--- title: What Is Rex Manning Day?: The Movie Behind the Memes description: Everyone loses it over Rex Manning Day on April 8th. Find out the story of "Empire Records," the cult movie behind the memes. canonical: https://time.com/5224687/what-is-rex-manning-day-meme/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-06T20:53:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T20:49:37.000Z og:title: Why the Internet Will Never Stop Celebrating Rex Manning Day og:description: It's a momentous occasion og:url: https://time.com/5224687/what-is-rex-manning-day-meme/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c16a198a646dc70/69892c8f22fb8557f0e2539a/rex-manning-day-empire-records.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2405 og:image:height: 1353 og:image:alt: Rex Manning Day 'Empire Records' og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why the Internet Will Never Stop Celebrating Rex Manning Day twitter:description: It's a momentous occasion twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c16a198a646dc70/69892c8f22fb8557f0e2539a/rex-manning-day-empire-records.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why the Internet Will Never Stop Celebrating Rex Manning Day > Sponsored content. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Updated: Dec 12, 2023 8:49 PM UTCPublished: Apr 6, 2018 8:53 PM UTC  Liv Tyler, Johnny Whitworth, Dianna Miranda, Coyote Shivers in 'Empire Records' in 1995. Liv Tyler, Johnny Whitworth, Dianna Miranda, Coyote Shivers in 'Empire Records' in 1995. James Bridges/Monarchy/Regency/Shutterstock by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Updated: Dec 12, 2023 8:49 PM UTCPublished: Apr 6, 2018 8:53 PM UTC April 8 is here, which means it’s time for fans of the quirky 1995 coming-of-age movie [_Empire Records_](http://time.com/4730201/empire-records-rex-manning-day/) hold dear as a momentous occasion on the pop culture calendar: [Rex Manning Day](http://time.com/3813747/rex-manning-day-empire-records-april-8/). The celebration continues. > [](https://twitter.com/its%5FLil%5FSar/status/1247859984517541888) > [](https://twitter.com/Chipstreets70/status/1247816988770086912) If you missed this cult sensation, you’re not exactly alone so don’t sweat it. The movie presented cool music fans at their coolest. Wearing ’90s threads under their bright orange smocks, Renée Zellweger (Gina) and Liv Tyler (Corey Mason) starred as everyone’s favorite record store employees at a floundering indie shop in Delaware. Here, we’ll bring you up to speed on what Rex Manning Day is. ## So What is Rex Manning Day? It’s pretty simple. Rex Manning Day is the day a totally pompous, totally fading ’80s pop heartthrob Rex Manning (Maxwell Caulfield) is set to appear at the store to accomplish the following: 1\. Prove he still totally exists 2\. Sign autographs for fans ## So, what’s the Deal With the Rex Manning Day Memes? In the years following the movie’s release, Rex Manning Day has transformed into a time-honored unifying event on the internet. Influential in the ’90s and beyond, every April 8th gives true _Empire Records_ fans an excuse to rekindle their love for the movie with a Rex Manning Day GIF or a Rex Manning Day meme on social media. If music can be “the [glue](http://www.etonline.com/movies/132619%5FRex%5FManning%5FDay%5FBest%5FEmpire%5FRecords%5FQuotes) of the world,” the memes also help with bonding. The Rex Manning Day memes have enjoyed staying power for years. But what diehard enthusiasts would really prefer is to get the old cast back together to commemorate the film’s impact with a song. If we can’t have that, we’ll just have to enjoy the musical stylings of Rex Manning on “Say No More, Mon Amour.” Relive the campy brilliance of Rex in all his glory in the music video below. And don’t let the passage of time get you down. Today is the day for celebration. Perhaps _Empire Records_ character Mark (Ethan Embry) said it best. “We mustn’t dwell. No, not today. We can’t. 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