805
and I'll think of some very specific movie
that I haven't seen in a really long time.

259
00:14:07,888 --> 00:14:10,933
And I'll think, "Well, hey,
I live right by Blockbuster.

260
00:14:11,016 --> 00:14:12,744
"I'll walk down there
and see if they have it."

261
00:14:12,768 --> 00:14:14,478
So, the last one I wanted,

262
00:14:14,562 --> 00:14:18,107
very specific, was Insidious 2.

263
00:14:18,190 --> 00:14:20,943
So, I was like,
I'm gonna walk to Blockbuster,

264
00:14:21,026 --> 00:14:22,903
I'm gonna get Insidious 2.

265
00:14:23,028 --> 00:14:26,782
I grab my keys, lock my door,
I walk out my driveway,

266
00:14:27,950 --> 00:14:30,619
and then I just have to take one turn,

267
00:14:30,870 --> 00:14:32,913
uh, cross the railroad tracks.

268
00:14:34,456 --> 00:14:37,126
So, I get to Blockbuster,

269
00:14:38,168 --> 00:14:40,963
um, look around, find the movie myself,

270
00:14:41,130 --> 00:14:43,883
which is my favorite part
is like, okay, gotta go to horror,

271
00:14:43,966 --> 00:14:48,220
gotta go to the I's,
you know, like, actually finding it.

272
00:14:48,304 --> 00:14:50,180
So, I go up to the counter.

273
00:14:50,347 --> 00:14:52,182
They say, "Hey, are you ready to go?"

274
00:14:52,266 --> 00:14:55,728
And I'm always like…
I'm never in a hurry to leave.

275
00:14:55,811 --> 00:14:59,315
So, I'm always like, "I guess."
And they're like, "Okay."

276
00:14:59,398 --> 00:15:00,691
If you're a regular,

277
00:15:00,774 --> 00:15:03,277
you know that they either want
your driver's license

278
00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:05,487
or they want a Blockbuster card.

279
00:15:05,571 --> 00:15:09,325
So, if you just have it ready
so they don't have to ask you,

280
00:15:09,533 --> 00:15:11,243
then you're like, "Yeah, I'm a regular."

281
00:15:11,327 --> 00:15:12,745
So, they take it,

282
00:15:12,870 --> 00:15:16,916
they, like, pop the lock out of the movie,

283
00:15:16,999 --> 00:15:20,377
they check to make sure it's there.
They check it, they beep it,

284
00:15:20,461 --> 00:15:22,755
and they tell me
if I have any late fees or not.

285
00:15:23,172 --> 00:15:26,091
They're like, "So, it appears
you have $4 on your account

286
00:15:26,175 --> 00:15:28,260
"from when you rented Deuce Bigalow."

287
00:15:28,344 --> 00:15:31,096
And I'm like, "I didn't rent…"
You look around, like…

288
00:15:31,180 --> 00:15:33,349
"Oh, I didn't rent Deuce Bigalow.

289
00:15:33,474 --> 00:15:36,852
"Uh, okay, how much is it?"
And then you pay it

290
00:15:36,936 --> 00:15:39,855
'cause you don't ever want them
to bring up Deuce Bigalow again.

291
00:15:39,939 --> 00:15:42,650
My favorite is if you have,
like, two or three movies,

292
00:15:42,858 --> 00:15:45,819
one's a new release,
one's a season of a TV show,

293
00:15:45,903 --> 00:15:47,738
and one's an old movie,
they're gonna be like,

294
00:15:47,863 --> 00:15:51,033
"Okay, this one is Thursday by 5:00.

295
00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:54,578
"This one is Friday by 2:00
"or Wednesday by 1:00."

296
00:15:54,745 --> 00:15:56,473
And I'm like,
"I'm never gonna remember that."

297
00:15:56,497 --> 00:15:58,975
And then they're like,
"Here's your receipt. It's all on there."

298
00:15:58,999 --> 00:16:00,209
And then I'm like, "Cool,"

299
00:16:00,292 --> 00:16:02,252
and I throw it on the ground
and I walk out.

300
00:16:09,301 --> 00:16:11,095
Tuesday mornings
are new release day,

301
00:16:11,178 --> 00:16:12,846
and so every Tuesday morning,

302
00:16:12,972 --> 00:16:15,808
I have to look through and see
what movies that we still need to get

303
00:16:15,891 --> 00:16:17,035
that we didn't get through a vendor.

304
00:16:17,059 --> 00:16:22,398
And then I literally go around to Walmart
and Target and Best Buy

305
00:16:22,481 --> 00:16:26,151
and anywhere else I can try to find movies
and buy what we need.

306
00:16:26,235 --> 00:16:28,696
I do the same thing
for our new for-sale movies

307
00:16:28,779 --> 00:16:31,073
and for customer requests
that we don't have in the store.

308
00:16:31,156 --> 00:16:34,410
And when I can't find locally,
then I started looking on Amazon,

309
00:16:34,493 --> 00:16:36,693
and do my very best to find
whatever the customers need.

310
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:42,584
Sandi is an amazing human being.

311
00:16:42,668 --> 00:16:45,379
Like the second or third time
I ever met her in my life,

312
00:16:45,462 --> 00:16:47,214
she started treating me like family.

313
00:16:47,297 --> 00:16:51,844
Um, if you go to this Blockbuster
and they don't have the movie you want,

314
00:16:51,969 --> 00:16:56,306
Sandi will literally just go and buy it,
and then they will have it from then on.

315
00:16:56,390 --> 00:16:58,434
Sandi has absolutely been key

316
00:16:58,517 --> 00:17:00,728
in the last few years
that she's been there

317
00:17:00,811 --> 00:17:05,107
because she's taken it to heart.
She likes it and, uh, people like her.

318
00:17:05,190 --> 00:17:09,153
And now, 112 Seconds
with Lloyd Kaufman.

319
00:17:09,236 --> 00:17:12,990
Come on in, welcome.
Welcome to Blockbuster New York.

320
00:17:13,115 --> 00:17:16,410
We've got 500 copies of Suicide Squad

321
00:17:16,535 --> 00:17:19,413
and absolutely no copies
of the Troma movies.

322
00:17:19,496 --> 00:17:21,498
Not even Toxic Avenger.

323
00:17:21,582 --> 00:17:24,585
So, come on in
and let's talk about…

324
00:17:24,668 --> 00:17:26,336
the greatest company in…

325
00:17:26,420 --> 00:17:29,631
Yes. Yes, siree. This says it all.

326
00:17:29,715 --> 00:17:32,968
Greatest American symbol of true monopoly.

327
00:17:33,052 --> 00:17:36,305
Blockbuster Manhattan. Come on in.

328
00:17:40,309 --> 00:17:41,685
Why?

329
00:17:41,769 --> 00:17:43,979
I'm just curious.
Why do I need to do that?

330
00:17:47,733 --> 00:17:50,652
You don't know
anything about me, do you?

331
00:17:50,736 --> 00:17:52,488
Oh, you do?

332
00:17:52,571 --> 00:17:53,822
Oh, all right.

333
00:17:55,157 --> 00:17:57,409
Well, can't you just put the…
you can't put the chyron?

334
00:18:00,829 --> 00:18:02,331
You just haven't done your research.

335
00:18:03,457 --> 00:18:05,834
I'll find out when
you start asking questions.

336
00:18:05,918 --> 00:18:07,718
Greetings from Troma Ville.
I'm Lloyd Kaufman,

337
00:18:07,795 --> 00:18:11,840
president of Troma Entertainment
and creator of The Toxic Avenger.

338
00:18:14,426 --> 00:18:16,762
Most of the people
in the entertainment industry

339
00:18:16,929 --> 00:18:19,556
are the scum of the Earth,
so I'd have to go to Texas

340
00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:22,351
and go
of the corporate Blockbusters.

341
00:18:22,434 --> 00:18:25,145
They were rude. They were scumbags.
They had no respect.

342
00:18:25,354 --> 00:18:27,106
Tear it up!

343
00:18:29,942 --> 00:18:31,401
They're not gonna get rid of us.

344
00:18:31,485 --> 00:18:33,779
-We're the… Troma is the herpes
-of the movie industry.

345
00:18:33,862 --> 00:18:35,239
We're not going away.

346
00:18:39,284 --> 00:18:44,540
The only Blockbusters Troma would get into
were the franchises.

347
00:18:44,623 --> 00:18:47,251
The difference between
the corporate-owned stores,

348
00:18:47,334 --> 00:18:49,378
namely the ones that eventually Viacom,

349
00:18:49,461 --> 00:18:51,713
which owns Paramount and MTV
and all that stuff

350
00:18:51,797 --> 00:18:54,299
and had an old fart who had, uh…

351
00:18:54,383 --> 00:18:56,051
who God knows…

352
00:18:56,135 --> 00:18:58,720
if he was still around…

353
00:19:03,559 --> 00:19:06,937
And this has been
112 Seconds with Lloyd Kaufman.

354
00:19:07,020 --> 00:19:08,147
Okay.

355
00:19:10,065 --> 00:19:11,191
We were the dominant store.

356
00:19:11,942 --> 00:19:14,653
So, we then multiplied
to a second location,

357
00:19:14,820 --> 00:19:16,196
then a third location.

358
00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:20,033
We had three Pacific Videos
at one time in Bend.

359
00:19:20,117 --> 00:19:23,620
And for those who don't know,
Bend is a huge movie town.

360
00:19:23,704 --> 00:19:25,205
Blockbuster moved in,

361
00:19:25,289 --> 00:19:27,166
and we didn't even know
Blockbuster was there.

362
00:19:27,249 --> 00:19:29,126
They were down the street from us.

363
00:19:29,209 --> 00:19:32,671
But once REVShare hit,
that was a whole different ballgame.

364
00:19:33,255 --> 00:19:35,757
Sure.

365
00:19:35,924 --> 00:19:38,844
Back then, you couldn't purchase a movie.

366
00:19:38,927 --> 00:19:41,722
Um, the price of a video cassette,

367
00:19:41,889 --> 00:19:43,557
it was sort of astronomical.

368
00:19:43,724 --> 00:19:45,893
Do I really love Terminator enough

369
00:19:46,810 --> 00:19:49,813
to spend $99 on it? I think I do.

370
00:19:49,938 --> 00:19:51,648
Before, the economics were the same

371
00:19:51,732 --> 00:19:55,194
whether you were a franchisee
or whether you were an independent,

372
00:19:55,277 --> 00:19:57,487
you bought your movies from the studios

373
00:19:57,571 --> 00:20:00,157
at roughly between 70 and $75.

374
00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:03,202
And if you were a Blockbuster,
maybe you got a break of a buck or two.

375
00:20:03,368 --> 00:20:07,706
Every video store pretty much lived
and died by their new release section.

376
00:20:07,789 --> 00:20:10,918
And so the mom and pop store, on its best,

377
00:20:11,001 --> 00:20:12,878
like, "Let's go crazy."

378
00:20:12,961 --> 00:20:16,256
You know, "Terminator 2 is coming out."

379
00:20:16,340 --> 00:20:18,467
Three copies max.

380
00:20:19,176 --> 00:20:21,470
- Haven't got it?
- Mm… I'm out.

381
00:20:21,553 --> 00:20:23,805
Blockbuster offers
the promise of, like,

382
00:20:23,889 --> 00:20:25,682
"Come on in. We got 100 copies."

383
00:20:25,766 --> 00:20:29,686
Blockbuster had the foresight
to go to the studios

384
00:20:29,770 --> 00:20:34,149
and negotiate with them
revenue share deals.

385
00:20:34,274 --> 00:20:36,401
Which means, instead of paying $72,

386
00:20:36,526 --> 00:20:39,780
you paid maybe $2, $5,

387
00:20:39,947 --> 00:20:44,117
and then you shared the revenue
with the studio.

388
00:20:44,284 --> 00:20:46,137
And when they totally cut
the independents out, saying,

389
00:20:46,161 --> 00:20:49,790
"We didn't have
the financial ability to pay them."

390
00:20:49,957 --> 00:20:52,960
That was the beginning
of the end of the mom and pop store.

391
00:20:53,043 --> 00:20:56,255
Like, I remember
walking into the Pacific Video

392
00:20:56,338 --> 00:20:59,091
when the sign was in the door saying,

393
00:20:59,174 --> 00:21:01,885
"Starting next week, this Pacific Video
will become a Blockbuster."

394
00:21:01,969 --> 00:21:04,054
Like, I remember seeing that.

395
00:21:04,137 --> 00:21:06,348
But I don't remember
what the story was. Yeah.

396
00:21:06,556 --> 00:21:08,308
They made us an offer we couldn't refuse

397
00:21:08,392 --> 00:21:10,852
because they said they were
gonna open another store

398
00:21:11,478 --> 00:21:13,522
in Bend, if we didn't convert.

399
00:21:13,605 --> 00:21:15,065
Oh, my God.

400
00:21:15,148 --> 00:21:17,734
That'd be an interesting narrative film.

401
00:21:18,110 --> 00:21:19,587
Kinda like Up in the Air
with George Clooney

402
00:21:19,611 --> 00:21:21,530
when he flew around firing people.

403
00:21:21,613 --> 00:21:24,241
Like a guy whose job it is
to fly into a town

404
00:21:24,324 --> 00:21:26,868
and shake down the rental store and say,

405
00:21:26,952 --> 00:21:28,662
"We're gonna open up a Blockbuster…

406
00:21:29,246 --> 00:21:31,164
"if you don't do what we say."

407
00:21:33,041 --> 00:21:35,961
But I remember, like,
a week later, going in,

408
00:21:36,128 --> 00:21:38,422
the movies were all the same,
the vibe was the same.

409
00:21:38,505 --> 00:21:41,300
It was still a ma and pa video store,

410
00:21:41,383 --> 00:21:45,220
just with the branding.
Like, that's really all it was, so…

411
00:21:45,304 --> 00:21:47,514
You know, it's really easy to be like,

412
00:21:47,597 --> 00:21:49,766
"Ah, corporate!" But, like…

413
00:21:50,392 --> 00:21:52,978
If you really think about it,

414
00:21:53,103 --> 00:21:55,981
this Blockbuster has been
a ma and pa video store

415
00:21:56,064 --> 00:21:57,482
for over 20 years.

416
00:22:02,738 --> 00:22:04,573
Uh, so this is my husband, Brad.

417
00:22:04,656 --> 00:22:07,034
My son, Jeremy, my niece, Ashley,

418
00:22:07,117 --> 00:22:09,328
my son, Alex, my son, Ryan.

419
00:22:09,411 --> 00:22:11,705
- Josh, who is basically an adopted son.
- Yeah.

420
00:22:11,788 --> 00:22:14,750
And Sam, who is actually
an adopted daughter,

421
00:22:14,833 --> 00:22:16,293
Ryan's girlfriend.

422
00:22:16,460 --> 00:22:17,836
And we're a Blockbuster family.

423
00:22:18,628 --> 00:22:20,422
Everybody's worked at Blockbuster.

424
00:22:20,505 --> 00:22:22,424
I know this is a small group
with us right now,

425
00:22:22,591 --> 00:22:25,177
but in a heartbeat, I could call
and probably have 15 people here

426
00:22:25,260 --> 00:22:27,846
that were all
our Blockbuster extended family.

427
00:22:27,929 --> 00:22:30,324
And I think the next person
that probably worked in the store

428
00:22:30,348 --> 00:22:32,076
would have been
my four-year-old at the time.

429
00:22:32,100 --> 00:22:36,146
Yeah, I would walk around
with a Blockbuster shirt on,

430
00:22:36,229 --> 00:22:37,522
nametag and everything,

431
00:22:37,606 --> 00:22:39,983
and ask people if they needed help or,

432
00:22:40,067 --> 00:22:41,947
you know, like, eat dog bones
in front of people

433
00:22:42,069 --> 00:22:44,321
if they wanted me to.

434
00:22:44,446 --> 00:22:46,573
So, yeah, I was a real…

435
00:22:47,157 --> 00:22:48,784
real help to the store back then.

436
00:22:48,867 --> 00:22:50,077
You were the mascot.

437
00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:51,328
Exactly, yeah.

438
00:22:51,411 --> 00:22:55,165
I'd go to elementary school
with the shirts on and rep Blockbuster.

439
00:22:55,248 --> 00:22:58,794
It was great. It was such
a fun time working there.

440
00:22:58,877 --> 00:23:01,797
We had such a great crew
and we got along super well.

