{"id":246174,"date":"2025-09-22T11:16:35","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T11:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/246174\/"},"modified":"2025-09-22T11:16:35","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T11:16:35","slug":"filmmaker-transforms-l-a-apartment-into-kitchen-video-store","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/246174\/","title":{"rendered":"Filmmaker transforms L.A. apartment into kitchen video store"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chris Rose fondly remembers the days when he worked at the independent video store We Luv Video<\/a> in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n

He was in his early 20s and finishing film school at the University of Texas at Austin before heading to New York, where he eventually worked as a producer on \u201cThe Daily Show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Not <\/a> <\/p>\n

In this series, we spotlight L.A. rentals with style. From perfect gallery walls to temporary decor hacks, these renters get creative, even in small spaces. And Angelenos need the inspiration: Most are renters.<\/p>\n

Now an L.A.-based writer, director and producer<\/a>, Rose, 41, recalls the Austin store\u2019s eclectic assortment of cult oddities and world cinema. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a spectacular kind of hip, indie video store that had just about any and every film you could ever want,\u201d he says. \u201cThey would have British or Japanese imports you couldn\u2019t get in the United States yet. It was a really, really special place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Stephen King\u2019s 1986 horror film \u201cMaximum Overdrive\u201d plays on a 1970s-era Hitachi television Rose found on Craigslist.<\/p>\n

\"VHS \"Chris <\/p>\n

Rose\u2019s thoughtfully curated film categories change from month to month, including his staff picks. <\/p>\n

Although he can no longer visit the video store, Rose doesn\u2019t have to go far to rent these days, as he has brought a similar yet distinctive collection to the kitchen of his one-bedroom bungalow in Silver Lake, which includes a small backyard.<\/p>\n

The idea for his personal Kitchen Video, a micro version of an old-school video store, came to him one day as he was working on his laptop at his kitchen table.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I worked at the video store, we would put bad Stephen King movies on in the background and halfway pay attention to them,\u201d he says as \u201cMaximum Overdrive\u201d plays on a 1970s-era Hitachi television next to the refrigerator. <\/p>\n

With that in mind, he thought it would be fun to play movies in the background while he worked from home. \u201cIt\u2019s such a weird dead zone,\u201d he says, gesturing to the space next to his kitchen. \u201cIt needed something as it\u2019s not big enough to be a dining room and not small enough to be part of a regular kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kitchen <\/p>\n

Kitchen Video merchandise in the kitchen. <\/p>\n

\"Chris <\/p>\n

Rose displays his Kitchen Video membership card. He still has his Blockbuster rental card from when he was a kid.<\/p>\n

At the top of the more than 20 thoughtfully curated shelves filled with dozens of VHS tapes, Rose has placed a sign in bold red typeface that reads: \u201cKitchen Video.\u201d The sign serves as a playful nod to the space\u2019s dual function, reminding visitors that they are not just in a kitchen but also a video rental library.<\/p>\n

Like We Luv Video and more traditional video rental stores like Blockbuster, Rose handpicks his staff favorites every month. This month\u2019s category is cyberpunk, or \u201cthe internet is scary,\u201d he says of the lineup, which includes \u201cThe Net,\u201d \u201cFear Dot Com\u201d and \u201cJohnny Mnemonic.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that someone titled a movie \u2018Fear Dot Com\u2019 is still, I think, one of the funniest things ever,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

Clearly, for Rose, discovering surprising and bizarre films is part of the fun of creating his own video library, and his personal taste and sense of humor in the selection process are evident.<\/p>\n

His favorite category? \u201cComedies with White Backgrounds,\u201d a quirky selection of films including \u201cThere\u2019s Something About Mary,\u201d \u201cThe Three Amigos\u201d and \u201cKung Fu Hustle.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a trend,\u201d he says with a chuckle.<\/p>\n

\"Chris <\/p>\n

Rose\u2019s VHS tape collection is reflected in a decorative tiger mirror in the kitchen. Rose added some drama to the rental by adding floral peel-and-stick wallpaper to the wall behind the mirror. <\/p>\n

\"Copies <\/p>\n

Copies of \u201cMiami Vice\u201d on VHS are on display in the kitchen.<\/p>\n

Other categories include Burning Hearts, a collection of what Rose describes as \u201cmessed-up romance movies\u201d such as \u201cBasic Instinct,\u201d \u201cMoonstruck\u201d and \u201cWild at Heart.\u201d <\/p>\n

His personal Criterion Collection of poorly reviewed films that he, in fact, enjoys includes \u201cCon Air,\u201d \u201cFace\/Off\u201d and \u201cPoint Break.\u201d For his Film School category, Rose has chosen clich\u00e9d movies that students would watch in film school, like \u201cHarold and Maude,\u201d \u201cThe Last Picture Show\u201d and \u201cChinatown.\u201d And then there\u2019s From Ship to Shore, where Rose has attempted to transition from \u201cGhost Ship\u201d to \u201cEncino Man\u201d with Pauly Shore.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the most obtuse one,\u201d he says. \u201cIt took me three hours to figure it out. I wanted to make each film a logical jump \u2014 whether it was the director, actor or screenwriter \u2014 which was hard and ultimately not worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, of course, the Texas native couldn\u2019t resist devoting an entire shelf above the kitchen door to classics like \u201cFriday Night Lights,\u201d \u201cClerks,\u201d \u201cDazed and Confused,\u201d \u201cParis, Texas\u201d and \u201cTender Mercies.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Cowboy <\/p>\n

