Name: Lena Dunham
Location: North London/Northwest Connecticut
Occupation: Writer/Director/Producer
Links: Lena’s Substack

Pre-order Lena’s memoir Famesick, available on April 14.

1. What’s your favorite day & time to go to the movies?

Saturday at 3pm!!! When I was younger my greatest passion was the first Thursday preview show, but mama’s gettin’ old.

2. What’s your favorite movie theater?

There are so many wonderful, brand spanking new theaters — chicly designed, elevated snacks — that are doing it right. In London, Everyman Cinema near our house has reclining chairs and fancy sodas and you feel like you’re at a spa that happens to be playing PTA.

But I’ll always love the theaters that have a connection to the period in which I was falling in love with movies. Like Cobble Hill Cinemas, the independent faux-art deco (Feco??) theater where I went on my first ever date with a group of like twenty 7th graders, to see What Dreams May Come, and my “boyfriend” sat two rows back.

Or the Angelika, around the corner from my childhood home, where I would make my parents slow down so I could study every poster on the way to the supermarket.

The Moviehouse in Millerton, NY is the most fun Christmas you can have. For some reason, my clearest Moviehouse memory is thinking there was a massive, terrible thunderstorm brewing and then realizing that Saving Private Ryan was playing in the other theater while we watched There’s Something About Mary.

I miss Sunshine Cinema, Regal Court Street and so many other spots around the city where my cinematic self determination occurred. Thank God we still have Cinema Village, Anthology Film Archives and Film Forum.

3. What’s your go-to movie theater snack & drink combo?

Large Diet Coke and small plain popcorn. It’s never not perfect.

I really want to forget my childhood nachos phase — the way that cheese stayed soft even as it got cold was very wrong.

4. What’s your dream movie theater snack & drink combo (if noise and sound weren’t an issue)?

I’d love to have a ginger beer with a slice of lime in a cold beer glass, and a giant, salty soft pretzel. Or maybe that’s just what I want right now?

5. First movie you remember seeing in a theater?

A screening of The Little Mermaid that a bunch of my preschool friends attended on a planned weekend outing. All of us little girls were in our Sunday best. I was rapt, in awe, right until the end when my mother had to carry me out screaming because I found the fact that Ariel has to leave her father at the end so upsetting. My mother kept saying “It’s a happy story! It’s a happy story!” as all of the other kids left in delight, but I can still remember how tragic and painful I found it (and my friends wonder why I still spend half my time living with my parents…)

6. Last movie you saw in a theater?

One Battle After Another — which is too long ago! Like many cinephiles who are also homebodies, my love of movies and my love of being on the couch with our dogs are always at war. This is a good time to resolve to shift the balance.

7. Is there a movie you wish you could have seen in a theater?

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. I wish I’d been alive to watch a film print of it in West Hollywood in 1969.

8. Have you ever seen a movie more than once in theaters?

So many times — especially as a teenager. I think I went back to see Center Stage, 10 Things I Hate About You and The Royal Tenenbaums three times each. My parents weren’t overly generous with allowance, but they let me go to the movies and buy books with impunity, which were foundational gifts.

9. Do you stay through the credits or leave once the film ends?

If I love it, I’ll usually sit through the credits to collect my thoughts and feel the final song play out (and I always cheer if I see the name of someone I’ve worked with, even if they’re not there to hear me.)

10. What’s one thing you would change to make movie theaters better?

I feel like some genius engineer/architect could find a way to stagger seats so you are never blocked by a very tall man’s head or directly behind two girls whispering, and in the process stop countless incidents of hostility between strangers.

11. Tell me about an especially memorable moviegoing experience that stands out in your mind.

Just recently, I was lucky enough to host a screening of The Voice of Hind Rajab at the Roxy. The credits are silent, and as they rolled, all you heard was collective sobbing. While beautifully made, it’s a deeply painful film to watch, but also deeply necessary to see — and that moment of collective grief was powerful and rare.