441
00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:04,299
And it was really fun
to interact with the customers

442
00:23:04,424 --> 00:23:05,801
and give them recommendations

443
00:23:05,884 --> 00:23:08,470
and tell them what to stay away from,
all that sort of stuff.

444
00:23:09,137 --> 00:23:11,389
One of my favorite things
was seeing the staff picks,

445
00:23:11,473 --> 00:23:13,353
when I would show up
at a place, and being like,

446
00:23:13,391 --> 00:23:16,812
okay, there's, like, some members
of the staff who really like me,

447
00:23:16,895 --> 00:23:18,605
and maybe I want to be friends with them.

448
00:23:18,688 --> 00:23:20,315
Because I like Gremlins,

449
00:23:20,398 --> 00:23:22,442
then they introduced me to another movie

450
00:23:22,526 --> 00:23:25,987
that was similar to Gremlins
that I didn't even know I would like.

451
00:23:26,071 --> 00:23:27,632
And then some people, where you're like,

452
00:23:27,656 --> 00:23:31,201
"Oh, okay, you're so hoity-toity,
I'll never be friends with you.

453
00:23:31,284 --> 00:23:32,762
"I don't want to watch this French movie

454
00:23:32,786 --> 00:23:35,247
"about somebody holding a balloon.

455
00:23:35,413 --> 00:23:37,207
"Get out of here."

456
00:23:38,166 --> 00:23:40,043
As someone
who worked at Blockbuster,

457
00:23:40,127 --> 00:23:41,378
one of the cool things was

458
00:23:41,461 --> 00:23:43,547
being the arbiter
of other people's tastes.

459
00:23:43,630 --> 00:23:44,714
Letting them know, like,

460
00:23:44,798 --> 00:23:46,984
you picked something cool
that they would not have picked.

461
00:23:47,008 --> 00:23:48,260
And they could come back,

462
00:23:48,385 --> 00:23:49,862
"That was a great choice."
I'm like, "Yeah."

463
00:23:49,886 --> 00:23:51,179
Part of being a good salesman

464
00:23:51,263 --> 00:23:53,223
is being truthful about
when something's not good.

465
00:23:53,974 --> 00:23:55,868
So, someone might come up
and they'll have a new release

466
00:23:55,892 --> 00:23:57,519
and they'll say, "What's this like?"

467
00:23:57,602 --> 00:24:00,355
And I just didn't have a poker face.
I would go…

468
00:24:01,648 --> 00:24:02,648
"I didn't love it."

469
00:24:02,774 --> 00:24:05,485
So, they would rent it,
but when they came back they would say,

470
00:24:05,569 --> 00:24:07,445
"Thank you for telling me.
That was terrible.

471
00:24:07,529 --> 00:24:08,822
"What else do you recommend?"

472
00:24:08,905 --> 00:24:10,866
And then I could recommend
more things.

473
00:24:11,700 --> 00:24:15,495
The great perk of it is you get,
like, basically unlimited free rental,

474
00:24:15,579 --> 00:24:17,372
so that was a great perk.

475
00:24:17,455 --> 00:24:18,915
I wouldn't call it glamorous,

476
00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:21,310
but it certainly seemed like
a more exciting place to work

477
00:24:21,334 --> 00:24:22,752
than the grocery store.

478
00:24:22,836 --> 00:24:24,796
Um, and it was.

479
00:24:25,046 --> 00:24:26,774
'Cause I did work at a grocery store,
and that was hard.

480
00:24:26,798 --> 00:24:29,026
Blockbuster wasn't that hard
to work at. It was pretty fun.

481
00:24:29,050 --> 00:24:31,761
You put the movies back
and then you can check 'em out for people,

482
00:24:31,845 --> 00:24:32,947
and you put them in the box.

483
00:24:32,971 --> 00:24:35,849
You rewind them if you need to
and you put them back on the shelf.

484
00:24:35,932 --> 00:24:38,310
And like…and again,
you're surrounded by all these movies

485
00:24:38,393 --> 00:24:39,519
and all these movie posters,

486
00:24:39,603 --> 00:24:43,190
so it's constantly
kind of interesting, too.

487
00:24:43,315 --> 00:24:45,817
It was the perfect high school job.

488
00:24:45,901 --> 00:24:47,694
We would mess around there so much.

489
00:24:47,777 --> 00:24:49,237
We had a giant return bin.

490
00:24:49,362 --> 00:24:51,448
So, there's this giant bin.

491
00:24:51,531 --> 00:24:54,117
And our bin was actually
inside our store.

492
00:24:54,242 --> 00:24:57,454
We would hide inside that bin

493
00:24:57,662 --> 00:24:59,789
and wait for people to drop their tapes,

494
00:24:59,873 --> 00:25:04,127
and then grab it
like there was a monster inside the box.

495
00:25:04,211 --> 00:25:06,296
It was the most fun thing.

496
00:25:06,463 --> 00:25:08,548
If we had phones that had cameras in it,

497
00:25:08,632 --> 00:25:10,342
we would have taped
the reaction of people,

498
00:25:10,425 --> 00:25:11,425
but we didn't have that.

499
00:25:11,468 --> 00:25:13,261
What a job this would be.

500
00:25:13,345 --> 00:25:15,889
How amazing if I could be that guy

501
00:25:15,972 --> 00:25:17,572
just telling people what movies to rent.

502
00:25:17,641 --> 00:25:20,286
And then you go get the movies
and you're around the movies all day.

503
00:25:20,310 --> 00:25:22,663
Probably at the end of the day,
you can take any movies you want home.

504
00:25:22,687 --> 00:25:25,232
You could watch movies on the job.

505
00:25:25,315 --> 00:25:27,275
I worked at a place
called the Record Depot

506
00:25:27,359 --> 00:25:29,361
in my hometown of Sonoma.

507
00:25:29,486 --> 00:25:31,571
There I could dress like this,

508
00:25:32,447 --> 00:25:34,783
which I loved, and sell you videos,

509
00:25:34,866 --> 00:25:37,244
and then also sell you
the new Megadeth record.

510
00:25:38,328 --> 00:25:42,582
But at Blockbuster,
you've got to wear some khakis.

511
00:25:43,124 --> 00:25:44,751
You've got to wear ugly shoes.

512
00:25:45,585 --> 00:25:49,172
You couldn't be sporting
these Nikes at a Blockbuster.

513
00:25:49,339 --> 00:25:51,466
And then you had the polo shirt,

514
00:25:51,549 --> 00:25:54,594
the ugly polo shirt
that you wore every shift.

515
00:25:55,303 --> 00:25:56,888
And I'm sure it got stinky.

516
00:25:56,972 --> 00:25:59,099
There was a girl who I was attracted to,

517
00:25:59,182 --> 00:26:00,475
who was a customer in the store.

518
00:26:00,558 --> 00:26:03,353
And she looked a little bit…

519
00:26:03,436 --> 00:26:05,939
Actually, a lot like Jami Gertz.

520
00:26:06,022 --> 00:26:07,942
Now you're probably thinking,
"Who's Jami Gertz?"

521
00:26:08,024 --> 00:26:09,150
And back in that time,

522
00:26:09,234 --> 00:26:11,111
so were people thinking,
"Who's Jami Gertz?"

523
00:26:11,194 --> 00:26:12,862
But it was okay. I knew Jami Gertz

524
00:26:12,946 --> 00:26:14,866
from some of the '80s movies
that I grew up with.

525
00:26:14,990 --> 00:26:16,408
Then one of my co-workers, Kelly,

526
00:26:16,574 --> 00:26:19,174
she was like, "I know her."
I'm like, "You know what we should do?

527
00:26:19,202 --> 00:26:22,372
"We should set up a fake signing

528
00:26:22,956 --> 00:26:24,958
"for fake Jami Gertz."

529
00:26:25,041 --> 00:26:26,418
And we put up signs on the store

530
00:26:26,501 --> 00:26:30,213
that Jami Gertz is coming to do a signing.

531
00:26:30,422 --> 00:26:34,342
Now, the big flaw in my plan
was, "A," I thought I was flirting.

532
00:26:34,426 --> 00:26:35,635
Didn't really read.

533
00:26:35,802 --> 00:26:37,846
"B," no one cared who Jami Gertz was.

534
00:26:37,929 --> 00:26:40,181
So, my great plan
was foiled by the fact that

535
00:26:40,265 --> 00:26:42,976
no one wants to meet this person
they didn't even know

536
00:26:43,059 --> 00:26:45,103
that you'd have
to kind of explain three levels of…

537
00:26:45,186 --> 00:26:46,706
And now, looking back at the pictures,

538
00:26:46,771 --> 00:26:48,773
I don't know how much
like Jami Gertz she looked.

539
00:26:48,857 --> 00:26:50,358
She was significantly younger.

540
00:26:50,442 --> 00:26:53,903
I think that girl
that we were kind of having fake sign

541
00:26:53,987 --> 00:26:55,667
was like 16,
and Jami Gertz, at that point,

542
00:26:55,697 --> 00:26:56,865
probably mid-30s.

543
00:26:57,032 --> 00:26:59,284
Getting that job was the reward.

544
00:26:59,826 --> 00:27:02,329
Like, that was as good
as it was gonna get.

545
00:27:02,412 --> 00:27:05,457
You mean, I'm gonna rent videos?
I'm gonna get them first?

546
00:27:05,540 --> 00:27:07,935
I'm gonna open up the box
when the videos first come in the store

547
00:27:07,959 --> 00:27:10,378
so I can watch this shit
before anybody else?

548
00:27:11,671 --> 00:27:15,383
Drop the mic. I'm done in this life.
Like, this is it. This is the pinnacle.

549
00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:17,677
Are either one of these any good?

550
00:27:17,761 --> 00:27:19,179
I don't watch movies.

551
00:27:19,262 --> 00:27:20,513
Ah.

552
00:27:21,806 --> 00:27:25,018
It's crazy
to think that I do this, right?

553
00:27:25,143 --> 00:27:28,188
I never thought in a million years
I'd be pulling computers apart

554
00:27:28,355 --> 00:27:30,023
as a part of my job description.

555
00:27:30,148 --> 00:27:31,608
Because they are so old,

556
00:27:32,192 --> 00:27:35,445
we don't have excessive amount of parts.

557
00:27:35,528 --> 00:27:38,782
And so I'm constantly
Frankenstein-ing things -back together

558
00:27:38,865 --> 00:27:40,075
and going in the back room

559
00:27:40,158 --> 00:27:42,660
and digging out a part
that I forgot that I had

560
00:27:42,744 --> 00:27:44,454
to try to put the computer back together.

561
00:27:48,666 --> 00:27:50,251
Gross.

562
00:27:51,336 --> 00:27:55,131
So, this is the board that I need.

563
00:27:55,215 --> 00:27:57,384
Without this inside the computer,

564
00:27:57,467 --> 00:27:58,760
I can't plug in…

565
00:27:59,511 --> 00:28:02,097
all the other parts and pieces
of the system out front,

566
00:28:02,180 --> 00:28:04,140
the POS system, to make it work.

567
00:28:04,224 --> 00:28:06,267
So, this I desperately need.

568
00:28:06,393 --> 00:28:09,521
These are basically our dummy computers
that we use up front,

569
00:28:09,604 --> 00:28:11,791
that when Dish Network closed
all their corporate stores,

570
00:28:11,815 --> 00:28:13,733
we were able to acquire from them.

571
00:28:13,900 --> 00:28:17,320
So that in case
we had computers breakdown,

572
00:28:17,445 --> 00:28:19,840
we'd have parts and pieces,
since they're pretty much obsolete.

573
00:28:19,864 --> 00:28:21,616
They have floppy disks

574
00:28:21,825 --> 00:28:26,496
which, um, 90% of teenagers
have no idea what a floppy disk is.

575
00:28:26,704 --> 00:28:28,624
I can't tell you how many times
I'd call a store,

576
00:28:28,706 --> 00:28:30,041
"Oh! Get out the floppy disk

577
00:28:30,166 --> 00:28:32,168
"so we can reprogram
the computer really quick,"

578
00:28:32,252 --> 00:28:34,170
and they're like, "What is a floppy disk?"

579
00:28:34,921 --> 00:28:38,133
So, that's pretty much everything
we're gonna rob out of this.

580
00:28:38,299 --> 00:28:40,552
I'm gonna stop there
because I'm not doing anything again

581
00:28:40,635 --> 00:28:42,429
until I wash my hands.

582
00:28:42,512 --> 00:28:44,472
So… Oh, yeah, they're disgusting.

583
00:28:45,890 --> 00:28:48,601
I was broke as an actor.

584
00:28:49,561 --> 00:28:52,313
And I had a commercial agent. I was…

585
00:28:53,273 --> 00:28:55,734
doing standup and I was doing
a bunch of auditions.

586
00:28:55,817 --> 00:28:59,863
I went on, like, 80… I wrote it down,
like, 85 or 86 auditions,

587
00:28:59,946 --> 00:29:01,197
and I couldn't get anything.

588
00:29:01,990 --> 00:29:03,908
My next audition…

589
00:29:05,368 --> 00:29:07,495
was for Blockbuster International.

590
00:29:10,457 --> 00:29:13,960
Meet Kate, Benny, Sandy and Bob.

591
00:29:14,043 --> 00:29:15,837
They're the Blockbuster
entertainment team.

592
00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:18,360
They buy more copies of new films
for you to rent than anyone.

593
00:29:18,423 --> 00:29:20,425
I want 25,000 copies nationwide!

594
00:29:20,508 --> 00:29:22,552
Blockbuster Video, the entertainment team.

595
00:29:22,635 --> 00:29:24,679
And it was me,

596
00:29:24,763 --> 00:29:26,097
an actress, Sandy,

597
00:29:26,181 --> 00:29:29,225
another girl, I totally forgot her name,
and Jim Gaffigan.

598
00:29:29,392 --> 00:29:32,562
And we were the entertainment team.

599
00:29:34,731 --> 00:29:35,732
Run, Forrest!

600
00:29:35,815 --> 00:29:37,358
You better run, boy.

601
00:29:37,442 --> 00:29:38,902
Step on it. We nearly got him.

602
00:29:41,279 --> 00:29:43,281
And we would… We were the team.

603
00:29:43,364 --> 00:29:45,074
We would go on stage and wave,

604
00:29:45,158 --> 00:29:47,619
we would go to Blockbusters,
we would go to openings…

605
00:29:47,702 --> 00:29:49,370
It was incredible.

606
00:29:49,496 --> 00:29:52,332
I know. You had no idea
I was gonna drop that gem on you, did you?

607
00:29:52,415 --> 00:29:54,542
Then I started getting parts.

608
00:29:54,626 --> 00:29:56,252
And I got a part in Romeo   Juliet.

609
00:29:58,588 --> 00:30:00,423
I guess. I guess…

610
00:30:00,507 --> 00:30:03,134
I knew people like Randy in Scream.

611
00:30:03,802 --> 00:30:07,138
Uh, I read a lot about Quentin Tarantino
before I got the part,

612
00:30:07,263 --> 00:30:08,723
and I always equated it with

613
00:30:08,890 --> 00:30:11,851
Quentin Tarantino who worked
in a video store and I…

614
00:30:11,935 --> 00:30:15,730
totally saw how he could
be like that, and then…

615
00:30:15,939 --> 00:30:19,108
you know, I mean, he's super
beyond a cinephile, you know.

616
00:30:19,859 --> 00:30:22,403
What's that werewolf movie
with E.T.'s mom in it?

617
00:30:22,529 --> 00:30:24,113
The Howling. Horror, straight ahead.

618
00:30:24,239 --> 00:30:27,158
So, I went from making $9,000 a year
working at Dominos.

619
00:30:27,283 --> 00:30:28,409
There's another corporate.

620
00:30:28,535 --> 00:30:31,913
And I made $99,000 for Blockbuster.

621
00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:34,249
And since that job in Hollywood,

622
00:30:34,999 --> 00:30:36,751
I've never had a regular job again.

623
00:30:37,919 --> 00:30:41,673
By 1994, Blockbuster had become
an entertainment juggernaut.

624
00:30:41,798 --> 00:30:43,383
From 20 stores in 1986,

625
00:30:43,550 --> 00:30:48,388
their rapidly growing company ballooned
to over 3600 stores with more on the way,

626
00:30:48,555 --> 00:30:51,474
which caught the attention of
"Old fart who runs Viacom,"

627
00:30:51,558 --> 00:30:53,309
as our friend Lloyd Kaufman put it.

