April 8 is what has come to be known as the Rex Manning Day in an effort to glorify the cult classic “Empire Records”. So yes, this is why social media was flooded with Max Caulfield memes.
Who is Rex Manning?
Rex Manning is a character played by 62-year-old actor Max Caulfield, in the movie Empire Records. The Movie depicts the trials and tribulations of record store employees and how record store clerk Joe Reaves worries about Rex’s impending visit to the store when the store is about to close due to financial difficulties.
The date of the visit is set for April 8. Manning, this friction figure, is an 80s pop icon trying to promote his single, which goes by the name “Say no More: a synth-driven pop-rock song from the 80s”. The promotion will be staged at the same record store Manning would visit and sign his promotion.
The artist is depicted as self-centered and insecure, despite being one of the most popular celebrities. In the scene where a fan claims he was her favorite artist at school, he pops up asking “Who’s your favorite singer now?” The fan that replied is you still for the sake of it.
But the film shows how the Manning is a fading doll that has lost all its charm. “But we must not stand still. No, not today. We do not! Not on Rex Manning Day,” is one of the most iconic quotes from the movie Empire Records†
Why April 8?
The record store employees dated the day of Manning’s visit as April 8th and it has been shown to be significant to the character as his latest attempt to prove to the music industry that he still has it!! “The reason we chose April 8 as the day to have the powdered/coffled Rex Manning Empire visit is that Kurt was found [dead] on April 8, the day 90s music lost its mascot,” explains actor Ethan Embry.
How is it celebrated?
Though the film was critically reviewed and underperformed at the box office, Empire Record enjoyed a revival over the next few years and has been celebrated ever since.
Every year on April 8, fans celebrate the movie starring Rex Manning. We watched as Twitter was flooded with the Rex Manning Day memes and gifs and celebrated the cult film and made the current generation aware of the film and the essence of the day.
Maxwell Caulfield also spoke of acknowledging that the day is “both heartwarming and stunning” and how wonderful it is that a film that has been negatively criticized after 26 years is being celebrated.
The fans celebrate this day by watching the film on various platforms. The other way fans and people involved with the movie are celebrating the day is by posting the music video for the song “Say no Mon Amour,” as did director Jordan Dawes.
So here we see how some movies are sometimes way ahead of their time and how we can celebrate and appreciate some artistic works even if they didn’t perform well at the box office.
Contents