12. What’s a movie you’re looking forward to seeing?

Disclosure Day — a huge alien epic is always thrilling to me (I’d watch Signs any time, any day) and Josh O’Connor in a Spielberg blockbuster feels like a compelling pairing.

13. What’s your dream combination of director and lead(s)?

Celine Song and Tilda Swinton.

14. If you could live in a movie, which one would it be?

Clueless! Always Clueless. I want to drive in Dionne’s Jeep wearing a plaid co-ord! I want to use Cher’s computerized closet system! I even want to hang out at that party in the Valley!

15. Why do you think people should continue seeing movies at the movie theater?

Of course there are all the business reasons, and the many ways going to the theater directly impacts the ability of artists to continue to make this work. But I’m gonna go more touchy-feely: Movie theaters are about more than just film — they’re about experiencing emotion in a group, about listening to other people laugh and gasp. They’re about learning to accept, tolerate and even enjoy a room full of people who may see the world differently than you do, but who are revealing their humanity and leaving themselves open to profound and vulnerable experiences in the safety of the collective. To me, a movie theater is a lot like church or temple or a mosque in that way: It can remind people that they’re not alone, that they’re held by something much bigger than we are.

Name: Tyler Coates
Location: Los Angeles
Occupation: Film Journalist
Links: Tyler’s Substack, IG

1. What’s your favorite day & time to go to the movies?

I love watching movies before noon. I know people who have told me it feels weird to walk out of a movie theater in the daytime, and I disagree! Why not start the day with a movie? There’s so much more to do afterward!

I don’t have a particular day of the week that I prefer for moviegoing. I see a lot of press screenings which are often on weekday mornings (perfect) in strange screening rooms in unassuming office buildings (not great). Because I’ve gotten so used to seeing movies in small rooms with small audiences, I try to go to public screenings when there won’t be a lot of other people. There are exceptions, of course (I love a packed house for a comedy; seeing The Naked Gun in a theater last summer was a beautiful experience), but I always sit third-row center because I’m likely to be the only person that close and I can sort of block out the crowd behind me. (A friend and I were at the same showing of The Testament of Ann Lee at an AMC and he complained about the loud and distracting audience. I had no idea! I was locked in.)

2. What’s your favorite movie theater?

I miss the Arclight in Hollywood every day of my life. It was always a solid experience and I really liked getting lunch before a movie at the restaurant (they had a very good spaghetti bolognese). I also love the New Beverly, but going there is usually a special occasion because I live on the opposite side of Los Angeles in Glendale. Seeing Heat there (Quentin Tarantino’s personal print!) was like a religious experience. The Vista is closer and more convenient; I saw all three Haim sisters at a Christmas showing of The Brutalist, which is almost as L.A. as it gets. My go-to theater is the AMC Burbank 16 because it’s a short drive from my house, there’s free parking, and I’m an A-Lister (brag). When work is slow, I can truly fit four free movies in a week.

3. What’s your go-to movie theater snack & drink combo?

I’m pretty boring: A large drink (Cherry Coke!) and regular popcorn (salted but without the fake butter). Recently I threw in a package of Nerds Gummy Clusters (which I have to say is the biggest advancement in candy I’ve seen in my adult life), but it really felt like too much for one person in a two-hour sitting.

4. What’s your dream movie theater snack & drink combo (if noise and sound weren’t an issue)?

Honestly, I could go without heavy food in movie theaters. Back when the Alamo Drafthouse first opened in Brooklyn, I went a few times and would order a real dinner. Do you know how difficult it is to eat a hamburger in the dark? I wasn’t a fan. Just give me popcorn and I’m content.