628
00:30:53,476 --> 00:30:54,686
Sumner Redstone.

629
00:30:54,853 --> 00:31:00,400
Viacom bought the business
in 1994 for 8.4 billion dollars.

630
00:31:00,567 --> 00:31:01,860
The following year, they created

631
00:31:01,985 --> 00:31:03,903
the annual
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards

632
00:31:03,987 --> 00:31:06,447
to celebrate movies and stars
loved by most people,

633
00:31:06,531 --> 00:31:08,691
but who were often left out
of the fancy-pantsy Oscars.

634
00:31:08,741 --> 00:31:09,741
Thank you.

635
00:31:09,784 --> 00:31:12,384
They even had planned to build
the theme park, just north of Miami

636
00:31:12,453 --> 00:31:15,123
but behind the scenes,
financial trouble began to brew.

637
00:31:15,331 --> 00:31:19,669
Viacom had been using Blockbuster as a
cash machine in its bid to buy Paramount,

638
00:31:19,836 --> 00:31:22,005
borrowing heavily against future revenue.

639
00:31:22,088 --> 00:31:24,632
We really almost, I say almost,

640
00:31:24,716 --> 00:31:28,344
needed the enormous cashflow
to service the debt.

641
00:31:29,637 --> 00:31:31,890
So, strategically,
it made a lot of sense

642
00:31:31,973 --> 00:31:34,767
and also, we thought Blockbuster
was a good business.

643
00:31:34,893 --> 00:31:37,979
Wayne Huizenga
was eventually replaced by John Antioco,

644
00:31:38,146 --> 00:31:42,901
the wizard who had re-vitalized Taco Bell
by wrapping a taco in a cheesy flatbread

645
00:31:43,067 --> 00:31:45,111
and calling it a Cheesy Gordita Crunch.

646
00:31:45,194 --> 00:31:47,113
Sumner Redstone was hoping Antioco could

647
00:31:47,238 --> 00:31:50,658
pour some of his famous
hot sauce onto the Blockbuster brand.

648
00:31:50,742 --> 00:31:55,079
Then in 1999, Viacom spun off Blockbuster
and took the company public,

649
00:31:55,246 --> 00:31:58,875
bringing in $465 million
in its initial public offering,

650
00:31:59,042 --> 00:32:01,878
while at the same time
leaving it saddled with massive debt.

651
00:32:02,378 --> 00:32:04,714
In 2001, they killed off
the Blockbuster Awards

652
00:32:04,923 --> 00:32:08,301
and began to see competition
from Redbox, Netflix, on-demand movies,

653
00:32:08,426 --> 00:32:12,388
and even every advertiser's
worst nightmare, the dreaded DVR.

654
00:32:12,513 --> 00:32:15,516
At nearly every turn, they seemed to be
making the wrong choices,

655
00:32:15,683 --> 00:32:18,728
and one choice in particular
seems to stand out.

656
00:32:18,937 --> 00:32:22,607
Did you know that Blockbuster had a chance
to buy Netflix, but they didn't?

657
00:32:22,732 --> 00:32:26,986
They had the opportunity, so I'm told,
so I've heard, so the legend goes,

658
00:32:27,111 --> 00:32:29,072
to buy them at a reasonable price…

659
00:32:29,238 --> 00:32:31,491
You can have… Take it all, $50 million.

660
00:32:31,908 --> 00:32:35,036
John had an opportunity
to acquire Netflix.

661
00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:37,622
Yes. In 2000…

662
00:32:37,789 --> 00:32:42,001
Well… I know, it's, um…
back in those days, yeah. It was possible.

663
00:32:42,543 --> 00:32:45,213
His words is they laughed him
out of the room.

664
00:32:45,588 --> 00:32:47,340
So, they… Who set up the meeting?

665
00:32:52,595 --> 00:32:53,595
Yeah.

666
00:32:59,978 --> 00:33:01,312
Okay.

667
00:33:03,606 --> 00:33:05,316
So, the story goes, uh…

668
00:33:05,441 --> 00:33:08,486
So, I've heard that Netflix…

669
00:33:09,612 --> 00:33:14,033
set up a meeting with Blockbuster
in the early days of Netflix.

670
00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:18,830
And I can only imagine it playing, like,
a gangster movie or something

671
00:33:18,997 --> 00:33:22,750
where Netflix just kicks the door
and comes in and says,

672
00:33:22,917 --> 00:33:27,171
"Hey, do you wanna work together
or do you wanna go away entirely?"

673
00:33:28,297 --> 00:33:32,510
'Cause thing is going to revolutionize
the way people watch movies.

674
00:33:32,677 --> 00:33:35,054
And Blockbuster probably
just sat back and laughed…

675
00:33:35,179 --> 00:33:36,973
…and didn't take the threat seriously,

676
00:33:37,098 --> 00:33:38,850
and, you know, showed them the door.

677
00:33:41,978 --> 00:33:45,231
Oh, man. Hey, Blockbuster, you blew it.

678
00:33:45,398 --> 00:33:47,191
Yes, they did, Brian Posehn.

679
00:33:47,316 --> 00:33:50,319
Everything blockbuster did at the time,
pointed to bad management

680
00:33:50,445 --> 00:33:53,531
who were too busy making money today
to worry about the future

681
00:33:53,656 --> 00:33:55,158
until it was too late.

682
00:33:55,241 --> 00:33:57,702
I remember we had six registers.

683
00:33:57,827 --> 00:33:59,829
We'd have lines back to the back wall,

684
00:33:59,912 --> 00:34:02,540
and so many people
waiting to be checked out,

685
00:34:02,623 --> 00:34:04,000
and it would just be insane.

686
00:34:04,167 --> 00:34:07,378
As Netflix and Redbox
began to expand more rapidly.

687
00:34:07,545 --> 00:34:10,840
Antioco realized he had to do something
to stay ahead of these two companies.

688
00:34:10,965 --> 00:34:13,134
His big idea to compete with Netflix?

689
00:34:13,259 --> 00:34:15,636
Not only would they offer DVDs by mail,

690
00:34:15,720 --> 00:34:18,014
but he would take it one step further.

691
00:34:18,097 --> 00:34:21,768
No more late fees!
No more late fees!

692
00:34:21,893 --> 00:34:25,354
No more late fees?

693
00:34:31,527 --> 00:34:34,197
♪ It's over… ♪

694
00:34:35,156 --> 00:34:40,453
To this day, I don't understand
how they planned to make that work.

695
00:34:40,620 --> 00:34:44,040
It would be like… Avis Rent a Car

696
00:34:44,123 --> 00:34:46,523
renting you a car and you just
keep it however long you want.

697
00:34:46,584 --> 00:34:50,213
I hate late fees. I feel like
that really is what, kind of,

698
00:34:50,338 --> 00:34:54,509
ruined it for Blockbuster,
was late fees and rewind fees.

699
00:34:54,634 --> 00:34:58,137
Things of that nature,
just little nickel and dime fees anyway.

700
00:34:58,262 --> 00:34:59,698
But I understand that you had to do it,

701
00:34:59,722 --> 00:35:01,974
otherwise people would just
keep those videos.

702
00:35:02,141 --> 00:35:04,560
I know I did. I know I did.

703
00:35:07,647 --> 00:35:08,749
I mean, it would not be uncommon.

704
00:35:08,773 --> 00:35:10,983
By Saturday, we'd have
no movies on the shelf,

705
00:35:11,109 --> 00:35:13,611
and we'd have more
angry customers because we had no movies

706
00:35:13,736 --> 00:35:15,005
than we did because they owed late fees.

707
00:35:15,029 --> 00:35:16,090
And most of the customers would be, like,

708
00:35:16,114 --> 00:35:18,114
I would pay the late fees,
just get the movie back.

709
00:35:18,366 --> 00:35:20,076
I remember this family,

710
00:35:20,243 --> 00:35:23,329
they didn't return their videos, on time.

711
00:35:23,454 --> 00:35:26,290
And just, I would hang out
at their house a lot as a teenager

712
00:35:26,374 --> 00:35:30,419
and just seeing they would leave
for weeks, their videos not returned,

713
00:35:30,545 --> 00:35:34,924
and I'd be so anxious thinking,
"Oh, my God." Like, my family was like…

714
00:35:35,049 --> 00:35:38,094
"Return the… Remember, return your video.
Drop off your video,"

715
00:35:38,219 --> 00:35:39,971
my mother telling us
when we were teenagers.

716
00:35:40,054 --> 00:35:42,014
- 'Cause it was… You know the late fees.
- Yeah.

717
00:35:42,140 --> 00:35:44,183
It was like a big deal.

718
00:35:44,267 --> 00:35:49,856
I wasn't angry about late fees as much
as I just was, you know, aware that, uh,

719
00:35:50,022 --> 00:35:52,982
you know, you'd have to pay more money
if you didn't bring it back on time.

720
00:35:54,318 --> 00:35:58,531
Oh, it was all… totally the money.
I didn't feel bad about that next renter.

721
00:36:00,366 --> 00:36:04,704
They lost over $250 million
in sales overnight.

722
00:36:04,912 --> 00:36:08,833
The cashflow of the business
was really cut in a third, basically.

723
00:36:14,338 --> 00:36:15,965
No. Cut down to a third.

724
00:36:16,716 --> 00:36:18,176
Whose idea was that?

725
00:36:19,010 --> 00:36:22,555
Well, John Antioco was running the company
at the time. He made the decision.

726
00:36:22,722 --> 00:36:25,474
With late fees
now left on the dust heap of history,

727
00:36:25,600 --> 00:36:28,728
Blockbuster was finally taking
its new competitors seriously.

728
00:36:28,811 --> 00:36:32,023
Ironically, Netflix founder
and CEO Reed Hastings

729
00:36:32,106 --> 00:36:34,442
had attributed his decision
to start Netflix

730
00:36:34,525 --> 00:36:40,364
to having to pay $40 in late fees
for the movie Apollo 13 back in 1996 to…

731
00:36:40,448 --> 00:36:42,533
You guessed it, Blockbuster.

732
00:36:42,700 --> 00:36:43,951
Houston, we have a problem.

733
00:36:44,076 --> 00:36:47,622
In early 2006,
Hastings noted on an analyst phone call

734
00:36:47,747 --> 00:36:50,625
that Blockbuster was throwing everything
it could at the growing company

735
00:36:50,708 --> 00:36:52,001
except for the kitchen sink.

736
00:36:52,084 --> 00:36:56,672
The following day, John Antioco mailed
an actual sink to Netflix headquarters.

737
00:36:56,797 --> 00:36:59,675
People started paying attention to these
bad management decisions.

738
00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:02,762
Especially a man famous for
shaking up good companies

739
00:37:02,845 --> 00:37:04,722
he thought were being run by bad people.

740
00:37:04,847 --> 00:37:07,141
That man was Carl Icahn.

741
00:37:07,642 --> 00:37:10,186
Nowadays, we would call him
an activist investor.

742
00:37:10,311 --> 00:37:12,480
Someone with a lot of money
who buys up enough stock

743
00:37:12,563 --> 00:37:13,707
to take control of the company.

744
00:37:13,731 --> 00:37:16,943
Back in the '80s, these investors
were known as corporate raiders.

745
00:37:17,109 --> 00:37:18,819
But since then,
people realized the value

746
00:37:18,945 --> 00:37:21,072
in someone coming in
and shaking up a company.

747
00:37:21,155 --> 00:37:24,575
Once Icahn was on the board of directors,
guess what he did?

748
00:37:24,700 --> 00:37:28,913
There was a fairly comprehensive change
in the senior management team,

749
00:37:28,996 --> 00:37:31,999
starting with the CEO
at that time, John Antioco.

750
00:37:32,124 --> 00:37:35,211
Wow! That was
some serious corporate speak, Tom Casey.

751
00:37:35,294 --> 00:37:37,588
Translation: Antioco got fired.

752
00:37:37,672 --> 00:37:40,466
Icahn and the board then hired
Jim Keyes away from 7-Eleven

753
00:37:40,591 --> 00:37:42,431
where he had recently
turned the company around

754
00:37:42,551 --> 00:37:44,845
by offering free Slurpee's on July 11th.

755
00:37:44,929 --> 00:37:46,055
Thanks for that, by the way.

756
00:37:46,138 --> 00:37:48,307
But could he turn Blockbuster around too?

757
00:37:48,391 --> 00:37:52,436
Today it's about making our content
available anywhere, anytime.

758
00:37:52,561 --> 00:37:55,064
So, we have brand new
Blockbuster Express kiosks,

759
00:37:55,147 --> 00:37:58,401
we have DVDs by mail,
and then a Blockbuster-on-demand

760
00:37:58,484 --> 00:38:01,529
with Blockbuster movies as convenient
as a button on your remote control.

761
00:38:01,612 --> 00:38:04,824
After one year
under Keyes, revenue doubled.

762
00:38:04,949 --> 00:38:07,118
Things were starting to look up
for Blockbuster.

763
00:38:07,243 --> 00:38:08,411
Got Carl Icahn charged up.

764
00:38:08,494 --> 00:38:10,413
Now, Carl put out a rare press release

765
00:38:10,496 --> 00:38:13,791
for an activist shareholder
to say how great management was doing

766
00:38:13,874 --> 00:38:15,418
and Blockbuster's back.

767
00:38:15,501 --> 00:38:19,046
But it was literally, a month after that,
that Lehman went bankrupt

768
00:38:19,130 --> 00:38:20,548
and the world all went to hell.

769
00:38:22,383 --> 00:38:24,093
This is gonna be
one of the watershed days

770
00:38:24,176 --> 00:38:25,594
in financial market's history.

771
00:38:25,678 --> 00:38:28,055
It was a manic Monday
in the financial market.

772
00:38:29,390 --> 00:38:31,684
The Dow tumbled more than 500 points

773
00:38:31,767 --> 00:38:35,062
after two pillars of the Street
tumbled over the weekend.

774
00:38:35,187 --> 00:38:40,026
Lehman Brothers, a 158-year-old firm
filed for bankruptcy.

775
00:38:40,109 --> 00:38:42,194
Yeah. So look,
most people think Blockbuster

776
00:38:42,278 --> 00:38:45,323
went out of business because of Netflix,
but that's not the truth.

777
00:38:45,448 --> 00:38:47,867
Um, what really happened was…

778
00:38:47,950 --> 00:38:53,331
Blockbuster and Netflix were
pretty evenly positioned to grow

779
00:38:53,414 --> 00:38:57,209
in the mid-2000s and 2007, 2008, 2009.

780
00:38:57,835 --> 00:38:59,378
They had capital, we did not.

781
00:38:59,545 --> 00:39:03,299
And Blockbuster had inherited
over billions dollars of debt.

782
00:39:03,507 --> 00:39:07,762
We really needed the enormous
cashflow to service the debt.

783
00:39:07,970 --> 00:39:11,515
And with the debt markets
says they were in 2008-2009,

784
00:39:11,599 --> 00:39:14,518
did not have the wherewithal
to invest in subscriber growth

785
00:39:14,602 --> 00:39:16,354
as Netflix did.

786
00:39:16,437 --> 00:39:19,648
If you stack up the two companies
side by side at that period of time,

787
00:39:19,774 --> 00:39:23,486
Blockbuster had over 7500 stores
around the world,

788
00:39:23,611 --> 00:39:26,405
had a by-mail business,
had a growing digital business.

789
00:39:26,530 --> 00:39:30,284
Netflix had a business by mail,
and a small digital business,

790
00:39:30,368 --> 00:39:32,495
which didn't really offer very much.

791
00:39:32,578 --> 00:39:37,124
So, just in terms of the business metrics
and business composition

792
00:39:37,208 --> 00:39:40,836
they were fairly comparable.
Both trying to grow subscribers.

793
00:39:41,003 --> 00:39:44,840
One company with the capital
to grow, and the other without.

794
00:39:45,007 --> 00:39:47,510
Thanks, Tom.
So, there you have it.

795
00:39:47,593 --> 00:39:50,179
If it wasn't for
the financial meltdown in 2008,

796
00:39:50,304 --> 00:39:51,847
we might all be asking each other

797
00:39:51,931 --> 00:39:53,731
if we caught the new season
of Stranger Things

798
00:39:53,766 --> 00:39:56,268
on Blockbuster's
and Home streaming service.

799
00:39:56,352 --> 00:39:58,437
Or we could all be getting
a lesson on equality

800
00:39:58,521 --> 00:40:01,524
while watching Blockbuster's
series The Handmaid's Tale.

