Vidiots 2.0 finds new home in Eagle Rock

(Photos courtesy of Vidiots/Archival Photo Courtesy the Eagle Rock Valley Historical Society.)

Remember Vidiots? The 1980s Los-Angeles based video rental hub for film enthusiasts? 

For nearly three decades, L.A. natives Patty Polinger and Cathy Tauber hand-picked their collection of more than 50,000 diverse films in various formats for cinephiles. Actors such as Keanu Reeves would rent films to prepare for his latest roles. Film runners left sets to run to Vidiots for research during production. 

The Santa Monica store closed in 2017 due to rising costs but on July 19, Polinger and Tauber announced that Vidiots would reopen at the Eagle Theatre in Eagle Rock in the spring of 2022. 

The revamped Vidiots will enable people to explore its extensive DVD, Blu-ray and VHS collection, and also will boast a 250-seat theater, where people can catch new films and attend surprise mystery screenings.

“People really want it,” said Maggie Mackay, executive director of the nonprofit Vidiots Foundation. “They’re hungry for it.” 

“It’s like a record or music store,” Tauber added. “People don’t realize how much they miss it until [they] go in. I think people miss the discovery and the browsing. And having a clerk you know say, ‘Oh, you probably would like this.’ And meeting people who like to talk about movies.”

Vidiots also has major backing from industry leaders including Mark Duplass, Patton Oswalt, Amy Pascal and Aubrey Plaza, as well as organizations including Film Independent, Occidental College’s Media Arts & Culture Department, Sundance Institute, Transgender Film Center, UCLA Film &Television Archive and Women in Film. 

Between the support, the new programming and the inventory, Polinger said the new Vidiots will be a way to preserve film history for future film lovers.

“We’ve gotten this far,” Mackay said, “because of the community and really great companies who really care and know that supporting this means longevity for film in L.A.”

Vidiots already has raised $1 million of its $2.5 million goal. Learn more here.