Before two Bend filmmakers created their documentary “The Last Blockbuster,” they thought it would be funny if their movie appeared on Netflix.
As the most popular streaming service in the world, Netflix led to the demise of video rental stores such as Blockbuster, which went from about 9,000 stores at its peak to just one off Third Street in Bend.
Starting Monday, the unexpected will happen. The Blockbuster documentary will be available on Netflix. The film, which director Taylor Morden created with filmmaker Zeke Kamm, is expected to be on the platform for at least a year.
“The irony is not lost on us,” Morden said. “Netflix and Blockbuster had a fascinating relationship and that’s a big part of the story we are telling with the documentary.”
Morden and Kamm pitched their film to Netflix through their distributor, 1091 Pictures. The film frames Netflix as the antagonist that dominated the home video marketplace so it was a strange pitch, Morden said.
“We knew it was weird to say, ‘Hey Netflix we made a movie. You are kind of the bad guys in the movie, but we still think your audience would get a kick out of it’,” Morden said.
The documentary highlights how Netflix did not act maliciously. The company simply made better business decisions and changed the way people enjoy home movies by allowing them to choose films from home rather than travel to a video rental store.
In fact, the film details how Blockbuster had a chance to buy Netflix.
“Through some amount of hubris and arrogance, Blockbuster decides it doesn’t need it,” Morden said. “Netflix rises to become the dominant force in home video entertainment. Then fast forward to 2021, and our little documentary about how all that happened is on Netflix.”
Beyond the business side of Blockbuster, the film explores the nostalgia around video stores and how the Bend location outlasted all the other Blockbusters.
The film follows Bend Blockbuster manager Sandi Harding as she learns her store became the last on Earth. The only other Blockbuster in Perth, Australia, closed in March 2019.
Morden, a director, cinematographer and editor who has mostly made independent documentaries in his career, said it is a thrill for him and Kamm to have their documentary end up on a worldwide platform such as Netflix.
“Getting anything on Netflix or any major streaming platform is a huge deal,” Morden said. “This is the Hollywood ending for Zeke and I.”
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