801
00:40:02,024 --> 00:40:05,111
Instead, Blockbuster was forced
to make a decision.

802
00:40:06,404 --> 00:40:10,324
Blockbuster Video on Thursday
filed for bankruptcy protection.

803
00:40:10,491 --> 00:40:11,867
Well, Blockbuster,

804
00:40:12,076 --> 00:40:16,247
Seems our eight year tug of war
over Tango and Cash

805
00:40:16,330 --> 00:40:19,667
…has reached its conclusion.

806
00:40:21,085 --> 00:40:22,545
Chapter 11 bankruptcy doesn't mean

807
00:40:22,628 --> 00:40:24,231
a company goes out of business right away.

808
00:40:24,255 --> 00:40:26,549
They're given a chance
to find new financing.

809
00:40:26,632 --> 00:40:29,260
But in the years
following the financial crisis in '08,

810
00:40:29,385 --> 00:40:31,512
there just wasn't any money to be found.

811
00:40:31,637 --> 00:40:36,767
Ultimately, Dish Network bought
Blockbuster in 2010 for $320 million.

812
00:40:36,892 --> 00:40:40,813
A steep decline from when Viacom paid
$8.4 billion for the company

813
00:40:40,896 --> 00:40:42,148
16 years earlier.

814
00:40:42,231 --> 00:40:46,610
Dish did try a few gimmicks
to resurrect the stores, but in the end…

815
00:40:46,735 --> 00:40:51,031
Everything must go
in every Blockbuster store.

816
00:40:51,115 --> 00:40:54,452
The company filed for bankruptcy
six months ago,

817
00:40:54,535 --> 00:40:56,704
and now, it's closing up shop.

818
00:40:56,829 --> 00:41:00,124
The week before they went out,
I just rented a bunch of Game Cube games.

819
00:41:00,207 --> 00:41:01,685
I'm like, you'll never get these back,

820
00:41:01,709 --> 00:41:05,588
and you just gonna eat this
because your going out of business anyway.

821
00:41:05,671 --> 00:41:07,715
So, well, then that was a great decision.

822
00:41:11,594 --> 00:41:14,346
I remember the day that
they announced they were closing

823
00:41:14,472 --> 00:41:16,307
because I was still asleep

824
00:41:16,432 --> 00:41:19,768
and my mom kicks the door open and goes,
"Hey, we got to go down early.

825
00:41:19,852 --> 00:41:22,038
"The Blockbuster corporate
just announced they were closing,

826
00:41:22,062 --> 00:41:24,273
"and liquidating 600 some odd stores."

827
00:41:24,356 --> 00:41:26,275
I was like, "What?"

828
00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:28,086
I was working
at the East Store at the time,

829
00:41:28,110 --> 00:41:29,820
and we were re-modeling the store.

830
00:41:29,987 --> 00:41:30,821
We didn't have a sign up.

831
00:41:30,946 --> 00:41:33,824
No, we took the sign down,
like the day before

832
00:41:33,991 --> 00:41:36,744
to move it over to like, uh,
the other part of the building.

833
00:41:36,869 --> 00:41:38,787
Everyone thought that
that store had closed,

834
00:41:38,871 --> 00:41:42,750
and the business had cut in half
pretty much overnight.

835
00:41:42,833 --> 00:41:47,671
It was shocking because obviously,
it was the biggest video store empire,

836
00:41:47,838 --> 00:41:49,715
you know, in the universe, but, like…

837
00:41:50,508 --> 00:41:53,802
here in Bend in particular,
that's all we had, was Blockbusters.

838
00:41:54,386 --> 00:41:56,430
So, for me, it was like,

839
00:41:56,514 --> 00:42:00,684
"Oh, shit! Are we gonna live
in a town with no video stores?

840
00:42:00,768 --> 00:42:02,353
"What is that gonna be like?"

841
00:42:02,478 --> 00:42:07,066
So, it's down to just us
and the three stores in Alaska.

842
00:42:07,233 --> 00:42:08,651
Um, which makes me a little nervous

843
00:42:08,734 --> 00:42:11,820
because I don't really know
what's that gonna mean and…

844
00:42:11,904 --> 00:42:13,944
Yeah, I don't know how much
longer we're gonna have.

845
00:42:17,451 --> 00:42:19,036
Um, I hope so.

846
00:42:20,037 --> 00:42:21,539
We'd like to talk about Alaska.

847
00:42:21,664 --> 00:42:23,141
'Cause specifically,
we're gonna take a look

848
00:42:23,165 --> 00:42:25,376
at one of Alaska's endangered resources.

849
00:42:25,834 --> 00:42:29,922
One of Alaska's last Blockbuster stores
is closing to retail sales today.

850
00:42:30,047 --> 00:42:34,343
Wow! We seem to be rapidly losing
something I didn't even know we had.

851
00:42:34,927 --> 00:42:38,889
That was crazy 'cause I, I don't…
I know of John Oliver…

852
00:42:41,225 --> 00:42:43,018
I don't watch the show.

853
00:42:43,561 --> 00:42:45,229
I'm not the right demographic.

854
00:42:45,396 --> 00:42:48,857
There are apparently
four independently owned franchises

855
00:42:48,941 --> 00:42:50,693
still operating in the United States,

856
00:42:50,818 --> 00:42:52,361
three of which are in Alaska.

857
00:42:52,486 --> 00:42:57,032
If only, there were fun movie thing way
for them to draw people in.

858
00:42:57,491 --> 00:43:02,997
That night that he did the deal with
the jockstrap and the other memorabilia,

859
00:43:03,122 --> 00:43:04,915
around midnight that night,

860
00:43:04,999 --> 00:43:07,835
it was a Sunday, my phone
starts lighting up, you know.

861
00:43:07,918 --> 00:43:11,755
There is no way for a Blockbuster
in Alaska to get memorabilia like that.

862
00:43:11,839 --> 00:43:13,632
Or is there?

863
00:43:13,799 --> 00:43:14,967
Because a few weeks ago,

864
00:43:15,050 --> 00:43:16,361
you might remember
that we told you about

865
00:43:16,385 --> 00:43:18,137
"Russell Crowe, the art of divorce,"

866
00:43:18,220 --> 00:43:20,806
an auction in which to celebrate
the end of his marriage,

867
00:43:20,931 --> 00:43:23,434
he was selling artefacts from his career.

868
00:43:23,517 --> 00:43:26,854
From the Gladiator chariot
to this Lapa jockstrap,

869
00:43:26,937 --> 00:43:28,814
he wore in the movie Cinderella Man.

870
00:43:28,897 --> 00:43:31,442
It does sound like something we would do.

871
00:43:31,525 --> 00:43:33,819
You know, buy Russell Crowe's jockstrap

872
00:43:33,902 --> 00:43:36,614
and send it to one of the last remaining
Blockbusters in Alaska.

873
00:43:36,697 --> 00:43:40,075
Even that sentence is absolutely
incredible to say out loud.

874
00:43:40,492 --> 00:43:43,954
To the manager of the only remaining
Blockbuster in Anchorage, Alaska,

875
00:43:44,038 --> 00:43:46,498
at 5600 DeBarr Road number 5,

876
00:43:46,582 --> 00:43:49,084
all of this shit is yours.

877
00:43:49,168 --> 00:43:54,131
Just call us in the next 48 hours
and we will send it to you.

878
00:43:54,214 --> 00:43:57,926
We spent the next two days trying to
contact them… which was not easy.

879
00:43:58,010 --> 00:44:02,514
Because if you go try to find
a phone number to John Oliver's show,

880
00:44:02,598 --> 00:44:03,891
it is not there.

881
00:44:04,099 --> 00:44:07,061
I have some good news for you. He called.

882
00:44:07,353 --> 00:44:10,981
HBO host John Oliver
has delivered on his promise.

883
00:44:11,065 --> 00:44:14,276
And some prized movie memorabilia
is now on display

884
00:44:14,360 --> 00:44:16,612
in Anchorage's last Blockbuster.

885
00:44:16,695 --> 00:44:19,073
Yes, just in time
for tourist season.

886
00:44:19,156 --> 00:44:20,366
They were great to work with.

887
00:44:20,449 --> 00:44:23,369
They supplied the cases
and everything to put it in

888
00:44:23,494 --> 00:44:25,579
And it clearly helped the business.

889
00:44:25,704 --> 00:44:29,208
But I told them…
I welcomed it, I appreciated it,

890
00:44:29,958 --> 00:44:32,544
but I didn't think it was gonna
save the business,

891
00:44:32,628 --> 00:44:35,839
so don't be disappointed
if we close the store,

892
00:44:36,006 --> 00:44:38,342
you know, after you've given it to us.

893
00:44:39,927 --> 00:44:42,763
Oh, the smell
of the Blockbuster video is…

894
00:44:42,846 --> 00:44:44,264
Absolutely, I can…

895
00:44:44,390 --> 00:44:46,350
I can smell that right now
if I… Isn't that weird?

896
00:44:46,392 --> 00:44:50,562
I'm in the store and the blue carpets,
the yellow walls, the, the…

897
00:44:51,355 --> 00:44:52,355
I can smell it.

898
00:44:52,564 --> 00:44:54,775
Yeah, it smelled like, uh…

899
00:44:54,858 --> 00:44:57,778
Orville Redenbacher popcorn…

900
00:44:59,571 --> 00:45:01,407
in khaki pants.

901
00:45:02,491 --> 00:45:05,536
Soda's that has been slightly opened.

902
00:45:05,661 --> 00:45:07,621
And so you can smell little bit of it.

903
00:45:07,788 --> 00:45:09,998
Burnt plastic,
but in a pleasant way.

904
00:45:10,124 --> 00:45:14,586
Um, that kind of library smell,
of, like, dust media.

905
00:45:15,504 --> 00:45:18,340
I miss that smell.
They should make like a little, like a…

906
00:45:18,424 --> 00:45:22,010
some sort of air freshener
that smells like Blockbuster.

907
00:45:22,094 --> 00:45:25,055
They're trying to
give you that movie sensation,

908
00:45:25,139 --> 00:45:28,934
but there was just the smell…
I think it was the plastics and the tape,

909
00:45:29,017 --> 00:45:30,853
and the printing on the…

910
00:45:30,936 --> 00:45:33,814
because they would print
their own things on, you know.

911
00:45:34,189 --> 00:45:36,733
Yeah, there is a definite
Blockbuster smell.

912
00:45:38,360 --> 00:45:40,571
So, I just found out
the Alaska stores are closing,

913
00:45:40,654 --> 00:45:42,448
which means we're gonna be the last one.

914
00:45:44,741 --> 00:45:46,285
I don't know what that means.

915
00:45:46,368 --> 00:45:47,828
We thought there was a chance that

916
00:45:47,911 --> 00:45:50,330
we might be able to go
a lot longer in Alaska

917
00:45:51,123 --> 00:45:54,626
but people's behavior
has just changed dramatically.

918
00:45:55,669 --> 00:45:56,962
So, uh…

919
00:45:58,797 --> 00:46:00,674
the last two are closing right now.

920
00:46:02,217 --> 00:46:04,428
That means we're it, and I don't know.

921
00:46:04,595 --> 00:46:05,595
I guess we're next.

922
00:46:06,013 --> 00:46:08,599
And I don't know how much longer
we gonna have

923
00:46:08,682 --> 00:46:10,434
and I don't know what that means.

924
00:46:12,978 --> 00:46:15,915
You know, video stores and movie theaters
have always kind of felt like my church.

925
00:46:15,939 --> 00:46:19,902
They've always felt like the place
where I go to feel the most, like,

926
00:46:19,985 --> 00:46:23,614
the calm, normal human being
that I've always wanted to be,

927
00:46:23,739 --> 00:46:26,533
but I'm too weird to ever get there.

928
00:46:26,617 --> 00:46:28,660
But I walk into a video store
and I'm like,

929
00:46:28,744 --> 00:46:30,704
"Oh, this is where I'm normal."

930
00:46:30,829 --> 00:46:33,874
It's, it's really kind of isolating. It's…

931
00:46:33,957 --> 00:46:37,336
And I fall into…
We all fall into the ease of it.

932
00:46:37,461 --> 00:46:38,879
And we can get everything anywhere.

933
00:46:38,962 --> 00:46:41,882
We can watch a movie
and download it on our Apple TVs

934
00:46:41,965 --> 00:46:43,005
and we can do all of that,

935
00:46:43,091 --> 00:46:46,428
but I still love the fact
that you can go somewhere.

936
00:46:46,553 --> 00:46:50,265
And I think that we're making
a mistake, everybody.

937
00:46:50,432 --> 00:46:53,060
They're living libraries.
They're living film archives.

938
00:46:53,519 --> 00:46:56,813
And for some of those films
they only exist on one VHS copy,

939
00:46:56,939 --> 00:46:59,066
they only exist on laser discs.

940
00:46:59,149 --> 00:47:02,653
And by getting rid of so many
video stores in America,

941
00:47:02,736 --> 00:47:04,530
we're losing a lot of those films.

942
00:47:04,738 --> 00:47:09,201
It is like a library. People were there,
they all want to be entertained.

943
00:47:09,284 --> 00:47:11,578
They all want to see what you're renting
and talking about

944
00:47:11,662 --> 00:47:12,764
"Have you heard about this?"

945
00:47:12,788 --> 00:47:14,957
There's a real dialog going on.

946
00:47:15,123 --> 00:47:18,544
And I think, having physical media
allows you to interact with the public.

947
00:47:18,627 --> 00:47:20,587
You have to go somewhere to get it.

948
00:47:20,712 --> 00:47:22,923
By not being face to face with people…

949
00:47:24,049 --> 00:47:26,635
left to their own devices, and the…

950
00:47:26,718 --> 00:47:29,930
kind of veil of anonymity
that doing this affords…

951
00:47:31,223 --> 00:47:33,809
it's a shittier world, let's be honest.

952
00:47:33,892 --> 00:47:37,271
The era of that time
and what it represented for me was…

953
00:47:38,730 --> 00:47:41,441
I do miss that.
I wish we had that era around still.

954
00:47:41,900 --> 00:47:43,944
People are eventually gonna be like,

955
00:47:44,069 --> 00:47:45,755
"Siri, I don't want you to tell me
what movie to watch,"

956
00:47:45,779 --> 00:47:47,322
and they wanna go talk to a person.

957
00:47:47,447 --> 00:47:50,742
And, I know that sounds
like old band Gili and Claude

958
00:47:50,867 --> 00:47:52,869
kind of but like, it's true.

959
00:47:52,995 --> 00:47:57,666
You have to have a human being who knows
the kinda person you are,

960
00:47:57,833 --> 00:48:02,337
who watches you walk in, who sees that
you're wearing like a Black Flag t-shirt,

961
00:48:02,421 --> 00:48:03,839
that knows what you're gonna like.

962
00:48:03,922 --> 00:48:07,175
You're not gonna get that
from anything else.

963
00:48:07,259 --> 00:48:13,932
It is truly the last standing bastion
of a bygone era,

964
00:48:14,057 --> 00:48:18,228
that at its peak was as big as anything.

965
00:48:18,353 --> 00:48:22,232
I mean, I'm talking, like,
if the NFL went away tomorrow,

966
00:48:22,441 --> 00:48:26,486
how people would still
talk about it 25, 30 years from now.

967
00:48:26,653 --> 00:48:30,532
That's what the last standing
Blockbuster is.

968
00:48:30,616 --> 00:48:34,244
Do I miss renting from a physical store?
No. Absolutely not.

969
00:48:36,204 --> 00:48:37,623
I don't think anybody does.

970
00:48:37,706 --> 00:48:39,708
Yeah.

971
00:48:41,585 --> 00:48:43,420
Oh, it's fine.

972
00:48:43,587 --> 00:48:44,838
Uh, okay. Well…

973
00:48:44,963 --> 00:48:47,424
Well, then I would say
they are offering something else.

974
00:48:47,633 --> 00:48:49,551
Not just…They're offering an experience.

975
00:48:50,469 --> 00:48:53,430
And probably something more
than just DVDs. People… It's not…

976
00:48:53,680 --> 00:48:56,475
It's more of a relationship
and an experience

977
00:48:56,558 --> 00:48:58,185
than it is just getting a DVD.

978
00:48:59,269 --> 00:49:03,649
Um, everyone from The New York Times
to CNN to, uh, FOX News

979
00:49:03,732 --> 00:49:05,609
to NBC Nightly News.

