The true story of Netflix’s blockbuster and the brand’s last video rental

Gen Z will never know the unbridled joy of a Friday night outing to Blockbuster. Sure, the movie you originally planned to rent was never available, but remember that little membership card? The giant cups of sweet, plastic-tasting popcorn? Coming back home, sticking the pick in the VHS player and realizing within minutes that you made a terrible choice? Man what a time to be alive.

Unfortunately, the nasty streaming platforms (boo, hiss) arrived in the noughties and this whole scene was confined to the bargain bucket. This was the digital revolution, the age of Netflix and Co., when stationary rental shops soon became obsolete.

So it’s quite ironic that Netflix specifically launched a new series about blockbusters the last blockbuster in America, called – you’ll never guess! – blockbuster. The 10-episode comedy show from showrunner Vanessa Ramos (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Supermarket), features Randall Park (veep, degrees off the boat) as Timmy, the manager who refuses to yell “Cut” at his beloved shop.

Where is the last blockbuster store in the world?

The last blockbuster store in America, as it became known, is in Bend, Oregon. If you are familiar with the area, you can find the location at the intersection of US Route 20 and Revere Avenue. It was first opened in 1992 by Ken and Debbie Tischer and later became part of the national franchise in 2000.

However, in 2014, Blockbuster LLC closed all of its captive stores, leaving just 50 in the world. Four years later it became the last store in America, and when an outpost in Australia closed permanently in 2019, it became the last in the world.

In 2019 Oregon Live reported from the store via the Associated Press about his unique award. The managing director was Sandi Harding, who says she had worked at the store for 15 years and was credited with keeping it all running: “For one thing, it’s pure stubbornness. We didn’t want to give up. We did everything we could to reduce costs and stay relevant.”

The guard also interviewed Harding in 2019, and she explained the store’s appeal and its history: “People have come from all over the world to rent films: we’ve established nearly 5,000 new memberships. Maybe 20% of those were one-time users who just wanted the Blockbuster card, but the rest are repeat customers to varying degrees.

“A guy came from Spain; He had worked there for Blockbuster and when he arrived he burst into tears and started FaceTiming his old manager. Another family drove up from across the US. They wanted to rent a movie so their kids could relive the experience, but their hotel room didn’t have a DVD player so they had to buy one.”

Oregon Live also noted that a documentary was being made at the time about the story behind the store, which later became the 2020s The last blockbuster in America:

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Director, Zeke Kamm, spoke about the culture of the ‘Buster’: “I think most people don’t remember the movie they chose when they think about renting videos – when they’re the right age. but they remember who they walked with and the freedom of walking the aisle. In a lot of cities, the Blockbuster was the only place open after nine o’clock, and many of them stayed open until midnight, so kids who weren’t crooks came here and watched movies and fell in love with movies.”

Netflix

Can I visit the very last blockbuster?

Yes. At the time of writing it is still open. A key appeal of a visit to the Bend shop is the fire merch: Now that it’s a real tourist hotspot, you can pick up anything from blue and yellow branded sweatshirts, t-shirts, mugs, magnets, bumper stickers, hats and caps to commemorate your nostalgic pilgrimage. Sign up with us Blockbuster bucket hat$15 and a tie-dye top$24 pls.

At the moment the doors to this journey into film memory are still open. Harding said, “We have a few years of lease left and as long as we can keep paying our staff we’re staying open… I’ve seen enough movies to realize it all has an end – but hopefully the end of this story is a long way off.” .”

blockbuster Streams on Netflix starting November 3rd.