She’s got the market cornered.
Vinyl came back. Maybe VHS will too.
Blockbusted
I have access to a network of libraries that,together,have just about every English language DVD ever released...as well as a fair number of Blurays. No need for Blockbuster...or HBO...or Netflix.
People come in to TALK.
If they know their movies - they will stay open.
I hope they invested all those rewind and late fees wisely.
****************
SUSAN: So, what have you got there?
GEORGE: Oh, I, uh—
SUSAN: Oh, ``Rochelle, Rochelle’’
GEORGE: It’s a foreign movie... a *film*, is what it is, actually.
SUSAN: Yeah... A lot of nudity in that, huh?
GEORGE: No, no, no... Just a *tiny* bit... It’s not even *frontal* nudity. It’s... *sidal* nudity...
CLERK: Next.
GEORGE: Oh, that’s me.
SUSAN: Alright, well... Good seeing you, George.
GEORGE: Yes, good to see you, too. And Good luck with, uh... with the whole thing, there.
CLERK: Uh, what are you returning?
GEORGE: [embarrassed pause] ``Rochelle, Rochelle’’.
CLERK: Ah, ``Rochelle, Rochelle’’... “A young girl’s strange, erotic journey from Milan to Minsk”...
CLERK: Uh, that’ll be, uh... $3.49.
GEORGE: $3.49? It says $1.49.
CLERK: Well, you didn’t rewind it. There’s a $2.00 charge for not rewinding.
GEORGE: What! There’s no signs here! This is an outrage!
KRAMER: George, don’t give him any money for that. It’ll cost you less to keep it another day, rewind it and bring it back tomorrow. Don’t give him the satisfaction.
GEORGE: I’m not giving you the satisfaction. I’m gonna watch it again...
**********
[Cut to the video store where George tells the clerk about the video. Susan shows up and George asks her]
GEORGE: Listen, I gotta ask you: I was a little concerned that perhaps I was responsible in some way for your, uh... metamorphosis.
CLERK: That’ll be $98.00.
GEORGE: What $98.00?
CLERK: That’s what I said. $98.00.
GEORGE: How could that piece of *crap* cost $98.00!?
(He borrows $35 from Susan to pay for the movie)
GEORGE: So, was it me?
SUSAN: Oh, don’t be ridiculous! Is that what you wanted to talk to me about? [Gives him the $35] Here.
GEORGE: Oh, thanks. Thanks a lot. I’ll pay you back.
SUSAN: Yeah, *sure*... I gotta go.
GEORGE: Listen. Let me ask you something. If you and Mona were ever to... dance, how do you decide who leads? I mean... do you take turns? Do you discuss it beforehand? How does that work?
SUSAN: You’re an idiot.
GEORGE: Why? That’s a *legitimate* sociological question.
SUSAN: I’ll see ya. And George, by the way... You stink... Real bad.
GEORGE: It’s not me! It’s the car!
Back in the day I would rent movies and write a check to ‘Lackluster Video’. They never noticed.
I remember Blockbuster. Either my HS GF’S dragged me there on Saturday nights or I dragged them Friday nights when we were broke. Good times.
My older brothers went to other VHS and DVD stores with an extra “back” room with lots on umm, interesting titles..
We must be able to learn some deeply meaningful message from what happened with Blockbuster.
I used to be a LaserDisc snob, and my Blockbuster carrried them ...
Wonder if they have any Beta videos there?
Al Bundy will have a very long drive.
And he used to complain about driving to Milwaukee for Beta videos.
I used to be in the video business, we were a local little chain and it was a fun business to be if you loved movies.
There were great perks from the distributors we bought from like Tee shirts, brief cases, all manner of things they gave away. Of course the best perks were the screeners they gave out of the movies that were in the pipe line coming out, sometimes we got stuff three or fours months before stuff came out. I used to have a dual deck VCR and could copy anything and give them to my father who loved movies also.
By the way we had to pay an average of $65 a piece for those VCR’s, so they were not cheap. So you had to rent those out for so many rentals before you made any money on them.
They were fun day and a fun business until DVD’s and sell through stuff destroyed the market.
Our old Blockbuster Video store here in Rogers, AR is now Buster’s Liquor, and the Hollywood Video is now Hollywood Liquor.
Have you noticed how little space Wal Mart now devotes to DVD’s? Used to be there were huge displays of dvd’s on the front cashier line. Now? Not so much...Streaming is where it’s at.
I know a few places in rural Alaska had a Block Buster until recently. It only survived because the area lacked enough broadband internet to stream movies and TV for the community.
Seems like there was a Blockbuster down in Mary Esther, Florida, until just a few years ago.
I visited Bend last March. Great town. I remember seeing the Blockbuster.
