Blockbuster Blog

Lately, we’ve had some reports of shipping delays for BLOCKBUSTER Online DVDs. As it turns out, a recent update to our system created a shipping hiccup for some customers returning their movies to a store. It took a little longer for returned movies to clear Queues and, in turn, longer to receive the next movie from us.

While I don’t know the exact specifics, I do know it involves businessy words like “sigma” and a bunch of confusing acronyms. Anyway, I’m happy to report that after a lot of hard work by software engineers, distribution logisticians, and many other people who are much smarter than I, the issue has been fixed! We apologize for any longer-than-normal wait-times you may have experienced.

If you’re still having shipping delays after you return a BLOCKBUSTER Online movie to the store, please contact Customer Care.

You know, I always get excited about the idea of a summer road trip, but the reality can be a bit too much to handle: long stretches of time in a cramped car, bad food, and smokies always on your six (note: your road trip experience may differ).

Luckily, we’ve put together a virtual movie road trip, so you can see the country from the comfort of your roomy, air-conditioned home. Our fancy map lets you visit each state in the contiguous United States (sorry, Alaska and Hawaii), and see a select list of movies that were set and/or filmed there. If you’re a BLOCKBUSTER Online subscriber, you can add the movies to your Queue right from the map.

But that’s not all, sports fans! We also have a new group on Flickr where you can upload your movie-related travel photos. If you’ve ever taken a pic at a famous movie or TV location, we’d love for you to share it with the group. Katz’s Delicatessen in New York from When Harry Met Sally, Platform 9 3/4 in London from Harry Potter, the Dallas City Hall that served as the OCP headquarters in Robocop (true story!), etc.

So take a virtual trip or share the fruits of your real trip, all through the power of the internets!

Edit: I did not mean to include the remake of Bad News Bears. It was supposed to link to the original. The problem has been fixed, and those responsible have been sacked.

Baseball has been very, very good to movies. And vice versa. Even if you aren’t a huge fan of the game, you probably love at least a couple of movies about it. There are a few good flicks about football, basketball, hockey, etc. — and one mindbogglingy fantastic film about arm wrestling — but there are tons of great baseball movies.

Since the MLB season is in full swing (wordplay!) and the NCAA tournament is just getting started, I thought I’d share my top ten baseball movies:

1) The Natural
2) Field of Dreams
3) Bull Durham
4) Bang the Drum Slowly
5) The Pride of the Yankees
6) Eight Men Out
7) A League of Their Own
8) The Sandlot
9) The Bad News Bears
10) Major League

For even more on hardball, check out our Baseball Movies & TV List.

Today we have a guest blogger: Scott Hinze, Web Content Producer here at Blockbuster Online.

Monsters! Aliens! Commercials! They’re all popping out of movie and television screens in 3-D this year. Some call it a gimmick. Others believe it could revolutionize the way movies are made and consumed. But regardless of your personal tastes on the eye-popping phenomenon, one thing is clear: it’s coming right for us!

Before this year’s over-hyped Super Bowl ads, even before Disney’s Captain EO, 1950s America was captivated by 3-D’s anaglyphic images in titles like Robot Monster, Kiss Me Kate, It Came from Outer Space and the original House of Wax. Half a century ago, it was no fad — in theaters across the country, the 3-D movement was seen as just as viable a step-up in the viewing experience as color and sound. During the Cold War, as people became nostalgic for the innocence of the sci-fi flicks of the 50s, a new wave of 3-D movies hit theaters, pairing the flinch-inducing effect with the super-popular horror genre to produce Parasite, Friday the 13th Part 3, Amityville 3-D, and Starchaser: The Legend of Orin. There was, however, a massive gap between 1991’s Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare and 2003’s Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, when emerging computer graphic effects artists weren’t experimenting with 3-D. But once Hollywood’s computers were upgraded, IMAX and conventional theaters began to see profits in making the expensive conversion to support 3-D films. The trend slowly continued with releases like The Polar Express, Chicken Little, Beowulf and other big-budget animated movies.

This year, 3-D flicks have captured the attention of movie-goers (arguably) more than any other time, and the heads of both DreamWorks and Disney have caught on. Both animation houses will now be making all of their releases in 3-D. For 2009 alone, My Bloody Valentine 3-D, Coraline, Jonas Brothers, Monsters Vs. Aliens, Battle for Terra, Up, Ice Age 3, Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince, G-Force, Final Destination: Death Trip 3-D, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Disney’s A Christmas Carol and Avatar will all be available in full 3-D glory. Grab your glasses and prepare for low-flying objects — this “gimmick” doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere.

Today we have a special guest blogger: Bob Barr, General Manager of Blockbuster Online. He’ll be writing regularly for the blog. Give him a warm internet welcome!

Finally!!! Or so I overheard my staff say (I haven’t yet told them I have 0-0 hearing — the equivalent of 0-0 vision, which is even better than the 20-20 we all know is considered perfect) when I wrote this, my first of many blog entries to come. I am relatively new to Blockbuster, and you don’t yet know who am I, where I came from, what do I intend to do, yada yada. So I thought I’d start by introducing myself not simply as the new guy in charge, but as the movie consumer that I am. My:

• All time favorite movie: Dr. Zhivago
• Most recently rented and watched movie: The Day the Earth Stood Still (the recent remake)
• Movie in my briefcase to watch on this trip (currently sitting on a plane): Australia (it’s a long flight, need a long movie)
• Last movie purchase: The Secret Life of Bees (got a lot of points for that one with my wife)
• Next up in my Queue: The Honeymooners: “Classic 39” Episodes 1955 (before I was born and a long story for another blog as to why)
• Number of movies I own: I stopped counting some time ago (think a roomful — I love those 4 for $20 specials we offer online and in our stores)
• Number of movies/TV shows presently in my Queue: 72
• First movie I remember watching in the theater: Goldfinger (it was a Cub Scout field trip while I was living in Europe; my father is retired military)
• Active DVD players in my home: Five

Now, as the new guy in charge, I’ll move on with the business of where this post (and others I hope to write pretty regularly) is/are going. You’re probably anticipating the standard “under-new-management/can-you-forgive-and-forget-any-poor-experiences-you-might-have-had-in-the-past/let-me-tell-you-about-all-the-things-that-we’re-going-to-do-here-at-blockbuster.com-to-make-your-experiences-wonderful-going-forward” posts. Are you still reading? Phew. Well honestly (you will always get that from me), it is and it isn’t.

I’m not going to say we don’t have challenges with our website and online services — I read some (not all) of the email that comes into our Customer Service Department. But we are always working to improve, and I know many of you have been quite satisfied with your service, even writing in to tell us that or offering suggestions for an even better online experience. Thank you to all of you. We will continue to get better, a little every day.

Marathons are run one step and one mile at a time, and start with that very first step. We’ve taken that step, and will run negative splits (for you non-runners, that means we’ll get faster and better as the race goes on). Thanks for being a customer. We do have some great ideas unfolding. And you’ll find out in advance here and on our Twitter page as we launch many new services (like game rental online) in the coming months.

I hope this is a good start to a long relationship. I expect to target most of my blog entries to movies, games and all things digital entertainment that circle in and around my world. In no uncertain terms, I love movies. I watch one, sometimes two movies a night, often rewatching from my growing collection. I’m also re-entering the gaming space — I was a heavier gamer when I was younger. Also, as I checked around, I was told that it might be interesting for me to tell you a little about running this business. Really? Ok. I’ll do that as well from time to time. Running this business can be entertaining, too. Talk again soon.

Happy Day…

Bob Barr