15 Moviegoing Questions With Ben Wang, Actor
"Seeing a comedy with that many people all laughing at the same time, it felt good."
Name: Ben Wang
Location: New York
Occupation: Actor
Links: Ben’s IG
Watch Ben in Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, in theaters now.
1. What’s your favorite day & time to go to the movies?
A weekday matinee, I like the theater to be as empty as possible when I go. 2 pm Wednesday. I don’t have a real job so I can do that!
2. What’s your favorite movie theater?
My favorite movie theater is the Metrograph in New York City. I love that theater, partially because I really like Chungking Express, and if you know their programming, it’s like 75% Chungking Express. So, if you like Chungking Express, go to the Metrograph right now — it might be playing. That and Tampopo and In the Mood for Love.
3. What’s your go-to movie theater snack & drink combo?
Small popcorn and Coke Zero. No butter on the popcorn. And I hope it’s salted; some places don’t have it salted.
4. What’s your dream movie theater snack & drink combo (if noise and sound weren’t an issue)?
Popcorn is it. I’m kind of diametrically opposed to getting food served in a theater. If you’re into that, that’s OK! Me personally, I don’t think you should have a Salisbury steak in front of you while you’re watching a movie. But that’s just me!
5. First movie you remember seeing in a theater?
I have a memory from when I was 4 in China, because I lived there at the time, of going to a movie theater and they were playing some weird European version of Pinocchio. It was really scary and I cried, so my mom took me out. But I do have that memory, I didn’t dream that! The first movie I fully sat through was in Northfield, Minnesota, circa 2003 and it was Spider-Man 2. That was really good. All I could remember is the end when he swings Mary Jane away in a wedding dress. I remember thinking, “That’s how I wanna get married.”
6. Last movie you saw in a theater?
7. Is there a movie you wish you could have seen in a theater?
Speed Racer. I remember being 7 or 8 years old and thinking, “This looks dumb,” and I couldn’t be more wrong. I saw it for the first time when I was around 20 and thought it was amazing. And it’s so visually stunning that I need to see it in a theater. There was a rerelease earlier this year and I missed it. I was so pissed!
8. Have you ever seen a movie more than once in theaters?
The movies I watch more than once are usually arthouse movies where the content is more dense and more subtle, so you can rewatch and catch things you didn’t before.
9. Do you stay through the credits or leave as soon as the film ends?
Sometimes. It’s usually to hide my tears. Because I don’t want anyone to know I feel things on the inside.
10. What’s one thing you would change to make movie theaters better?
I feel like the work of improving a movie theater is never done because there are things some people like and some people don’t. For example, people like the recliner chairs. I personally think you should be leaning FORWARD when you’re watching a movie! But who am I to tell people they shouldn’t have the recliners?
What would be cool is a teen zone in the theater, behind soundproof glass where they could throw popcorn at each other and go “AY YO” during the movie as much as they want.
11. Tell me about an especially memorable moviegoing experience that stands out in your mind.
I lived in China when I was very young, so when I moved to the US, going to the movies was a huge culture shock because we didn’t really have a movie theater near where I lived. I got here just in time for Star Wars: Episode III. I remember that because I was trying so hard to assimilate into the playground, and all those kids loved Star Wars, they loved Darth Vader. I didn’t know who that was, I thought his name was “Dark Vader”, you know? I remember that movie came out, and I thought, “great, I will go to this movie, and I’ll finally understand Star Wars and Darth Vader, and I’ll be able to talk to these kids”. So I go to Revenge of the Sith, and the whole time I’m thinking, “when does Darth Vader show up?” And at the very end, he turns into Darth Vader, and I’m like, oh, there he is! What’s he gonna do? I’m gonna find out all about him. And he goes, “NOOOO,” and then the movie ends. I was like, wait, THIS is what they’re clamoring about? Two seconds of Darth Vader? But then I obviously went back and watched the first three movies and was like, oh, OK, I get why he’s cool now.
12. What’s a movie you’re looking forward to seeing?
I’m really excited about the new Spider-Man movie. I’m very excited about The Odyssey. Very excited about Dune 3. This year’s been pretty full of movies that I really wanna go to a theater and see.
13. What’s your dream combination of director and lead(s)?
I just wanna see a combo I’ve never seen before. I love a big swing. For example, Chris Nolan put Rodrick (Devon Bostick) and Josh Peck in Oppenheimer. And they were great! Or Harry Styles, he was great in Dunkirk. I want something even weirder. I want him to put, like, a YouTuber in his next movie. It might be bad, but I’ll respect it nonetheless.
14. If you could live in a movie, which one would it be?
I like real life enough that I don’t feel like living in a movie would make a big improvement. I don’t know if living in a movie would help me be a more confident person or help me make more friends. Maybe Spy Kids, because that’s a crazy universe where anything could happen, with physics and logic that don’t make sense.
15. Why do you think people should continue seeing movies at the movie theater?
I don’t think you need to convince anyone that, in the most platonic sense, watching a movie on a big screen is the best way to see it. If everyone could teleport to a theater where they have the perfect conditions to see a movie, they would. It’s the other factors that keep people away — whether there’s access to a theater, if it’s worth the drive, and it being more expensive these days.
For me, I’ve had enough great and memorable experiences in movie theaters that it makes it worth it for me. I hope we, as filmmakers and people in movies and theater owners, keep making it a world where it’s more and more worth it for more and more people to see movies in theaters. It is the best way to watch any movie, so we just need to make it easier for people. Our film Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass—now in theaters!—I saw that for the first time at Sundance in a packed room, and seeing a comedy that’s that funny with that many people all laughing at the same time, it felt good. It made laughing easier. You laughed harder, and it feels good to laugh.
I grew up not having a theater near me, so I watched a lot of movies at home by myself. Which was great. I had a lot of good experiences, but all of the movie experiences I can remember have been at theaters. That extra spice, I think, is important in life — to experience things that make you feel heightened feelings like that. We need to keep making great movies, and we need to make it easier and more accessible to go to the theater.
I was *obsessed* with SPY KIDS as an 8-year-old and definitely wanted to live in that universe (...and am realizing maybe I still do?)
That’s how I wanna get married.