It's time to hit rewind.
Remember when movies were literally at your fingertips, before you had to pay for Netflix and YouTube TV?
Alyssa Kollgaard has recreated that experience outside her home in Sun Valley, where she built and stocked a new Blockbuster “store.”
Kollgaard walks with balloons that will be placed next to the kiosk in front of his house. He said the kiosk holds about 75 DVDs and people can rent them for free.
(Mel Melcón / Los Angeles Times)
With a banner announcing its grand opening, the blue and yellow structure, created in the style of a Little Free Library, is part of a national Free Blockbuster movement in which neighbors can take (or drop off) VHS tapes or DVDs.
Free Blockbusters exist from El Paso to Canada, and crazy moviegoers build them on shelves or newsstands.
“We're seeing a return to physical media,” says Kollgaard, who works in the entertainment industry. “There is a nostalgia around the experience of going to a store and perusing, as well as collecting, so as not to depend on the whim of streaming platforms to watch movies.”
How long does it take for nostalgia to appear?
Apparently about a decade.
The last Blockbuster store in Los Angeles closed in 2013, Buzzfeed News reported at the time.
Kollgaard's kiosk is decorated to look like a Blockbuster.
(Mel Melcón / Los Angeles Times)
The closure came after the huge home video chain filed for bankruptcy in 2010. Thousands of locations across the country were closed.
Today, only one Blockbuster store remains: in Bend, Oregon.
Sure, the selection at Kollgaard's Blockbuster is a little smaller than your neighborhood store. He currently has about 75 movies inside a two-tier display case, including movies like “Failure to Launch” and “Bridesmaids.” Each DVD has a sticker on the front that says “Return to Little Free Blockbuster” along with Kollgaard's address.
Some of the DVDs inside the kiosk.
(Mel Melcón / Los Angeles Times)
Kollgaard also offers a limited selection of books, many of which are often on banned lists, such as “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury and “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley.
Just like the Blockbusters of yesteryear, Kollgaard has also stocked the box with candy, including Red Vines and Sour Patch Kids, as well as popcorn that you can enjoy with your take-home movie.
There is a guest book that people can sign and Kollgaard even plans to make membership cards for those interested.
Recently, someone “rented” a movie and then returned it to the lending library. But Kollgaard expects some DVDs not to be returned, and that's fine, she says, although he requests returns.
Unlike Blockbuster, there are no fees or fines, but there is a “late fee” QR code through which Kollgaard accepts suggestions for running the company.
Film donations are also accepted, and Kollgaard says a set of screenings of 2023 Emmy-nominated shows were recently delivered.
Kollgaard, who has stocked a free food pantry out of his home for two years, says he hopes movie sharing will take off in his neighborhood and beyond. People have already arrived from as far away as Marina del Rey.
Maggie Wilson rents DVDs for free at Kollgaard's house.
(Mel Melcón / Los Angeles Times)
“The reception has been really positive on Reddit, TikTok and in my local community,” he said. “It is definitely intended to be permanent. “It’s completely installed on my fence.”
The nostalgia surrounding the creation of Kollgaard's mini-Blockbuster, first reported by LAist, is perhaps what The Times' “obituary” to the megachain prophesied in 2013.
“Someday, today's teenagers will tell their grandchildren magical stories about how they visited the store with the big blue and yellow sign, how it was filled with video cassettes (later DVDs),” said a Times Opinion article. “Thanks for the memories”, Blockbuster.
