The filmmakers behind the documentary film The Last Blockbuster are trying to track down Russell Crowe‘s missing jock strap from Cinderella Man.
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While making the documentary, currently on Kickstarter, director Taylor Morden and producer Zeke Kamm were tracking down the movie memorabilia that had been sent to the second-to-last Blockbuster in Alaska by Last Week Tonight host John Oliver. While some of the Russell Crowe memorabilia is on its way to the last surviving Blockbuster in Bend, Oregon, the filmmakers were shocked to discover that the whereabouts of the infamous ‘jock strap’ are currently unknown.
Now that the Alaska stores are closing for good, fans want the jock strap moved to Bend, to reside at the last remaining Blockbuster store. So the question is, “Where in the World is Russell Crowe’s Codpiece?”
The jock strap was one of a number of pieces of wardrobe and memorabilia donated to one of Alaska’s Blockbuster stores as part of a sketch by Oliver. At the time, he said that he hoped the memorabilia, particularly the codpiece, would attract new customers for the stores. At some point in the Alaska locations’ liquidation sale, though, the prop was apparently lost or taken.
“When we started this film, we never thought we’d be searching for celebrity undies,” Kamm said in a statement.
“To make a great documentary film, you have to go where the story takes you,” Morden added. “Even if takes you ‘down under.’”
Filmmakers have reached out to both John Oliver and Russell Crowe in an attempt to get to the bottom of this.
The film, which follows the rise and fall of Blockbuster Video and the last remaining store, is currently in production and will be out spring 2019. The Kickstarter campaign for the film is currently 60% funded with three weeks to go.
You can see the trailer above and the official synopsis for the documentary below.
Blockbuster Video at its peak had over 9000 stores. In 1989 a new store opened every 17 hours! But now there is only 1. What happened?
The Last Blockbuster is located in idyllic Bend Oregon, a modern town overflowing with high-speed internet, a mecca for outdoor adventure enthusiasts. There’s plenty to do year round. How, in a place like this, does The Last Blockbuster Survive? Who are the people who work here, rent videos here, and how did a video rental store chain grow so huge that it impacted the way Hollywood made movies only to crash and burn from 9000 locations to 1?
Now people of all ages are driving from across the country to stand out front of The Last Blockbuster and take their photo next to the iconic Blockbuster sign, to go in and browse like it’s a museum, and to touch the racks and racks of physical media. News outlets from around the globe are covering this last store on their nightly broadcasts.
Think back to a simpler time – before there was a Redbox in every grocery store, before Netflix changed the way you got your movies.
Remember Saturday nights walking up and down the brightly lit aisles stacked with movies, that smell of popcorn, candy, and plastic? Maybe it’s nostalgia for a time when the world seemed less complicated. Maybe it’s a longing for a more tangible world back when you could hold the movies you loved in your hands. Whatever your reason, the world is clearly fascinated by The Last Blockbuster.
The filmmakers have spent the past 9 months (yes, back when there were still a dozen Blockbusters remaining) interviewing the wonderful people at the Bend Blockbuster– the owner, the manager, the employees, and patrons. They’ve been digging through the fascinating history that surrounds not just this store, but all of Blockbuster Video. And now they are ready to get the last batch of interviews, the people outside of Bend, the people they’ve found with the most interesting, most hilarious, and most insightful Blockbuster stories – many of whom starred in, or made, the films you rented from Blockbuster!
