Sponsored message
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Arts & Entertainment

A Video Store With 14,000 Copies Of 'Jerry Maguire' On VHS Is Coming To L.A.

jerry_640.jpg
(Image courtesy of Everything Is Terrible!)

Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.

Have an old copy of Jerry Maguire on VHS sitting around? How about 14,000 of them?

That's what the found video mavens at Chicago's Everything Is Terrible! have, and their collection only continues to grow. Since 2008, the EIT! crew has been on a quest to collect every copy of the Cameron Crowe-helmed, feel-good, catch phrase-introducing movie on cassette. While they almost certainly have the largest collection in existence (unless Sony has a warehouse of them somewhere), they're far from complete. It's the best-selling non-Disney VHS of all time, with estimates topping at least 8 million.

So what do you do with such a collection? Build a pyramid out of them and put it in the desert, obviously. “That is hilarious. But why?” someone who worked on the movie told LAist.


SHOW ME THE MONEY (Photo by Jim Newberry)
Of course buying the land and constructing it won't come cheap. Everything Is Terrible! is collaborating with iam8bit's Echo Park gallery to bring a pop-up video store (remember those?) where their whole collection will be put on display. "Seeing thousands of Jerrys finally reunited will forever destroy the viewers' previous perception of culture, waste, and existence as a whole," EIT! says of the event. "The Jerrys are a beautiful thing."

The Jerry Maguire Video Store will be at iam8bit from January 13 to 29, and to raise money they'll be hosting events and performances, including those from Daedelus, Versace Tamagotchi, and showcases from Burger Records and Permanent Records.

Can't make it out to The Jerry Maguire Video Store but still want to help them achieve "the stupidest incarnation of the American dream" ever? You donate money or Jerrys via their GoFundMe or mail to:

Sponsored message
Everything is Terrible!
P.O. Box 50825
Los Angeles, CA 90050 USA

Donate enough and you might find yourself on their donation leaderboard, though you might have a hard time topping the current leader, who contributed 1,343 (he or she topped "The First Place Coolguys"—hah!).

iam8bit is located at 2147 Sunset Blvd. in Echo Park. The Jerry Maguire Video Store will run from Jan. 13 to 29, noon to 10 p.m. each day. You can purchase tickets to events here.

Related: The Best Video Stores In Los Angeles

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible year-end gift today

A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right