980
00:49:05,692 --> 00:49:08,028
I mean, it's just been absolutely
crazy around here.

981
00:49:08,111 --> 00:49:10,423
Uh, and I can't believe
I'm not on the phone at the moment.

982
00:49:10,447 --> 00:49:11,633
But it's super exciting and fun.

983
00:49:11,657 --> 00:49:15,619
Once the largest video rental chain
in the U. S. with thousands of locations

984
00:49:15,744 --> 00:49:19,039
will soon be down to just
one little store.

985
00:49:19,122 --> 00:49:21,750
Well, guess what? There is still one left.

986
00:49:21,875 --> 00:49:25,295
Just next week one of the stores
is gonna be the last one open.

987
00:49:25,420 --> 00:49:29,424
The soon to be
last store standing is in Bend, Oregon.

988
00:49:29,633 --> 00:49:33,845
In its heyday there were close to 9,000
Blockbuster stores worldwide.

989
00:49:33,929 --> 00:49:38,767
At one point, it's estimated
a new store opened every 17 hours.

990
00:49:38,850 --> 00:49:41,103
Now, there will soon just be this one.

991
00:49:41,186 --> 00:49:43,480
Did you ever think
you would be the last Blockbuster?

992
00:49:43,647 --> 00:49:44,773
No, I didn't.

993
00:49:44,856 --> 00:49:46,216
Hi, this is Sandi. Can I help you?

994
00:49:46,608 --> 00:49:48,485
General manager
Sandi Harding says

995
00:49:48,610 --> 00:49:51,071
customers visiting
the Blockbuster in Oregon

996
00:49:51,196 --> 00:49:54,449
treasure its customer service
and familiarity.

997
00:49:54,533 --> 00:49:57,202
Sandi, great to talk to you.
How did your store…

998
00:49:57,285 --> 00:49:59,538
…become the last surviving Blockbuster?

999
00:49:59,621 --> 00:50:02,082
Well, you know,
it is quite a surprise to us too

1000
00:50:02,165 --> 00:50:04,501
to be the last, uh,
surviving Blockbuster store.

1001
00:50:04,584 --> 00:50:08,422
But I think it has a lot to say
about our, uh, community,

1002
00:50:08,547 --> 00:50:12,259
about our staff, um, and just about
how unique we are here in Bend.

1003
00:50:12,718 --> 00:50:14,886
Me and our owners live right here in town.

1004
00:50:19,099 --> 00:50:22,060
I was talking about
my typical Fridays,

1005
00:50:22,144 --> 00:50:25,272
and a year ago they wouldn't have been
quite as crazy as they are now.

1006
00:50:25,480 --> 00:50:27,149
And it seems like every single morning,

1007
00:50:27,274 --> 00:50:31,653
even if we're on a day's off that I have
between on mine orders

1008
00:50:32,279 --> 00:50:35,319
and selling out a product in the store,
and a vendor calling me on the phone,

1009
00:50:35,365 --> 00:50:38,160
it feels like I'm constantly
doing something every day,

1010
00:50:38,243 --> 00:50:41,079
and my husband is always like,
"You're always working."

1011
00:50:41,955 --> 00:50:44,207
And then, of course,
this week is the week that

1012
00:50:44,332 --> 00:50:46,793
I started making the beanies again,

1013
00:50:46,918 --> 00:50:49,713
which I really thought
I would be good until fall,

1014
00:50:49,796 --> 00:50:51,423
and that I could get a stock built up,

1015
00:50:51,506 --> 00:50:55,260
but now I've got to get some online
order's filled for beanies so…

1016
00:50:55,594 --> 00:50:58,305
So, it comes out looking
just like a knit hat.

1017
00:50:58,388 --> 00:51:01,516
And the first couple ones I did,
I actually made 'em that way.

1018
00:51:01,600 --> 00:51:04,102
But this is just so much faster.

1019
00:51:05,395 --> 00:51:06,581
And, like, I was telling Taylor,

1020
00:51:06,605 --> 00:51:08,690
I could get one of these done
in about an hour.

1021
00:51:13,570 --> 00:51:15,423
I don't know.
I really don't even know if they will.

1022
00:51:15,447 --> 00:51:18,450
Uh, you know, we signed our fourth
and final agreement last year,

1023
00:51:18,533 --> 00:51:20,887
and so, now we have to renegotiate
the whole contract and everything.

1024
00:51:20,911 --> 00:51:23,271
I really just don't even know
if they're really gonna do it.

1025
00:51:23,789 --> 00:51:26,291
But I get it. I mean,
they're also looking out for their…

1026
00:51:27,167 --> 00:51:28,084
you know.

1027
00:51:28,168 --> 00:51:31,630
It doesn't look very pretty right now,
but then you pull apart.

1028
00:51:32,631 --> 00:51:33,631
And you have a pom-pom.

1029
00:51:34,382 --> 00:51:35,801
Once we have it on there…

1030
00:51:35,884 --> 00:51:36,968
…we flip it inside out.

1031
00:51:37,636 --> 00:51:39,396
They're supposed to be cute
when they pop up.

1032
00:51:40,472 --> 00:51:42,724
All those messages
you're hearing is Messenger…

1033
00:51:43,308 --> 00:51:46,019
…with all
the new people who want to be my friend.

1034
00:51:47,354 --> 00:51:51,107
Peaking at 9000 locations
in the year 2004,

1035
00:51:51,191 --> 00:51:55,612
this chain of stores
was down to one in 2019,

1036
00:51:55,737 --> 00:51:58,031
located in Bend, Oregon.

1037
00:51:58,114 --> 00:52:02,327
I sensed it that Bend
would be a place where every…

1038
00:52:02,410 --> 00:52:07,040
Like, all the weird things would last just
a little bit longer than everywhere else.

1039
00:52:07,165 --> 00:52:09,835
We're kinda like a small town
in Canada or something

1040
00:52:09,918 --> 00:52:12,671
where everything happens
a little bit later than everywhere else.

1041
00:52:12,754 --> 00:52:15,423
Like, of course,
we have the last Blockbuster.

1042
00:52:15,507 --> 00:52:18,927
We had a RadioShack
until a year and a half ago,

1043
00:52:19,010 --> 00:52:21,304
and a Sam Goody until
a couple of years ago, and…

1044
00:52:22,556 --> 00:52:27,561
It's like half Twin Peaks, half Gravity
Falls with like a dash of Twilight Zone.

1045
00:52:27,686 --> 00:52:29,980
What kind of town would have
the last Blockbuster?

1046
00:52:30,063 --> 00:52:31,356
That is exactly…

1047
00:52:32,190 --> 00:52:34,484
It would have to be a place
that really appreciates…

1048
00:52:35,360 --> 00:52:36,903
old stuff, you know.

1049
00:52:36,987 --> 00:52:38,864
Hey, that's cool. You know…

1050
00:52:39,322 --> 00:52:42,117
that the last Blockbuster
that's in existence

1051
00:52:42,200 --> 00:52:43,869
is right here in my hometown.

1052
00:52:43,994 --> 00:52:46,538
Bend, Oregon. Who knew?

1053
00:52:46,621 --> 00:52:50,876
If there's some cats in Oregon
still scratching it out,

1054
00:52:50,959 --> 00:52:53,795
you know, with Be Kind Rewind…

1055
00:52:54,379 --> 00:52:56,059
Nothing wrong with that. That's beautiful.

1056
00:52:56,131 --> 00:52:59,342
It's like the… you know,
what is it they call 'em, the…

1057
00:52:59,426 --> 00:53:02,012
the, uh, uncontacted tribes.

1058
00:53:02,095 --> 00:53:04,115
Like every once in a while
you see a story about, like,

1059
00:53:04,139 --> 00:53:07,267
"These cats live in the middle of Peru,"
or some such shit,

1060
00:53:07,350 --> 00:53:09,936
"and they've never seen,
you know, an automobile."

1061
00:53:10,103 --> 00:53:15,859
Um, obviously, it's a town
with not strong Internet access.

1062
00:53:15,942 --> 00:53:18,904
So, a little bit rural. Definitely.

1063
00:53:19,070 --> 00:53:23,491
Um, a town,
probably the population is a bit older.

1064
00:53:24,659 --> 00:53:28,079
Such an awesome place.
And I think because it's not…

1065
00:53:28,163 --> 00:53:30,206
It's not one of your major cities.

1066
00:53:30,290 --> 00:53:32,184
I think a little slower pace of life,
which is nice.

1067
00:53:32,208 --> 00:53:34,669
I think a lot of people look for that.

1068
00:53:34,753 --> 00:53:36,671
You know, it's very much
about quality of life.

1069
00:53:37,088 --> 00:53:40,258
It's the reason I'm here
is because I like the people.

1070
00:53:40,425 --> 00:53:42,886
Everybody's really cool,
people are really health conscious.

1071
00:53:42,969 --> 00:53:45,931
You know, people are out riding bikes,
hiking, cross-country skiing.

1072
00:53:46,014 --> 00:53:48,808
I mean, it's all of the above
as far as the outdoor activities.

1073
00:53:48,892 --> 00:53:51,686
The Blockbuster thing, I had assumed

1074
00:53:51,770 --> 00:53:54,439
that it had closed and then re-opened.

1075
00:53:54,522 --> 00:53:56,399
But I guess that's not the case.

1076
00:53:57,317 --> 00:53:59,611
It's been open the entire time.

1077
00:54:00,028 --> 00:54:03,198
So, those lucky people
of Bend, Oregon… Yeah.

1078
00:54:03,949 --> 00:54:05,200
That makes a lot of sense.

1079
00:54:06,826 --> 00:54:08,578
'Cause Oregon's cool.

1080
00:54:09,537 --> 00:54:13,416
And kinda dumb and nerdy…
at the same time.

1081
00:54:13,583 --> 00:54:16,086
I didn't know there were
any Blockbuster videos,

1082
00:54:16,169 --> 00:54:17,963
uh, stores left, you know.

1083
00:54:18,046 --> 00:54:19,589
Okay, there's one left.

1084
00:54:19,673 --> 00:54:22,425
So, I lived in New York for a few years,

1085
00:54:22,509 --> 00:54:23,885
and we had one down the street,

1086
00:54:24,010 --> 00:54:26,680
and I remember
we used to walk by and kinda go…

1087
00:54:26,763 --> 00:54:28,974
"Look at that place.
It's funny it's still there.

1088
00:54:29,057 --> 00:54:31,518
"In this city. In this day and age. Wow."

1089
00:54:31,977 --> 00:54:33,979
But, yeah, how weird to go from, like…

1090
00:54:35,313 --> 00:54:39,567
you know, the most dominant
fish in the sea

1091
00:54:40,318 --> 00:54:43,905
to a novelty act in an aquarium.

1092
00:54:45,949 --> 00:54:47,802
Which I… You know, right now
the people in Oregon are like,

1093
00:54:47,826 --> 00:54:49,327
"you! You're a novelty act."

1094
00:54:50,203 --> 00:54:52,306
"Twenty-five-year career
on one black-and-white movie.

1095
00:54:52,330 --> 00:54:53,832
"You're the novelty act, Clerks boy."

1096
00:54:54,374 --> 00:54:57,019
Fair enough, I'm sorry. You're the good
folks of the Blockbuster in Oregon.

1097
00:54:57,043 --> 00:54:58,203
You're doing the Lords' work.

1098
00:54:58,336 --> 00:55:00,046
Now that to me is crazy.

1099
00:55:00,130 --> 00:55:02,882
That I could not really
get my mind around,

1100
00:55:02,966 --> 00:55:06,261
there is just one Blockbuster holding on.

1101
00:55:07,429 --> 00:55:09,806
In that way, it's a lot like
an endangered species,

1102
00:55:09,889 --> 00:55:13,601
which is like, you don't even
have somebody to mate with.

1103
00:55:14,686 --> 00:55:16,187
Like once you die, you die.

1104
00:55:16,563 --> 00:55:19,190
And so that's really…
We got to protect 'em.

1105
00:55:19,482 --> 00:55:22,861
It's quite a shock
when the Blockbuster started…

1106
00:55:23,737 --> 00:55:28,116
you know, feeling like
they might actually go away.

1107
00:55:29,576 --> 00:55:31,077
And then they did.

1108
00:55:33,079 --> 00:55:36,166
Except for one brave, little Blockbuster…

1109
00:55:36,332 --> 00:55:37,709
The Blockbuster that could…

1110
00:55:46,634 --> 00:55:47,653
Okay, I'm gonna step back…

1111
00:55:47,677 --> 00:55:49,345
It's a great question!

1112
00:55:49,429 --> 00:55:50,638
You guys all talk about that…

1113
00:55:50,722 --> 00:55:53,016
♪ Love it! ♪

1114
00:55:53,183 --> 00:55:55,852
Like just today, for instance,
I was getting coffee

1115
00:55:55,935 --> 00:55:58,521
and, uh, I was wearing
my Blockbuster shirt

1116
00:55:58,605 --> 00:56:00,416
and I was like, "Oh, yeah,
I'm on my way to work."

1117
00:56:00,440 --> 00:56:03,568
And they're like, "Oh, yeah,
I know your homie that works there."

1118
00:56:03,651 --> 00:56:06,905
And I was like, "Who?"
They're like "Sandi." I was like "Oh."

1119
00:56:06,988 --> 00:56:08,031
"Yeah, that my mom."

1120
00:56:09,074 --> 00:56:11,451
So they're like, "Oh! That's crazy."

1121
00:56:12,327 --> 00:56:13,327
I'm like, yeah.

1122
00:56:13,411 --> 00:56:16,211
You go to anybody in the country
and you go "You remember Blockbuster?"

1123
00:56:16,247 --> 00:56:19,209
And they go, "yeah, of course
there was a Blockbuster." I go…

1124
00:56:19,292 --> 00:56:24,172
My wife is the manager of the
last Blockbuster in the United States,

1125
00:56:24,255 --> 00:56:26,883
and they all know what that is.
May not know where it's at,

1126
00:56:27,550 --> 00:56:31,221
but they know that it's the last one
and that I'm married to her.

1127
00:56:31,304 --> 00:56:32,680
So…

1128
00:56:33,431 --> 00:56:38,269
♪ Somebody once told me
The world is gonna roll me ♪

1129
00:56:38,353 --> 00:56:41,856
♪ I ain't the sharpest tool
In the shed ♪

1130
00:56:42,941 --> 00:56:44,609
Sandi Harding proudly remains

1131
00:56:44,692 --> 00:56:48,154
at the helm of the last
Blockbuster in the world,

1132
00:56:48,238 --> 00:56:50,115
located in Bend, Oregon.

1133
00:56:50,198 --> 00:56:51,574
- Good morning.
- Good morning.

1134
00:56:52,158 --> 00:56:54,244
- What can I get for you?
- It's Sandi.

1135
00:56:54,327 --> 00:56:57,455
I think the fact that you can
come in, you can touch the movies.

1136
00:56:57,539 --> 00:56:59,141
You can walk around with them
in your hand.

1137
00:56:59,165 --> 00:57:00,208
You can look at them…

1138
00:57:00,542 --> 00:57:01,417
We good?

1139
00:57:01,543 --> 00:57:06,005
♪ Hey now your an all-star
Get your game on go play ♪

1140
00:57:06,089 --> 00:57:10,510
♪ Hey now, you're a rock star
Get the show on, get paid ♪

1141
00:57:10,677 --> 00:57:14,389
♪ And all that glitters
Is gold ♪

1142
00:57:14,472 --> 00:57:19,060
♪ Only shooting stars
Break the mold ♪

1143
00:57:19,144 --> 00:57:21,646
♪ It's a cool place
And they say it gets colder ♪

1144
00:57:21,813 --> 00:57:24,149
♪ You're bundled up now
Wait 'til you get older ♪

1145
00:57:24,315 --> 00:57:26,067
♪ But the media man begs the differ ♪

1146
00:57:26,151 --> 00:57:27,878
♪ Judging by the hole
In the satellite picture ♪

1147
00:57:27,902 --> 00:57:30,280
What is new? You're always working.

1148
00:57:30,363 --> 00:57:32,907
I know. Typical Blockbuster day.

1149
00:57:33,575 --> 00:57:36,077
- Out buying everything before we open.
- I know, right.

1150
00:57:36,286 --> 00:57:38,955
I always loved going in Blockbuster

1151
00:57:39,038 --> 00:57:41,166
and just spending like an hour
to pick out a movie.

1152
00:57:41,291 --> 00:57:42,292
Oh, it's the best.