Vintage cowboy boots Rose bought in Santa Fe, N.M., on one of his road trips to Los Angeles. <\/p>\n

(Juliana Yamada \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

\"Rose's <\/p>\n

Rose\u2019s most cherished possession: his grandfather\u2019s illuminated globe.<\/p>\n

Although his Kitchen Video is not open to the public, Rose invites his friends to come and \u201ccheck out\u201d videos, and he has even purchased old VCR players so they can watch his video library selections at home. In his enthusiasm, he admits he has gone \u201ca little overboard\u201d and created his own line of merchandise: Kitchen Video hats, aprons, tote bags and membership cards.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not his only video-store membership card. He still has his Blockbuster rental card from childhood, where he says renting movies like \u201cRushmore,\u201d \u201cRaising Arizona\u201d and \u201cThe Graduate\u201d opened up a whole new world to him. <\/p>\n

\u201cI lived in a small town in Texas, so movies were not a thing really beyond just what was playing at the theater that week,\u201d he says. \u201cSo going to a Blockbuster and digging to discover these hidden gems was really exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

His apartment has all the signatures of Rose\u2019s style, which he describes as \u201cSouthwest Marfa vibe meets eclectic thrift store discoveries.\u201d <\/p>\n

In the bedroom, his vintage cowboy boots are neatly lined up against the wall below felt hats. In the living room, portraits of Willie Nelson and Hank Williams adorn the walls, alongside paint-by-numbers artworks, a cow skull and a Bennington flag he found in a Santa Fe, N.M., antique store. <\/p>\n

When he moved from New York to L.A., he started over, but he did keep a coffee table made from the wreckage of Hurricane Sandy. <\/p>\n

\"Chris \"Western-themed \"A <\/p>\n

In the living room, portraits of Willie Nelson and Hank Williams are displayed alongside paint by numbers art, photographs, a Georgia O\u2019Keeffe-style cow skull and a Bennington flag. <\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my friends called it \u2018repressed cowboy,\u2019\u201d he says in describing his style as the Austin band Cactus Lee plays in the background. \u201cI really try to make it feel put together, but always with a bit of irony or something tongue-in-cheek.\u201d <\/p>\n

One thing he is serious about, however, is the illuminated globe that belonged to his grandfather. \u201cThat is what I would grab if my apartment were on fire,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Despite the surplus of videos in his closet, Rose observes that he only invests in films that strike a chord with him, ones he plans to revisit. He scours the internet and local spots like Whammy in Echo Park<\/a> for rare finds, but it\u2019s the ones he stumbles upon during his road trips between Texas and Los Angeles, in Goodwill and thrift stores, that hold a special place in his heart.<\/p>\n

Like his Kitchen Video, film themes extend throughout the apartment, for which he pays $2,060 a month, including a Pop Art painting of David Byrne from \u201cTrue Stories\u201d and a print of Brandon Bird\u2019s oil painting \u201cNo One Wants to Play Sega With Harrison Ford\u201d in the living room. <\/p>\n

Recently, Rose started collecting audio cassettes, which he plays on an outdated boombox complete with an antenna. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nostalgic,\u201d Rose says of analog technology. \u201cIt\u2019s the reason everyone collects vinyl. I have Netflix and Spotify, but there is real fulfillment in physically doing something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chris <\/p>\n

In the summer, Rose enjoys hosting outdoor movie nights in his Silver Lake backyard. <\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A screen hangs in the backyard, ready for an upcoming screening of the 1996 film \u201cBottle Rocket.\u201d <\/p>\n

In the summer, Rose finds hosting movie nights for his friends in his backyard equally fulfilling. It\u2019s a luxury he has come to appreciate after living in a studio apartment in New York for a decade. \u201cThis is the nerdiest part: I\u2019ve figured out a way to connect the VCR to a modern projector so I can screen movies from the VCR,\u201d he says, laughing at himself.<\/p>\n

Most movie nights, he chooses popular films that are familiar but also unexpected. At his last screening, he showed Doug Liman\u2019s 1996 film \u201cSwingers,\u201d which was filmed in Los Angeles, and for his upcoming gathering, he plans to screen Wes Anderson\u2019s first film, \u201cBottle Rocket.\u201d <\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say there isn\u2019t room for B movies that are \u201cspectacularly wild and bad,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\"Chris <\/p>\n

\u201cI just picked up this VHS called \u2018Repo Jake\u2019<\/a> that I\u2019m really excited about watching,\u201d he says of the 1990 film starring Dan Haggerty of \u201cGrizzly Adams\u201d fame. \u201cAccording to the box, our hero, Jake, is \u2018whipped into supersonic action involving a vicious crime lord, mob of angry car owners and a sadistic porno ring.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat might be perfect for a screening,\u201d the cinephile says, underscoring the joy in discovering a movie that is so bad it\u2019s good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chris Rose fondly remembers the days when he worked at the independent video store We Luv Video in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":246175,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,130870,1020,99437,130871,108287,2961,118963,224,2444,5337,9105,3196,405,16502,5996,130872,358,130873],"class_list":{"0":"post-246174","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-chris-rose","11":"tag-film","12":"tag-film-school","13":"tag-kitchen-video-store","14":"tag-l-a-apartment","15":"tag-la","16":"tag-living-room","17":"tag-los-angeles","18":"tag-los-angeles-times","19":"tag-losangeles","20":"tag-month","21":"tag-movie","22":"tag-new-york","23":"tag-one","24":"tag-part","25":"tag-retro-video-store","26":"tag-texas","27":"tag-video-rental-library"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115247670505996925","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}