Founded | 2018 |
---|---|
Founder | Brian A Morrison |
Purpose | To combat the myth of scarcity by providing free entertainment to as many people as possible. |
Headquarters | Hollywood, California |
Website | freeblockbuster |
Free Blockbuster is an initiative that promotes neighborhood movie exchanges. The initiative was started in 2019 by film enthusiasts in Los Angeles, including Brian Morrison, a former Blockbuster employee who opened the first site outside of a grocery store in Los Feliz, Los Angeles. [1] [2] Free Blockbuster stands were later installed on the east coast of the United States the following year starting with Richmond, Virginia. [3] Further adoption occurred in the Philadelphia region, with the site in Fishtown becoming the eighteenth Free Blockbuster box installed in the country by November 2020. [1] There are over 200 Free Blockbuster Boxes across the United States as of 2024. [2]
Typically, Free Blockbuster boxes are made by upcycling abandoned newspaper distribution boxes. [4] They use the brand name Blockbuster on the kiosks which feature a Blockbuster logo downloadable from the Free BlockBuster website. [2] [1] Some inspiration was taken from Little Free Library in developing the initiative. [1]
DISH Network L.L.C., often referred to as DISH, an abbreviation for Digital Sky Highway, is an American provider of satellite television and IPTV services and wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation.
You've Got Mail is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Nora Ephron, and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan alongside Parker Posey, Jean Stapleton, Dave Chappelle, Steve Zahn, and Greg Kinnear. Inspired by the 1937 Hungarian play Parfumerie by Miklós László, the screenplay was co-written by Nora and Delia Ephron. It tells the story of two people in an online romance who are unaware they are also business rivals. It marked the third pairing of Hanks and Ryan, who previously appeared together in Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) and Sleepless in Seattle (1993), the latter directed by Ephron. The film takes its name from the greeting AOL users receive when they get a new email.
The red telephone box is a telephone kiosk for a public telephone designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the architect responsible for Liverpool Cathedral.
A video rental shop/store is a physical retail business that rents home videos such as movies, prerecorded TV shows, video game cartridges/discs and other media content. Typically, a rental shop conducts business with customers under conditions and terms agreed upon in a rental agreement or contract, which may be implied, explicit, or written. Many video rental stores also sell previously viewed movies and/or new, unopened movies.
Blockbuster is an American multimedia brand. The business was founded by David Cook in 1985 as a single home video rental shop, but later became a public store chain featuring video game rentals, DVD-by-mail, streaming, video on demand, and cinema theater. The company expanded internationally throughout the 1990s. At its peak in 2004, Blockbuster employed 84,300 people worldwide and operated 9,094 stores.
A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box, telephone box or public call box is a tiny structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience; typically the user steps into the booth and closes the booth door while using the payphone inside.
Publix Super Markets, Inc., doing business as Publix, is an employee-owned American supermarket chain headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, Publix is a private corporation that is wholly owned by present and past employees and members of the Jenkins family. Publix operates throughout the Southeastern United States, with locations in Florida (874), Georgia (217), Alabama (94), South Carolina (69), Tennessee (59), North Carolina (55), Virginia (22), and Kentucky (1). Kentucky is the most recent addition to the Publix footprint, with the company's first store in that state having opened on January 10, 2024, in Louisville.
Video Ezy was an Australian home video rental business that offered titles on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray, as well as console video games, for rent. At its peak in the mid-2000s, Video Ezy had over 500 company-owned and franchised video rental shops in the country, and owned 40% of the Australian video rental market after taking over Blockbuster's Australian operations. The company also expanded internationally into New Zealand and Asia.
Frederick's of Hollywood is an American lingerie brand formerly with stores in shopping malls across the United States. In 2015, all 111 retail stores were closed before a bankruptcy filing. The brand was acquired by Authentic Brands Group and was relaunched as an online-only store, FOH Online Corp. In 2018, Naked Brand Group, Inc. acquired FOH Online Corp.
