A donation this week by film producer Megan Ellison, combined with another from longtime customer Leonard Lipman, will keep beloved Santa Monica video store Vidiots open for some time to come, the Los Angeles Times reports.
"This all this just happened and we are beyond thrilled," co-owner Cathy Tauber told the Times. "We will not be closing. We will be around for hopefully a long time."
Ellison came to the store following public outcry over its impending closure, the Times reports. She tweeted about the video store in recent days, including teasing reporters on Twitter that Vidiots may not be done yet:
The news that the store was saved brought employees and customers to tears when it was announced at the store Friday night, Tauber told the Times.
Ellison's production company Annapurna has produced critically acclaimed films like "Foxcatcher," "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Her."
See what people find so special about Vidiots in this short produced by the Academy: