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In 1979, Atkinson invented the concept of video movie rentals. At the time, VCRs were about $1,000, and movies on tape were $50-100. Atkinson, a part time actor, thought, "You listen to Beethoven or the Beatles over and over again. You don't watch Burt Reynolds over and over." He bought 50 movies, charged a $50 yearly membership fee and $10/day for tapes, and was in business. Customers flooded to his Los Angeles store, called Video Station. "He really gave birth to the rental business model," said Bo Andersen, president of the Video Software Dealers Association. Video Station eventually grew to 600 stores. "My only regret is that I couldn't patent it," Atkinson once said. He died March 3 at home in Los Angeles from emphysema. He was 69. From This is True for 6 March 2005 Suggestions for further reading:
 By: Leonard Maltin List Price: $9.99 Amazon Price: $9.99 Editorial Review: The most authoritative book in the field, now with more entries than ever before, updated and revised for 2009.  List Price: $24.95 Amazon Price: $16.47  List Price: $35.00 Amazon Price: $23.10 Editorial Review: This special Fifth Anniversary Edition of the acclaimed film reference guide is packed with virtually everything movie lovers need to know about the films they simply must see. Stephen Jay Schneider and his team of writers have brought the book up to date by including the most memorable movies released during the past five years. Among their new additions are The Queen, The Lives of Others, Brokeback Mountain, and several more recent movies that have attracted worldwide attention. Covering more than a century of filmmaking and dating back to silent-era sensations such as Edwin S. Porter?s The Great Train Robbery and Chaplin?s The Gold Rush, this book describes musicals, dramas, screwball comedies, experimental ?New Wave? films from 1950s and ?60s Italy and France, major films noir, classic westerns, action and adventure films, and even memorable documentaries. It lists each film?s director and cast, presents a plot summary and production notes, and cites interesting, often little-known facts relating to the film?s cast, storyline, and production. For students of cinema, discerning film buffs, DVD collectors, and readers who enjoy thumbing through and reminiscing over cherished screen moments, 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die is the place to start reading. Filled with 800 movie still shots and actors? photos.  By: Leonard Maltin List Price: $20.00 Amazon Price: $13.00 Editorial Review: From Leonard Maltin, author of the bestselling annual Movie Guide, comes this guide to classic movies. Leonard Maltin?s Classic Movie Guide includes more than 7,000 capsule reviews of classic movies, including: The Birth of a Nation (1915), Gone With the Wind (1939), The Philadelphia Story (1940), High Noon (1952), and Guess Who?s Coming to Dinner (1967). In addition, this unique volume also offers a star and director index, a full listing of classic movies on DVD, and Leonard Maltin?s unique Top Ten lists. The result is an authoritative, dynamic guide to the classics no film aficionado should be without.  By: Roger Ebert List Price: $29.99 Amazon Price: $19.79 Editorial Review: Nobody has been more important in telling Americans why we should love film than Roger Ebert." --Michael Shamberg, Editor and Publisher Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic Roger Ebert presents more than 650 full-length critical movie reviews, along with interviews, essays, tributes, film festival reports, and Q and As from Questions for the Movie Answer Man. Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2009 collects more than two years' worth of his engaging film critiques. From Bee Movie to Darfur Now to No Country for Old Men, and from Juno to Persepolis to La Vie en Rose, Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2009 includes every review Ebert has written from January 2006 to June 2008. Also included in the Yearbook, which boasts 65 percent new content, are: * Interviews with newsmakers, such as Juno director Jason Reitman and Jerry Seinfeld, a touching tribute to Deborah Kerr, and an emotional letter of appreciation to Werner Herzog. * Essays on film issues, and tributes to actors and directors who died during the year. * Daily film festival reports from Cannes, Toronto, Sundance, and Telluride. * All-new questions and answers from his Questions for the Movie Answer Man columns. |
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