1153
00:57:42,417 --> 00:57:44,127
- Yeah.
- Oh, yeah. And-

1154
00:57:44,210 --> 00:57:46,671
We still see that
every Friday and Saturday night.

1155
00:57:47,172 --> 00:57:51,551
♪ Hey now, you're an all star
Get your game on, go play ♪

1156
00:57:51,801 --> 00:57:56,389
♪ Hey now, you're a rock star
Get the show on, get paid ♪

1157
00:57:56,473 --> 00:57:59,726
♪ And all that glitters
Is gold ♪

1158
00:57:59,809 --> 00:58:04,814
♪ Only shooting stars
Break the mold ♪

1159
00:58:04,939 --> 00:58:07,692
- Here you go, Sandi.
- You guys are on camera, so wave, girls.

1160
00:58:07,775 --> 00:58:10,236
- Hello. Hi from Black Rock.
- Bye.

1161
00:58:10,320 --> 00:58:12,447
- Have a good day. See you later.
- Bye, guys.

1162
00:58:19,162 --> 00:58:20,538
It was perfect,

1163
00:58:20,622 --> 00:58:23,249
like the Captain Marvel trailer
you're watching on a big

1164
00:58:23,875 --> 00:58:25,376
50-foot screen,

1165
00:58:25,460 --> 00:58:28,254
and there's Captain Marvel
flying right through Blockbuster,

1166
00:58:28,338 --> 00:58:30,757
and it was hilarious because

1167
00:58:31,633 --> 00:58:36,262
I was like, "Oh, yeah,
we're right at that point now where,

1168
00:58:36,346 --> 00:58:39,974
"the nostalgia swing
is going to come back around, and it's…"

1169
00:58:40,058 --> 00:58:43,019
it's pop culturally relevant again.
And it's perfect.

1170
00:58:43,728 --> 00:58:46,773
Blockbuster nostalgia
hit America and the world,

1171
00:58:46,898 --> 00:58:48,691
and the only place to get your fix

1172
00:58:48,775 --> 00:58:51,945
was our little Blockbuster
that could, in Bend.

1173
00:58:52,028 --> 00:58:54,781
It was attracting attention
from talk shows, YouTubers

1174
00:58:54,864 --> 00:58:57,200
and video store fans
from all over the world.

1175
00:58:57,283 --> 00:59:00,036
A local brewery even created
a Blockbuster beer.

1176
00:59:00,119 --> 00:59:01,788
It was a media frenzy.

1177
00:59:08,836 --> 00:59:11,673
We got out of the car and we were like,
"Oh my God, it does exist."

1178
00:59:12,924 --> 00:59:14,551
Blockbuster… brings me back.

1179
00:59:14,634 --> 00:59:15,885
Do they all smell the same?

1180
00:59:15,969 --> 00:59:18,721
I drove here from sunny
San Diego, California.

1181
00:59:18,805 --> 00:59:21,432
Just to see the last Blockbuster on Earth.

1182
00:59:23,268 --> 00:59:25,645
About 15 hours total.

1183
00:59:25,812 --> 00:59:28,147
- Utah.
- And Las Vegas.

1184
00:59:28,314 --> 00:59:29,649
Yeah.

1185
00:59:29,732 --> 00:59:31,401
It's so beautiful.

1186
00:59:32,151 --> 00:59:36,573
It's… I'm like a kid in a candy store
right now. It's great.

1187
00:59:36,656 --> 00:59:38,656
And there's actual candy here, too,
so that's good.

1188
00:59:39,784 --> 00:59:42,996
It's the last one in the whole world now,
not just America.

1189
00:59:44,247 --> 00:59:45,498
This is my last shot.

1190
00:59:45,582 --> 00:59:48,209
I want to relive my childhood
a little bit.

1191
00:59:49,168 --> 00:59:53,423
I decided to send my writer, Adam,
there to play a cashier named Kevin.

1192
00:59:53,506 --> 00:59:55,550
We set up hidden cameras
and here's what happened.

1193
00:59:55,758 --> 00:59:57,635
We don't have an adult section.

1194
00:59:59,178 --> 01:00:00,805
We don't have an adult section.

1195
01:00:01,598 --> 01:00:03,933
You look like you were looking
for the old saloon doors.

1196
01:00:05,310 --> 01:00:06,853
No? All right. Sorry.

1197
01:00:09,439 --> 01:00:11,774
We flew in from Boston this morning.

1198
01:00:11,858 --> 01:00:14,319
My first job was a video rental store.

1199
01:00:14,402 --> 01:00:17,697
I'm 32.
This is my little brother, he's 15

1200
01:00:17,780 --> 01:00:22,619
and he has never been
to a video rental store ever in his life.

1201
01:00:23,453 --> 01:00:24,621
And I'm from Spain.

1202
01:00:27,415 --> 01:00:28,458
Just to see this.

1203
01:00:28,625 --> 01:00:31,085
It's a part of my life,
19 years of my life,

1204
01:00:31,169 --> 01:00:32,795
my best job was this one.

1205
01:00:32,879 --> 01:00:36,049
And so I said I have to go
and see if everything is the same

1206
01:00:36,132 --> 01:00:37,467
or it's a little bit different.

1207
01:00:37,550 --> 01:00:38,843
But no, everything is the same.

1208
01:00:38,926 --> 01:00:40,261
Exactly the same.

1209
01:00:41,137 --> 01:00:46,392
Is there something
bigger than DVDs at stake here?

1210
01:00:46,476 --> 01:00:48,311
Oh, absolutely.
It's a family business.

1211
01:00:48,436 --> 01:00:51,856
I mean, we have relationships here
that we have created over the years.

1212
01:00:51,939 --> 01:00:54,692
I mean, I have…
all my employees are family.

1213
01:00:54,776 --> 01:00:57,070
I mean, they call me the Blockbuster mom.

1214
01:00:57,153 --> 01:00:59,155
They're all getting married now
and having kids,

1215
01:00:59,238 --> 01:01:01,074
now, I'm having Blockbuster grandkids,

1216
01:01:01,157 --> 01:01:03,409
and I mean,
this is a family business.

1217
01:01:03,493 --> 01:01:06,287
- This is one of my Blockbuster babies.
- Oh, yeah.

1218
01:01:08,623 --> 01:01:12,752
Actually, we closed the Redmond store
on the 5th of March, last year

1219
01:01:12,835 --> 01:01:15,838
because she decided to go on bed rest.

1220
01:01:15,963 --> 01:01:18,633
We were just waiting for her
to go into labor with Liam.

1221
01:01:22,387 --> 01:01:23,846
- In Redmond, yeah.
- Yeah.

1222
01:01:23,930 --> 01:01:24,972
It's Liam's fault.

1223
01:01:25,056 --> 01:01:27,850
He kind of regrets it, though.
He likes the movies.

1224
01:01:28,059 --> 01:01:30,770
Just had to come and see…
the last Blockbuster store.

1225
01:01:30,853 --> 01:01:34,023
- So, you worked at a Blockbuster store?
- Yeah, I was there for 14 years.

1226
01:01:34,107 --> 01:01:36,025
- What about you?
- And I was there for eight.

1227
01:01:36,192 --> 01:01:37,568
Fourteen years for me…

1228
01:01:39,153 --> 01:01:41,322
- Hello! Hi.
- Hi, guys!

1229
01:01:41,406 --> 01:01:42,532
Hey!

1230
01:01:44,784 --> 01:01:48,246
Oh, my goodness. 500?
I don't know. Gosh,

1231
01:01:48,329 --> 01:01:52,750
it seems like between
radio and newspaper, and…

1232
01:01:52,917 --> 01:01:54,752
- It's probably around 500.
- Oh, my gosh.

1233
01:01:54,919 --> 01:01:57,672
New York Times, USA Today,

1234
01:01:57,839 --> 01:02:02,009
The Washington Post,
The Washington Journal, the AP…

1235
01:02:08,641 --> 01:02:09,767
Come on.

1236
01:02:12,228 --> 01:02:13,938
I know this is the right one.

1237
01:02:17,692 --> 01:02:18,735
Yeah.

1238
01:02:18,860 --> 01:02:22,071
This we received from a gal
in South Carolina.

1239
01:02:22,572 --> 01:02:24,574
"But now we're in South Carolina,

1240
01:02:24,657 --> 01:02:26,784
"that makes a road trip
to the Bend impossible.

1241
01:02:26,868 --> 01:02:30,455
"But if it was still in Oregon,
if I was still in Oregon,

1242
01:02:30,538 --> 01:02:33,374
"I would surely come
and rent some movies."

1243
01:02:33,458 --> 01:02:35,793
And then she sent the $5 bill
as a donation

1244
01:02:35,877 --> 01:02:37,920
to help keep us, our store alive.

1245
01:02:38,004 --> 01:02:41,299
Sweet cards that are just saying
if they still work, please

1246
01:02:41,382 --> 01:02:43,593
donate them to a loyal, local customer.

1247
01:02:43,676 --> 01:02:45,636
And there a couple of
old Blockbuster gift cards.

1248
01:02:45,762 --> 01:02:47,847
Again, it has three gift cards,
and it says,

1249
01:02:47,930 --> 01:02:49,616
"While cleaning out my gift cards,
I found these.

1250
01:02:49,640 --> 01:02:52,643
"Hopefully they're still valid.
Please give them to a family or families

1251
01:02:52,727 --> 01:02:54,479
"that will benefit from them."

1252
01:02:54,562 --> 01:02:55,748
And I thought
that was very sweet.

1253
01:02:55,772 --> 01:02:58,399
When I signed the last renewal…

1254
01:02:58,483 --> 01:03:01,778
"You just need Pacific video
to send us a notice that they are

1255
01:03:01,861 --> 01:03:06,491
"exercising their fourth
and final, um, renewal option.

1256
01:03:06,616 --> 01:03:10,244
"In case it helps,
attached is the copy of the renewal."

1257
01:03:10,912 --> 01:03:12,663
And then, so, yeah,

1258
01:03:12,830 --> 01:03:16,167
"that kind of scared me a little bit
when I heard "fourth and final."

1259
01:03:26,052 --> 01:03:29,263
Maybe they should keep
the same exact color scheme

1260
01:03:29,347 --> 01:03:31,891
and keep it looking the same,
and just rename it,

1261
01:03:31,974 --> 01:03:35,561
but it could be just like Video Store or…

1262
01:03:35,645 --> 01:03:37,313
Really, what I would do,

1263
01:03:37,396 --> 01:03:42,068
do the world's only
Blockbuster/dispensary.

1264
01:03:42,235 --> 01:03:46,405
That's something I would look into
if I was them. Just dead serious…

1265
01:03:46,489 --> 01:03:48,658
And snacks. Definitely lot of snacks.

1266
01:03:48,741 --> 01:03:51,911
I would make it
more of an overall store

1267
01:03:51,994 --> 01:03:57,500
that kinda encompasses the '80s
and '90s in general, and things like that.

1268
01:03:57,583 --> 01:04:00,795
So, maybe they could
also buy a Talkboy or Teddy Ruxpin.

1269
01:04:00,878 --> 01:04:03,923
- Can you and I be friends?
- Yes.

1270
01:04:04,006 --> 01:04:06,968
They should just stay open,

1271
01:04:07,051 --> 01:04:09,512
call themselves something else.

1272
01:04:11,055 --> 01:04:12,431
Blahbuster.

1273
01:04:13,516 --> 01:04:16,519
Blubbuster, or just Buster's.

1274
01:04:17,061 --> 01:04:18,563
Buster's Video Rental.

1275
01:04:19,313 --> 01:04:20,857
Anything where they don't, you know,

1276
01:04:20,940 --> 01:04:23,180
"I don't want to spend a lot of money
making a new sign."

1277
01:04:23,234 --> 01:04:26,028
Yeah, just put some tape up there.

1278
01:04:26,112 --> 01:04:28,823
Dish owns that name,
if I remember correctly.

1279
01:04:28,906 --> 01:04:31,909
Any corporation could use good press.
So, good press is like,

1280
01:04:31,993 --> 01:04:34,495
"We let these kids
keep calling this place Blockbuster,

1281
01:04:34,579 --> 01:04:36,080
"even though we don't have to.

1282
01:04:36,163 --> 01:04:38,291
"That's what kind of good people we are,
and stuff."

1283
01:04:38,374 --> 01:04:41,436
But if they want a problem on their hands,
then all they have to do is be like,

1284
01:04:41,460 --> 01:04:44,797
"Nah, we took this name
because we're just corporate grinches."

1285
01:04:47,258 --> 01:04:48,258
Definitely not!

1286
01:04:55,266 --> 01:04:58,227
We're putting on gloves because
we have been moving things around all day

1287
01:04:58,311 --> 01:05:03,274
in preparation for the Russell Crowe
memorabilia from the Alaska stores.

1288
01:05:03,357 --> 01:05:05,651
And we do not have the jockstrap,

1289
01:05:05,735 --> 01:05:08,654
but we do have a lot of the other pieces
that the Alaska stores had,

1290
01:05:08,738 --> 01:05:12,700
and Alan is very gracious
to allow us to borrow it while we're open.

1291
01:05:12,783 --> 01:05:16,162
And, so, now we're gonna open up the box,
and we're gonna set this stuff up.

1292
01:05:16,245 --> 01:05:19,957
- Gosh, is he that small?
- Russel Crowe seems a little thin to me?

1293
01:05:20,041 --> 01:05:21,709
So, there are several pieces.

1294
01:05:21,792 --> 01:05:24,545
There's some from Cinderella Man,
from American Gangster,

1295
01:05:24,629 --> 01:05:26,047
from Les Mis…

1296
01:05:26,923 --> 01:05:29,717
I can't say the word very well.
Les Mis is what I always call it.

1297
01:05:29,926 --> 01:05:31,427
- Let's just re...
- Real leather.

1298
01:05:31,510 --> 01:05:34,070
- It is real leather. Can you smell it?
- Yeah, you can smell it.

1299
01:05:35,681 --> 01:05:38,017
You know, this is so much fun
when you're short…

1300
01:05:39,852 --> 01:05:43,105
…and you're trying to reach
the very top on your tippy toes.

1301
01:05:43,898 --> 01:05:47,276
Which might be why
I have my trusty bench.

1302
01:05:50,154 --> 01:05:52,531
This bench and I have memories.

1303
01:05:52,615 --> 01:05:54,700
It started with me
at the West Store,

1304
01:05:54,784 --> 01:05:58,079
When Ken had to get me a bench 'cause
I was too short to reach the top shelf.

1305
01:05:58,162 --> 01:06:01,832
Yeah, I hope this stuff isn't bad luck.
I mean, it was sent to the Alaska stores,

1306
01:06:01,916 --> 01:06:04,502
in hopes of saving them, and it didn't.

1307
01:06:04,585 --> 01:06:07,046
So, let's hope we get
better luck out of 'em.

1308
01:06:09,131 --> 01:06:11,443
When you guys hear that
that's how your parents used to date,

1309
01:06:11,467 --> 01:06:14,387
is that they would come in here
and spend an hour picking out a movie,

1310
01:06:14,470 --> 01:06:16,270
and then go home.
What goes through your mind?

1311
01:06:17,890 --> 01:06:19,934
It's kinda weird.

1312
01:06:20,017 --> 01:06:23,396
When I first moved to L.A.,
my girlfriend and I,

1313
01:06:23,479 --> 01:06:26,816
that was, you know, our date nights.

1314
01:06:27,024 --> 01:06:31,487
We would walk through one together,
and not really argue,

1315
01:06:31,570 --> 01:06:34,615
but try to find something
that we both wanted.

1316
01:06:34,699 --> 01:06:38,327
That's kind of part of the whole date.
That's how you get to know somebody.

1317
01:06:38,411 --> 01:06:41,789
Because then, if you split off
and go into different areas,

1318
01:06:41,872 --> 01:06:44,542
and she goes to romantic comedies,
and you're like in action,

1319
01:06:44,625 --> 01:06:47,020
and then you both bring back things
and they're totally opposite…

1320
01:06:47,044 --> 01:06:48,963
You got Bruce Willis
and you got Tom Hanks

1321
01:06:49,046 --> 01:06:50,965
and it's just,
"Never the twain shall meet."

1322
01:06:51,048 --> 01:06:52,591
I think those are
classic dates, too,

1323
01:06:52,675 --> 01:06:54,176
grab some Chinese food,

1324
01:06:54,260 --> 01:06:56,053
go rent a movie together.

1325
01:06:56,137 --> 01:06:59,056
I mean, they still, I guess,
do that now with Netflix and chill,

1326
01:06:59,181 --> 01:07:01,017
but that seems a little dirtier,

1327
01:07:01,100 --> 01:07:03,894
'cause it's just like, usually
they're going straight to their house,

1328
01:07:03,978 --> 01:07:05,455
and they already got the movie ready.

1329
01:07:05,479 --> 01:07:07,398
They probably didn't even buy you food.

1330
01:07:07,982 --> 01:07:11,318
I felt that, that was really the date's…

1331
01:07:12,236 --> 01:07:14,363
is it appropriate to say foreplay?

1332
01:07:14,447 --> 01:07:17,116
That's the foreplay
of the whole evening, isn't it?

1333
01:07:17,199 --> 01:07:21,328
I mean, I wouldn't want
to advise my own daughters this,

1334
01:07:21,412 --> 01:07:24,206
but how do you start making out?

1335
01:07:24,290 --> 01:07:26,250
And for me it was so easy.

1336
01:07:26,333 --> 01:07:28,294
You watch a movie and sit on a couch,

1337
01:07:28,377 --> 01:07:30,546
and maybe there's a little blanket
over your laps,

1338
01:07:30,629 --> 01:07:32,506
and you sort of eventually touch.

1339
01:07:32,673 --> 01:07:35,051
Years later, when I worked at RSTI,

1340
01:07:35,134 --> 01:07:36,927
I had sex in a video store…

1341
01:07:37,678 --> 01:07:39,764
in the porn room,
only makes sense.

1342
01:07:39,847 --> 01:07:42,099
Part of getting laid, right?

1343
01:07:42,183 --> 01:07:44,268
I mean, you're like,
"What should we do tonight?

1344
01:07:44,351 --> 01:07:46,520
"Let's go dancing."

1345
01:07:46,604 --> 01:07:51,275
"I have a better idea.
I make a mean spaghetti. You know…

1346
01:07:51,358 --> 01:07:55,196
"Let's go to Blockbuster.
We'll get some red wine, and some popcorn,

1347
01:07:55,279 --> 01:07:56,906
"we'll rent too many movies.

1348
01:07:56,989 --> 01:08:00,534
"I'll make you some spaghetti,
which is really hard to mess up,

1349
01:08:00,618 --> 01:08:03,662
"and we'll not watch the movie."

1350
01:08:04,413 --> 01:08:07,291
♪ Silver moon's sparkling ♪

1351
01:08:09,335 --> 01:08:12,046
♪ So kiss me ♪

1352
01:08:16,133 --> 01:08:18,969
I mean… that sign.

1353
01:08:20,971 --> 01:08:24,809
You've got to get a selfie with it.
That's too cool.

1354
01:08:25,935 --> 01:08:27,186
Smile.

1355
01:08:30,314 --> 01:08:33,484
I can't believe I'm at the
only Blockbuster in existence.

1356
01:08:34,151 --> 01:08:35,444
That's sweet.

1357
01:08:37,655 --> 01:08:39,573
I'm excited to go inside.

1358
01:08:42,284 --> 01:08:44,745
Hello. Oh, thank you.

1359
01:08:46,288 --> 01:08:47,832
Wow.

1360
01:09:09,436 --> 01:09:11,397
- Hi, Doug.
- Hi, Sandi.

1361
01:09:12,106 --> 01:09:14,441
It's so nice to meet you.

1362
01:09:14,525 --> 01:09:16,527
So, how long have you been
running this one?

1363
01:09:16,610 --> 01:09:18,737
I've been at this store
for 15 years.

1364
01:09:18,821 --> 01:09:21,574
- Did you see Captain Marvel?
- I did see Captain Marvel.

1365
01:09:21,657 --> 01:09:23,497
Was that this Blockbuster?
Or did they fake it?

1366
01:09:23,576 --> 01:09:24,576
No, they faked it.

1367
01:09:24,618 --> 01:09:25,618
- Jerks.
- I know.

1368
01:09:26,370 --> 01:09:29,582
So many movies.
See, this is what I used to do

1369
01:09:29,665 --> 01:09:32,042
when I'd go to
the video rental store,

1370
01:09:32,126 --> 01:09:34,211
is, I would just wander around,

1371
01:09:34,295 --> 01:09:35,522
especially if you do it
with another person,

1372
01:09:35,546 --> 01:09:37,381
you have to agree on a movie.

1373
01:09:37,464 --> 01:09:38,966
You just wander around,

1374
01:09:40,092 --> 01:09:41,468
not knowing what… I mean,

1375
01:09:41,552 --> 01:09:44,555
do I wanna watch this
sad movie about dogs,

1376
01:09:44,638 --> 01:09:48,726
or do I wanna watch this movie
with Alec Baldwin, I've never heard off.

1377
01:09:48,809 --> 01:09:50,311
It's so much choices,

1378
01:09:50,436 --> 01:09:53,772
I swear, sometimes I just
would go to a video store

1379
01:09:53,856 --> 01:09:56,192
and walk around
for a while and just leave,

1380
01:09:56,275 --> 01:09:57,693
like not even rent something.

1381
01:09:59,195 --> 01:10:01,113
It's too much. There's too many movies.

1382
01:10:01,822 --> 01:10:03,866
I love movies, but come on.

1383
01:10:04,742 --> 01:10:06,285
Oh, that's probably pretty good.

1384
01:10:06,368 --> 01:10:11,498
Um, let's see where the documentaries
are hanging out in here.

1385
01:10:11,582 --> 01:10:12,791
Special interests.

1386
01:10:12,875 --> 01:10:15,794
These are… Look at that,
right next to each other. I love it!

1387
01:10:17,171 --> 01:10:20,633
'Cause that was part of
my conceit, when I, you know,

1388
01:10:20,716 --> 01:10:22,384
named this movie…

1389
01:10:23,135 --> 01:10:24,887
was that, uh…

1390
01:10:25,429 --> 01:10:28,766
everywhere where movies are alphabetical,
they'll be right next to each other.

1391
01:10:28,849 --> 01:10:31,393
So, even if people didn't have
much interest in my movie,

1392
01:10:31,477 --> 01:10:34,313
they might notice it
because of Super Size Me.

1393
01:10:34,396 --> 01:10:36,523
He's making a second one
of these now, I hear.

1394
01:10:37,608 --> 01:10:39,944
- So, this is Russell Crowe's…
- Yes.

1395
01:10:40,027 --> 01:10:42,071
- …fighting robe in Cinderella Man?
- Yep.

1396
01:10:42,196 --> 01:10:43,614
And this sign is ironic.

1397
01:10:43,697 --> 01:10:45,157
It says, "Do not lean
on the rope,"

1398
01:10:45,282 --> 01:10:48,035
which is what he would
not want to do as a boxer.

1399
01:10:48,118 --> 01:10:50,829
We have the John Oliver stuff,

1400
01:10:50,913 --> 01:10:53,415
and then here is all the stuff
that people have sent us.

1401
01:10:54,541 --> 01:10:56,168
This is so cool.

1402
01:10:56,252 --> 01:10:58,837
Yeah, and everything that's up here,
has been sent to us.

1403
01:10:58,921 --> 01:11:01,321
So, even the newspaper articles
that have this state on them,

1404
01:11:01,382 --> 01:11:04,885
people have actually sent us
those newspaper articles from their city.

1405
01:11:04,969 --> 01:11:07,680
I mean, look at
the James Bond section.

1406
01:11:08,639 --> 01:11:10,808
Every James Bond movie.

1407
01:11:11,225 --> 01:11:14,937
Every Avatar movie because, you know,
there's just the one so far.

1408
01:11:16,522 --> 01:11:19,149
I'm gonna take a picture of this
and send it to Kumail…

1409
01:11:21,193 --> 01:11:24,280
because I don't think he knows
that he's in a Blockbuster.

1410
01:11:24,697 --> 01:11:25,864
Oh, there it is.

1411
01:11:29,576 --> 01:11:31,912
Excellent pick, Zach.

1412
01:11:36,083 --> 01:11:38,794
Britney's… terrible picks.

1413
01:11:38,877 --> 01:11:40,713
Erica's, no good.

1414
01:11:42,840 --> 01:11:44,591
It's all about Zach.

1415
01:11:46,468 --> 01:11:48,762
I actually like Baby Driver.

1416
01:11:52,683 --> 01:11:54,310
You got both Blarts.

1417
01:11:54,393 --> 01:11:58,522
All Blarts onboard.
Total Blartosity.

1418
01:11:59,106 --> 01:11:59,982
Can't wait.

1419
01:12:00,065 --> 01:12:03,193
Look, they're even waiting
to finish the trilogy,

1420
01:12:03,277 --> 01:12:05,821
and put Paul Blart 3 right here.

1421
01:12:08,032 --> 01:12:12,161
We got Paul Blart 2,
Mall Cop: Blart Rides Again

1422
01:12:12,244 --> 01:12:15,164
because there's nothing like
a title that repeats words.

1423
01:12:15,914 --> 01:12:18,834
What do you think about
that lone Blockbuster Twitter feed?

1424
01:12:18,917 --> 01:12:21,170
It's funny,
you know what…

1425
01:12:21,253 --> 01:12:22,713
Do you like, look at it and laugh

1426
01:12:22,796 --> 01:12:24,566
- at the crazy stuff they write?
- I haven't read it all

1427
01:12:24,590 --> 01:12:26,508
- …just because…
- Oh, my God.

1428
01:12:26,633 --> 01:12:31,513
So, I looked on Twitter to see if there
was a twitter account for this store

1429
01:12:31,597 --> 01:12:34,224
and there is an account
called Lone Blockbuster,

1430
01:12:34,308 --> 01:12:37,227
and I started reading the tweets
and they're really funny,

1431
01:12:37,728 --> 01:12:39,897
and they have a ton of followers.

1432
01:12:39,980 --> 01:12:42,900
They have 375,000 followers,
follow no one,

1433
01:12:43,442 --> 01:12:46,695
and so I thought somebody
hilarious that works here…

1434
01:12:46,779 --> 01:12:48,947
I thought maybe even
Sandi wrote these.

1435
01:12:49,698 --> 01:12:50,866
I really like this one.

1436
01:12:59,416 --> 01:13:03,212
Yeah, and I also got something else
I want to share with you on my phone.

1437
01:13:04,380 --> 01:13:05,464
Kumail responded.

1438
01:13:06,090 --> 01:13:09,250
So, you're going to get him in the movie
without having to get him in the movie.

1439
01:13:10,636 --> 01:13:14,681
So, I texted a picture
of his movie The Big Sick

1440
01:13:14,765 --> 01:13:16,183
to Kumail Nanjiani.

1441
01:13:16,350 --> 01:13:17,393
I wrote…

1442
01:13:19,686 --> 01:13:20,686
And he wrote back…

1443
01:13:28,821 --> 01:13:29,988
"No…"

1444
01:13:30,864 --> 01:13:32,533
"Bend, you dummy."

1445
01:13:34,368 --> 01:13:36,370
Bend, Oregon.

1446
01:13:36,829 --> 01:13:40,249
I'll be so excited if it's really in here.

1447
01:13:45,379 --> 01:13:46,880
Very cool.

1448
01:13:47,047 --> 01:13:48,924
I'd like to rent a movie, please.

1449
01:13:49,007 --> 01:13:51,135
- You want to rent Super High Me?
- Yes, please.

1450
01:13:51,677 --> 01:13:54,930
- We could do that.
- All right. But let's use my new card.

1451
01:13:57,975 --> 01:14:01,854
On the flight up to Bend,
I just kept thinking that

1452
01:14:03,480 --> 01:14:07,860
I'm crazy for being so excited
to visit a place that

1453
01:14:07,943 --> 01:14:10,070
I'm not going to rent a movie
while I'm here.

1454
01:14:10,154 --> 01:14:12,448
I'm just gonna leave, and fly home.

1455
01:14:12,531 --> 01:14:15,659
But I'm still so happy
that I came to see it.

1456
01:14:15,993 --> 01:14:20,456
I didn't miss Blockbuster
until I was in this Blockbuster.

1457
01:14:20,539 --> 01:14:22,207
Like, I had moved on.

1458
01:14:22,291 --> 01:14:26,503
But now, just seeing it
and being here, I love it.

1459
01:14:26,587 --> 01:14:30,007
I mean…
who doesn't love Blockbuster?

1460
01:14:31,383 --> 01:14:34,553
I can't think of anything
to say nice about Blockbuster.

1461
01:14:34,636 --> 01:14:36,680
Well, I'm sorry.
What can I say?

1462
01:14:37,389 --> 01:14:40,100
I don't want a bunch of customers
to hear it and then get concerned,

1463
01:14:40,184 --> 01:14:42,227
but, um, yeah.

1464
01:14:42,352 --> 01:14:45,189
Yeah. So, I reached out to Dish Network
about a week and a half ago,

1465
01:14:45,272 --> 01:14:46,773
right before October 1st.

1466
01:14:46,899 --> 01:14:49,610
Um, because our renewal's
up in November,

1467
01:14:49,693 --> 01:14:51,862
and I wanted to get working on that

1468
01:14:51,945 --> 01:14:55,157
and try to figure out, you know,
how we can re-negotiate

1469
01:14:55,240 --> 01:14:57,701
and amend our contract,
so we can sign it for another year.

1470
01:14:57,784 --> 01:15:01,413
And heard back from our rep who said,

1471
01:15:01,497 --> 01:15:02,873
"I'll check into it for you."

1472
01:15:02,956 --> 01:15:05,018
That's a week and a half ago
and I haven't heard anything since.

1473
01:15:05,042 --> 01:15:06,293
And I'm really surprised.

1474
01:15:06,376 --> 01:15:08,813
Typically, they get back to me
pretty quickly when I have a question,

1475
01:15:08,837 --> 01:15:10,839
and so I'm a little concerned.

1476
01:15:10,923 --> 01:15:14,009
Um, it definitely makes me
worry a little bit

1477
01:15:14,092 --> 01:15:17,471
because, you know, if they don't renew it,
then we're closed,

1478
01:15:17,554 --> 01:15:20,599
and that would be
a very sad, sad day.

1479
01:15:22,976 --> 01:15:23,976
I don't know.

1480
01:15:32,611 --> 01:15:34,279
Yeah, yeah, yeah…

1481
01:15:41,828 --> 01:15:44,540
Yeah, that does…
you do feel it right away,

1482
01:15:44,623 --> 01:15:46,875
and then it just makes you
wanna pop it open.

1483
01:15:46,959 --> 01:15:50,712
Every tape looked just like this.

1484
01:15:50,796 --> 01:15:52,422
It was all beaten up.

1485
01:15:52,506 --> 01:15:56,134
This thing was not meant to survive.
The cars, the drops, whatever.

1486
01:15:56,218 --> 01:16:00,138
I also remember this plastic on here
was always getting thrashed.

1487
01:16:00,222 --> 01:16:02,975
You know, you don't want
to thrash this, but it's…

1488
01:16:03,058 --> 01:16:05,394
There's something about
just kind of going like this,

1489
01:16:05,477 --> 01:16:06,979
and, you know, it's been used.

1490
01:16:07,062 --> 01:16:08,230
It's tangible.

1491
01:16:09,565 --> 01:16:10,691
It's a lot.

1492
01:16:10,774 --> 01:16:12,776
Just the idea
that it's a heavy object

1493
01:16:12,859 --> 01:16:15,529
that if you leave it
in a hot car, it'll melt.

1494
01:16:15,612 --> 01:16:18,282
That it's a physical object
that has limitations,

1495
01:16:18,365 --> 01:16:19,741
I think, made it more precious,

1496
01:16:19,825 --> 01:16:22,035
than just like,
yeah, it's streaming on Netflix.

1497
01:16:22,202 --> 01:16:24,413
Oh, look at this.

1498
01:16:25,497 --> 01:16:27,833
Just the weight of it…

1499
01:16:28,584 --> 01:16:31,128
like a little brick
that you take home.

1500
01:16:33,672 --> 01:16:36,800
That noise, you don't hear that
anywhere else anymore.

1501
01:16:38,594 --> 01:16:40,262
Wait a minute.

1502
01:16:41,888 --> 01:16:44,600
There's already a movie called
The Last Blockbuster?

1503
01:16:45,892 --> 01:16:47,394
No way!

1504
01:16:47,853 --> 01:16:49,438
How… am I in there?

