I Found My Hollywood Video Promotional DVDs and Here’s What They Had on Them
When I worked at Hollywood Video and later Blockbuster one of the things I HATED doing was destroying DVDs. Every once in a while we’d get a list with movies and the number of copies to destroy. That meant ripping the cover, scratching the disc or just straight up breaking them. Normally I would put them aside in a box and sit them next to the dumpster. I really hoped someone would come along and grab them. There were certain discs however that I would sneak away in my purse. I’ve always been a guerilla archivist and like Indiana Jones, I knew these belonged in a museum. Or now, Internet Archive. These Hollywood Video promotional discs dodged the dumpster and now have a chance at being viewed again.
What kinds of things were on these? Here’s what I’ve found so far
With a runtime of nearly 2hrs minus a few minutes there are a LOT of trailers. A few things repeat but it’s mostly all different features and movie previews. The promotion that stood out the most was the “Now Hiring” segment. RIP video stores, working there was truly an experience of a lifetime.
Video Store Promotional Disc Preservation Project
I’m looking for people to send them my way so that I can copy them and send them back. It’s one of those things that isn’t highly documented and barely anyone realizes they existed. These would be playing on the TV’s positioned throughout the store playing trailers, music videos and talking about getting a job at Hollywood Video. We would often put a movie on in between playing these, mostly because we were sick of hearing Rhianna’s Umbrella for the umpteenth time.
Currently my husband and I have completed transcribing the December 2006 copy. It’s up on Internet Archive right now. There is also another person who has a few who I had the pleasure of chatting with recently but I’m having trouble linking his page. These discs are rare but there are people out there who have collected them and I’m just connecting with them through this project.
If ANYONE has any please consider sending them my way so that I can transcribe what’s on them, make a copy and send it back. My email address for this is breana@nerdbot.com. I would be happy to even reminisce about the old days working at a video store honestly. I know we’re out there.
NOTE: This project is still in it’s infancy so we’re just getting started. A website will be created soon and we will be updating this post as it happens. Please be patient as this is a passion project from a bunch of Video Store nerds.