Redbox Automated Retail, LLC was an American video rental and streaming media company, based in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois. Redbox specialized in automated DVD rental kiosks, and also operated transactional and ad-supported streaming video and television services. From 2022 until its liquidation, Redbox was a wholly owned subsidiary of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment.
An interactive kiosk is a computer terminal featuring specialized hardware and software that provides access to information and applications for communication, commerce, entertainment, or education.
LA County Library is one of the largest public library systems in the United States which serves residents living in 49 of the 88 incorporated cities of Los Angeles County, California. United States, and those living in unincorporated areas resulting in a service area extending over 3,000 square miles (7,800 km2). The LA County Library system provides local libraries to several unincorporated areas and cities across Los Angeles County.
Fotomat was an American retail chain of photo development drive-through kiosks located primarily in shopping center parking lots. Fotomat Corporation was founded by Preston Fleet in San Diego, California, in the 1960s, with the first kiosk opening in Point Loma, California, in 1965. Fotomat became a public company in 1971 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 1977. At its peak around 1980, there were over 4,000 Fotomats throughout the United States, primarily in suburban areas. Fotomats were distinctive for their pyramid-shaped gold-colored roofs and signs with blue and red lettering. Usually positioned in a large parking area, such as a supermarket or strip mall, the Fotomat huts required a minimal amount of land and were able to accommodate cars driving up to drop off or pick up film. Fotomat sold Kodak and Fotomat brand film, as well as other photography-related products, and offered overnight photo finishing. Many people assumed Fotomat was owned by Kodak, because of the yellow roofs and font similar to Kodak packaging. Fotomat also made filmstrips for school, when teachers wanted to have a custom captioned or sound filmstrip made, the Teacher could use the Fotomat filmstrip development service, but teachers would have to take the pictures on blank 35mm single frame film and record the soundtrack on a cassette tape, then they would take them to the Fotomat booth, and the film and cassette tape would be sent to the Fotomat Lab to be produced.
The New Release was a company that owned and operated DVD rental kiosks. The company was based in Houston and was part of privately held TNR Entertainment Corp. TNR was acquired by NCR in 2009. NCR had in 2008 partnered with Blockbuster to establish a channel for kiosk DVD rentals, and TNR's acquisition furthered this aim. NCR's DVD kiosks were purchased by Redbox in 2012
Fast & Furious is a 2009 action film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan. It is the direct sequel to The Fast and the Furious (2001) and 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) as well as the fourth installment in the Fast & Furious franchise. It stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster. In the film, Dominic Toretto (Diesel) and FBI agent Brian O'Conner (Walker) are forced to work together to avenge the murder of Toretto's lover Letty Ortiz (Rodriguez) and apprehend drug lord Arturo Braga.
Book swapping or book exchange is the practice of a swap of books between one person and another. Practiced among book groups, friends and colleagues at work, it provides an inexpensive way for people to exchange books, find out about new books and obtain a new book to read without having to pay. Because swaps occur between individuals, without central distribution or warehousing, and without the copyright owner making a profit, the practice has been compared to peer-to-peer (P2P) systems such as BitTorrent—except that hard-copy original analog objects are exchanged.
Little Free Library is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes neighborhood book exchanges, usually in the form of a public bookcase. More than 150,000 public book exchanges are registered with the organization and branded as Little Free Libraries. Through Little Free Libraries, present in 115 countries, millions of books are exchanged each year, with the aim of increasing access to books for readers of all ages and backgrounds. The Little Free Library nonprofit organization is based in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States.
John Antioco is an American businessman, an 8-time CEO for iconic American brands including Circle K, Taco Bell, Blockbuster Video, TGI Fridays and PF Chang’s. He is now chairman of the board of directors at BRIX Holdings LLC and the Managing Partner of JAMCO Interests LLC.
DirecTV Cinema is DirecTV's video on demand and pay-per-view platform for film content. Films are released as is done on other pay-TV services, along with exclusive film premieres priced at premium rates before entering theatrical distribution.