13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
An L.A. video store with a theater has become a retro-cool attraction
LOS ANGELES — If you ask Vidiots executive director Maggie Mackay why the video rental store and theater is a buzzy hive of activity in the age of streaming and megaplexes, she'll respond with a story. This being Los Angeles, it obviously stars celebrities.
The setting is Santa Monica, 2016. Vidiots, a cultural cornerstone for more than 30 years, was on the brink of closing because of changing tastes in entertainment. One June day, a note scrawled on a scrap of paper appeared in the store like a critical plot point in a Hallmark movie.