5. First movie you remember seeing in a theater?

I’m old enough to remember when Disney re-released their classic animated movies in the years before the big renaissance that began with The Little Mermaid. My mom took me to see Snow White and the Seven Dwarves at the single-screen theater in Tappahannock, Virginia, when it was re-released in 1987. I must have been three or four years old. The only thing I remember was the terrifying Evil Queen, and I hid in the floor behind the seat in front of me whenever she showed up on screen. (Yes, I did see the live-action remake last year, which was terrifying in an entirely different way.)

6. Last movie you saw in a theater?

As of this writing, it was The Bride! — a cautionary tale about eating oysters.

7. Is there a movie you wish you could have seen in a theater?

I have never seen Lawrence of Arabia and have been waiting to see it on the big screen — it feels really silly to watch it at home. There are so many other films I’d like to see on film, probably too many to list. Hitchcock’s Rebecca on nitrate would be incredible!

8. Have you ever seen a movie more than once in theaters?

Oh man, I have seen so many movies multiple times in theaters. I think the first was Jurassic Park, which I saw three times. There have been so many over the years: The Royal Tenenbaums, Lady Bird, Call Me By Your Name, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Parasite, Nope, Wim Wenders’s Pina and Anselm (two stunningly gorgeous 3D documentaries). In recent years, since I’m a freelancer with a lot of time, I’ve upped my repeat viewing game. In 2025, I saw One Battle After Another, Sinners, and The Testament of Ann Lee four times each, because I’m just obsessed with all of them. I’m also lucky to have seen Netflix’s Train Dreams twice (one of my favorites of the year, and one that most people won’t have the opportunity to see on the big screen). I wasn’t a huge Marty Supreme fan, but I saw it a second time just to see if my opinion would change.

9. Do you stay through the credits or leave once the film ends?

It depends on the day and the movie, but I’m more likely to sit through the credits than not.

10. What’s one thing you would change to make movie theaters better?

I’ve been to at least two Marvel screenings where we were required to lock our phones in Yondr pouches. I think that should be required at all movies! If you need to use your phone, walk outside to unlock it. One of the best things about going to a theater is that I can put my phone on Do Not Disturb and hide away from the Internet and everything for a couple of hours. It’s become a really healthy addition to my relationship with technology — I need an excuse to block it out!

11. Tell me about an especially memorable moviegoing experience that stands out in your mind.

I was 15 when Election was in theaters, and my mom — who by that point had given up and was buying me tickets to R-rated movies — decided, against my suggestion that she do otherwise, to sit through the movie with me. It took roughly five minutes before Mark Harelik’s Mr. Novotny (the teacher with whom Reese Witherspoon’s Tracy Flick had an affair) says directly into the camera: “Her p—— gets so wet, you wouldn’t believe it.” My mother groaned so loudly and I wanted to die sitting in the seat next to her. She’s always complained about how much she hates that movie, and I’ve always complained that she didn’t go see Notting Hill instead.

12. What’s a movie you’re looking forward to seeing?

I adopted a kitten last summer who I named Cliff, so I’m extremely excited for The Adventures of Cliff Booth (particularly because I’m interested in what Fincher will do with a Tarantino script). And, of course, The Odyssey. I’m not even a big Nolan fan, but I’ll be seated. Probably multiple times.

13. What’s your dream combination of director and lead(s)?

I moderated a Q&A with Christina Ricci and asked her who she most wanted to work with, and the answer was Yorgos Lanthimos. I’m now trying to manifest whatever film that is into being.

14. If you could live in a movie, which one would it be?

I think it would be ’70s-set, but weirdly not filmed in the ’70s. Dazed and Confused? Licorice Pizza? The Ice Storm? The last answer is probably worth being analyzed by a professional. But I like the clothes and the vibes!

15. Why do you think people should continue seeing movies at the movie theater?

There’s no better way to turn off the madness of the world than to sit in a dark room and be transported somewhere else for a couple of hours. It’s really important for me to have that experience where I can relax, take in a story, and think about anything other than real life. And I think a lot of people could stand to pause their own stories to take in someone else’s every now and then!

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