1505
01:16:51,356 --> 01:16:52,649
Oh, that's fun.

1506
01:16:52,733 --> 01:16:55,611
And then I… Oh, man.

1507
01:16:55,694 --> 01:16:58,196
I actually got, like a little…

1508
01:16:58,280 --> 01:17:01,950
up through my spine just then
when I opened the box.

1509
01:17:03,869 --> 01:17:05,996
Kids don't have
this magic anymore.

1510
01:17:06,079 --> 01:17:08,081
But this sound… oh.

1511
01:17:08,165 --> 01:17:11,585
It's so satisfying than that one,
you just make sure that it's closed.

1512
01:17:15,714 --> 01:17:17,257
It's good, and these little…

1513
01:17:17,341 --> 01:17:19,551
I don't know
what you call these, but…

1514
01:17:24,848 --> 01:17:27,726
When I hold something like this
in my hands, it is like,

1515
01:17:27,809 --> 01:17:30,979
um, going back
to your childhood home

1516
01:17:31,063 --> 01:17:34,107
and picking up
like a stuffed animal

1517
01:17:34,191 --> 01:17:35,817
or something that you…

1518
01:17:35,901 --> 01:17:39,696
had to have near you
all the time when you were a toddler.

1519
01:17:39,780 --> 01:17:42,783
Then you could take the case
and put drugs in it.

1520
01:17:42,866 --> 01:17:45,118
And do other things,
and just hide trinkets.

1521
01:17:45,202 --> 01:17:47,788
It didn't have to be drugs,
but, you know.

1522
01:17:47,913 --> 01:17:50,332
Obviously it's bulky
if you've got five movies,

1523
01:17:50,415 --> 01:17:53,043
but there was something
fun about that too, because it's a bounty.

1524
01:17:53,126 --> 01:17:56,088
Now you get it all digital.
That's fine, but a bounty of…

1525
01:17:56,171 --> 01:17:58,507
You get four of these
and put 'em in your bag,

1526
01:17:58,590 --> 01:18:01,343
fake 'em for books, go to school,

1527
01:18:01,426 --> 01:18:02,636
trade.

1528
01:18:02,719 --> 01:18:04,262
Currency.

1529
01:18:04,680 --> 01:18:07,683
Oh, look at that,
The Last Blockbuster.

1530
01:18:08,392 --> 01:18:09,768
That's cool.

1531
01:18:10,102 --> 01:18:11,687
That's awesome.

1532
01:18:11,770 --> 01:18:13,605
I'm gonna have to see it now.

1533
01:18:13,939 --> 01:18:16,775
I love you put all the info
on the side and everything.

1534
01:18:18,944 --> 01:18:20,028
Can I have this?

1535
01:18:37,629 --> 01:18:39,631
We are having
our family barbecue.

1536
01:18:39,715 --> 01:18:41,925
Our Blockbuster
family barbecue, huh?

1537
01:18:42,592 --> 01:18:44,177
You gonna say hi, Liam?

1538
01:18:44,720 --> 01:18:46,972
Say hi. Say hi.

1539
01:18:47,848 --> 01:18:51,810
Anyway, I get to enjoy the day with all my
Blockbuster family, which is awesome.

1540
01:18:53,186 --> 01:18:55,605
Working with Sandi,
she was kind of like the mom here.

1541
01:18:55,689 --> 01:18:58,567
She gave us all
a lot of chances.

1542
01:18:58,650 --> 01:19:01,153
There's some stuff
we got away with, that…

1543
01:19:01,236 --> 01:19:03,673
it was a little bit borderline,
but we had a lot of fun working here.

1544
01:19:03,697 --> 01:19:07,159
She put up with a lot of tomfoolery,
and just kind of messing around.

1545
01:19:07,242 --> 01:19:08,928
It was a really fun place
to work, for sure.

1546
01:19:08,952 --> 01:19:10,096
Working with Sandi was awesome.

1547
01:19:10,120 --> 01:19:12,664
And she's still like
my favorite boss, out of all of them.

1548
01:19:12,748 --> 01:19:15,459
Like she's so like
understanding and sweet,

1549
01:19:15,542 --> 01:19:17,127
and she's really amazing.

1550
01:19:18,086 --> 01:19:19,838
Best boss you'll ever have.
Hands down.

1551
01:19:19,921 --> 01:19:22,924
I'm trying to think of…
my niece has worked here,

1552
01:19:23,008 --> 01:19:25,278
and my nephew worked here,
and my sister-in-law worked here

1553
01:19:25,302 --> 01:19:26,970
and all three of my sons worked here.

1554
01:19:27,053 --> 01:19:31,099
Let's see, Ken Tisher
and both his kids worked here.

1555
01:19:31,183 --> 01:19:34,644
Adam Cheek and his sister
both worked here.

1556
01:19:34,728 --> 01:19:36,480
They're not here unfortunately.

1557
01:19:36,605 --> 01:19:40,066
Yeah, we had so many families work here,
it's just crazy.

1558
01:19:40,150 --> 01:19:41,902
I can't even think of
all of them right now.

1559
01:19:41,985 --> 01:19:43,779
I know I'm missing somebody,
I'm sorry,

1560
01:19:43,862 --> 01:19:46,490
but we had so many families,
and we loved them all.

1561
01:19:47,365 --> 01:19:50,160
- Anybody who's not afraid to get wet.
- Okay, let's do this.

1562
01:19:58,460 --> 01:20:00,796
And actually, Dan did
an excellent job while I was gone.

1563
01:20:00,879 --> 01:20:02,547
I came back, the store looked fantastic.

1564
01:20:02,672 --> 01:20:03,912
Bathroom floor could be mopped,

1565
01:20:03,965 --> 01:20:05,884
but other than that,
the store looks great.

1566
01:20:06,718 --> 01:20:08,678
Yeah, I knew
he was listening to me.

1567
01:20:14,351 --> 01:20:15,602
Just a second.

1568
01:20:17,020 --> 01:20:18,480
Hi, this is Sandi.

1569
01:20:32,285 --> 01:20:34,579
Okay, great. Thanks. Thank you.

1570
01:20:41,461 --> 01:20:44,840
Well, Brad and I were talking
about the day that we may retire

1571
01:20:44,923 --> 01:20:47,384
and so we're talking about
doing the snowboard thing.

1572
01:20:47,467 --> 01:20:50,512
And he keeps laughing going,
"What happens if in six years,

1573
01:20:50,595 --> 01:20:53,640
"I retire and Blockbuster's still open?
What are we gonna do?"

1574
01:20:53,723 --> 01:20:56,494
And I was like, "Well, you know already,
I'm going down with the ship."

1575
01:20:56,518 --> 01:20:59,062
So, I am not leaving
till Blockbuster leaves.

1576
01:20:59,187 --> 01:21:03,233
And so, who knows,
maybe I won't be retiring in six years.

1577
01:21:03,316 --> 01:21:04,776
Might be a really good thing.

1578
01:21:05,944 --> 01:21:08,697
Sandi, what was
that phone call about?

1579
01:21:08,780 --> 01:21:11,700
Uh, well, they're gonna let us renew
our licensing agreement again,

1580
01:21:11,783 --> 01:21:14,995
which means we get to stay open,
which is awesome news.

1581
01:21:15,078 --> 01:21:16,678
Can't ask for anything better than that.

1582
01:21:18,790 --> 01:21:21,459
So, the little Blockbuster
that could survives…

1583
01:21:21,585 --> 01:21:23,003
for now.

1584
01:21:23,336 --> 01:21:26,214
We ask Ken what it would take
to keep the store open indefinitely.

1585
01:21:26,298 --> 01:21:28,633
He responded with one word.

1586
01:21:28,800 --> 01:21:29,885
Customers.

1587
01:21:30,010 --> 01:21:32,554
So, I guess if you want
a video store in your town,

1588
01:21:32,637 --> 01:21:35,348
get out there
and start cruising the aisles.

1589
01:21:35,473 --> 01:21:38,935
If someone had said to me,
"Oh, this is gonna stop being a thing."

1590
01:21:39,019 --> 01:21:40,979
I'd be like,
"You're out of your mind.

1591
01:21:41,062 --> 01:21:43,356
"They're everywhere.
Everybody loves it.

1592
01:21:43,440 --> 01:21:46,276
"Nobody I know doesn't rent movies."

1593
01:21:46,776 --> 01:21:50,113
It's a thing we do in our society.

1594
01:21:50,655 --> 01:21:52,657
You know, and I get it,

1595
01:21:52,741 --> 01:21:55,952
this thing of, you know,
having things so easily accessible.

1596
01:21:56,036 --> 01:21:59,873
Just having movies
on your phone is way easier

1597
01:21:59,956 --> 01:22:01,625
than getting on your stupid bike,

1598
01:22:01,708 --> 01:22:04,794
or asking your stupid dad
to get in your stupid car

1599
01:22:04,878 --> 01:22:06,963
and take you down
to the stupid Blockbuster.

1600
01:22:07,047 --> 01:22:11,217
But being a kid that grew up
with this other thing,

1601
01:22:11,301 --> 01:22:13,428
you know, I missed the physical.

1602
01:22:13,511 --> 01:22:18,767
I mean, how long until studios, companies,
don't even make DVDs, period.

1603
01:22:19,809 --> 01:22:22,187
And then, I don't know what… Um…

1604
01:22:24,022 --> 01:22:26,107
It's sort of vulnerable
in a weird way, like,

1605
01:22:26,191 --> 01:22:28,109
picking your movie
in front of people,

1606
01:22:28,193 --> 01:22:30,570
and there's that man over there
and these kids over there,

1607
01:22:30,654 --> 01:22:32,447
and you're in this communal space.

1608
01:22:32,530 --> 01:22:35,408
The community aspect is so amazing.

1609
01:22:35,492 --> 01:22:38,161
The video store is a community hub,
like any other community hub.

1610
01:22:38,244 --> 01:22:40,705
Like a movie theater,
like a rec center,

1611
01:22:40,789 --> 01:22:43,124
it allows us
to connect with each other.

1612
01:22:43,208 --> 01:22:45,627
The video store is the place,
but often times,

1613
01:22:45,710 --> 01:22:48,588
it's just a conduit for us to have
conversations with other humans,

1614
01:22:48,672 --> 01:22:51,675
and that's really beautiful, and something
we will never get with streaming.

1615
01:22:52,717 --> 01:22:55,553
My feeling on the video store

1616
01:22:55,637 --> 01:23:00,100
is it may find second life
the way the record store did

1617
01:23:00,183 --> 01:23:05,438
because so many of us grew up
having this wonderful experience of

1618
01:23:05,522 --> 01:23:09,234
warm memories, walking through the door,
looking, hunting for that latest release.

1619
01:23:09,317 --> 01:23:11,152
Bring it up to the counter, chit-chat,

1620
01:23:11,236 --> 01:23:12,696
and them giving you something back.

1621
01:23:12,779 --> 01:23:14,419
You gotta have this back
in a couple days.

1622
01:23:14,781 --> 01:23:17,659
They'll always be
someone out there

1623
01:23:17,742 --> 01:23:19,285
wanting to keep that alive.

1624
01:23:19,411 --> 01:23:23,623
Keep the fires of that wonderful,
nostalgic sentimental memory,

1625
01:23:23,707 --> 01:23:24,833
like, burning.

1626
01:23:24,958 --> 01:23:29,170
The streaming services are not as much
of a physical, emotional experience,

1627
01:23:30,088 --> 01:23:34,175
and when we start taking those physical,
emotional experiences away,

1628
01:23:34,259 --> 01:23:37,512
what are we gonna be left with
but a black screen?

1629
01:23:52,277 --> 01:23:54,404
- You're filming me, aren't you?
- Yeah.

1630
01:23:57,323 --> 01:23:58,992
Yes.

1631
01:23:59,075 --> 01:24:01,202
I'm like, "Honey, we're going to Oregon."

1632
01:24:02,662 --> 01:24:05,123
You know what I like
about the Blockbuster,

1633
01:24:05,206 --> 01:24:07,625
is it's a block and it's a buster.

1634
01:24:07,709 --> 01:24:11,129
And together they make
a Blockbuster with a video.

1635
01:24:11,212 --> 01:24:13,798
I wonder how many
of my videos are in there.

1636
01:24:13,882 --> 01:24:18,845
You know, it's crazy because
I do movies I'm in…

1637
01:24:18,928 --> 01:24:21,056
and you go to Blockbuster…

1638
01:24:21,139 --> 01:24:24,267
I would sit for hours doing,

1639
01:24:24,350 --> 01:24:27,145
looking, watching, wondering,

1640
01:24:27,228 --> 01:24:28,438
am I in this?

1641
01:24:28,563 --> 01:24:32,275
This is Hollywood.
This is the Johnny Carson

1642
01:24:32,358 --> 01:24:34,611
of, you know, my hometown.

1643
01:24:34,694 --> 01:24:37,530
So, I feel like
Blockbuster just had this

1644
01:24:37,614 --> 01:24:40,366
energy and aura around it
that made you feel like

1645
01:24:40,450 --> 01:24:42,410
it was all happening there.

1646
01:24:42,494 --> 01:24:44,329
And you'll make it
a Blockbuster night.

1647
01:24:45,246 --> 01:24:47,749
Even now, it's a very satisfying
sound for me,

1648
01:24:47,832 --> 01:24:49,417
the closing of the video cassette

1649
01:24:49,501 --> 01:24:53,588
getting, uh, the corners to meet,
and, uh…

1650
01:24:53,671 --> 01:24:56,132
that's a physical sensation
that I had.

1651
01:24:56,216 --> 01:24:59,385
You know, there's a click
when you open up a video cassette.

1652
01:24:59,469 --> 01:25:02,555
There's a satisfying feeling
of loading on the front loader…

1653
01:25:03,723 --> 01:25:06,267
you could feel and hear
the loading situation.

1654
01:25:07,060 --> 01:25:10,063
I did do, I remember now,
I did do a photo shoot

1655
01:25:10,146 --> 01:25:12,148
right when The O.C. came out,

1656
01:25:12,315 --> 01:25:15,276
I did a photo shoot in like
a Blockbuster shirt. Like throwing…

1657
01:25:15,360 --> 01:25:17,779
Maybe you saw it…
yeah, yeah, yeah.

1658
01:25:18,196 --> 01:25:20,782
As if I was some cinephile,
which I wasn't.

1659
01:25:20,865 --> 01:25:25,620
It genuinely feels like this is a place
that could last indefinitely

1660
01:25:25,703 --> 01:25:27,956
because it still has
the brand new movies.

1661
01:25:28,039 --> 01:25:32,544
It still has sodas and candy and popcorn
and everything people want,

1662
01:25:32,627 --> 01:25:35,130
but it also has people there that care…

1663
01:25:35,213 --> 01:25:38,091
that care that
you're not renting garbage.

1664
01:25:38,174 --> 01:25:40,718
That care that you're gonna
walk out with a smile on your face,

1665
01:25:40,802 --> 01:25:44,139
as opposed to angry
that they didn't have what you want.

1666
01:25:44,848 --> 01:25:47,517
Many, if not most,
businesses around the country

1667
01:25:47,600 --> 01:25:48,852
are shut down right now.

1668
01:25:49,018 --> 01:25:51,312
But there's one establishment
in Bend, Oregon,

1669
01:25:51,396 --> 01:25:54,149
that refuses
to surrender to anything.

1670
01:25:54,232 --> 01:25:58,153
Not even the coronavirus
can stop the last Blockbuster on Earth.

1671
01:25:58,319 --> 01:25:59,404
It's still open.

1672
01:26:00,029 --> 01:26:03,700
The movie rental business is offering
curbside pickup during the pandemic.

1673
01:26:03,783 --> 01:26:05,577
Customers can call the store
ahead of time,

1674
01:26:05,660 --> 01:26:08,121
order a movie and pull right up
to the front to grab it.

1675
01:26:08,204 --> 01:26:10,707
Store's general manager says
they'll survive this challenge

1676
01:26:10,790 --> 01:26:14,669
for the same reasons they've stayed
in business all these years.

1677
01:26:14,836 --> 01:26:15,920
Good for Blockbuster.

1678
01:26:16,004 --> 01:26:17,839
If they can make it, so can we.

1679
01:26:23,595 --> 01:26:25,722
♪ Make it one of those nights ♪

1680
01:26:26,431 --> 01:26:29,058
♪ Whoa, whoa ♪

1681
01:26:29,267 --> 01:26:31,895
♪ Make it one of those nights ♪