It’s Rex Manning Day! Damn The Man! Save The Empire!
“We mustn’t dwell. No, not today. We can’t. Not on REX MANNING DAY!”
Happy Rex Manning Day, everyone! April 8th is a celebrated day in 90s cult classic film history.
Rex Manning is the fictional pop star/sex symbol from the 1995 movie ‘Empire Records.’ In the film, on April 8, 1995, Rex “Sexy Rexy” Manning (played by Maxwell Caulfield) has a scheduled publicity appearance at a struggling independent record store in imminent danger of closing due to lack of business. To prevent the store from closing and being turned into the chain store, Music City, the Empire Records staff (which includes characters played by Anthony LaPaglia, Ethan Embry, Renee Zellweger, and Liv Tyler), throw a massive party/fundraiser to raise money. “Empire Records, Open until Midnight!”
As it turns out, the date of April 8th has a very specific meaning which movie star Ethan Embry shared with fans last year. Referencing the death of iconic 90s musician Kurt Cobain who tragically took his own life on April 5, 1994, Embry tweeted, “The reason we picked April 8th as the day to have the powdered/coifed Rex Manning visit Empire is because Kurt was found on the 8th of April, the day the music of the 90s lost its mascot.”
Empire Records flopped in theaters, but soon quickly became a cult classic. As a result, Rex Manning became a real legend, and each year on April 8th, fans of the film celebrate the fictional quasi-holiday of Rex Manning Day.
Check out some scenes from the movie below and, of course, Rex Manning’s music video. Happy Rex Manning Day!
Damn the man. SAVE THE EMPIRE!
A karaoke obsessed, craft beer enthusiast and lover of all things pop culture, Denise enjoys all facets of entertainment from Broadway to box office blockbusters. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, concerts (lots and lots of concerts), volunteering, reading and playing with her rescue kitten, Samantha (who rescued who, right?).