The Projector #9: Dinner and a Movie (Patreon)

by Keith Phipps

I’m tired after a long Labor Day weekend and fresh out of #HotTakes (or any other kind of takes, for that matter) so this installment of our newsletter will be less a strong statement of opinion than an attempt to start a conversation (feel free to use the comments below): How do you feel about movie food?

I mostly keep it simple, sticking to candy (Junior Mints and Raisinets being my movie candies of choice). When I’m with someone else, I’m happy to share popcorn, but I don’t love it enough to buy it on my own. The addition of alcoholic options basically everywhere, as theaters try to find more reasons to entice moviegoers, has been welcome on occasion, too, though there’s no way I’m going to drink a beer unless I'm already feeling 100% awake. More often, I take in a soda to have a caffeine source should I start to feel a little sleepy. That’s my one real pro-tip in 20-plus years of writing about movies.

But, beyond booze, the past few years have seen an explosion of food choices in theaters. A trip to Chicago’s River East, for instance, now includes multiple meal options, which I’ve generally found pretty awkward. Anything involving melted cheese and darkened rooms is pretty much a set-up for a disaster if you’re prone to clumsiness, and I’m still traumatized by the memory of an attempt to eat a bowl of fast-melting frozen yogurt at a press screening. Of course, some places leave the darkened maneuvering to others. Venues like Alamo Drafthouse and Brooklyn’s Nite Owl feature full-service dining in the theater. I’ve only had limited experience in such theaters and enjoyed it, but would I want to make that the way I saw movies all the time? The question is, as of this writing, moot for me, as Chicago doesn’t have a Drafthouse equivalent. How has it worked out for others?

Okay, sorry to drop such a controversial subject in everyone’s laps this early in a short week. Today's episode is sure to be without controversy since it’s about… let me check the calendar… oh, yeah, the state of labor in America as captured in the documentary American Factory. Also later this week, look for our bonus episode on It Chapter 2 (if Tasha and I aren’t too terrified to record it after tonight’s screening).

Finally, here’s some fine film and TV-related reading this week:

• Always a must-read, Alison Wilmore offers her take on the unusual appeal of Succession at Buzzfeed.

• How does Natural Born Killers look at 25? [cringe emoji], Charles Bramesco suggests at The Guardian.

• And look what’s also 25: The Shawshank Redemption. At the Washington Post, Zachary Pincus-Roth looks at its strange ascent and fervent following.

• Also experiencing an anniversary: Takashi Miike’s Audition just turned 20. Our own Scott Tobias, who’s used a still from the film as his online avatar for almost that long, gives it a queasily loving look back at Polygon.

• There was a time when Bill Clinton and the promise of the New South helped make John Grisham the king of the box office, and it wasn’t even that long ago. Lifelong Southerner Noel Murray reflects on this moment for The New York Times.

• Remember Blockbuster? You might be remembering it too fondly, suggests Jason Bailey at Vulture.

• Want to read Andie Macdowell talk about the movie Michael? There’s only one article for you, and it’s at Vulture and written by our pal Rachel Handler.