15 Moviegoing Questions With Marquita Norwood, Multidisciplinary Artist
"People should find it in themselves to go see movies alone. Once you start, you can’t stop."
Name: Marquita Norwood
Location: The Bay Area + Denver
Occupation: Multidisciplinary Artist
Links: Marquita’s book, Substack, IG, Letterboxd
1. What’s your favorite day & time to go to the movies?
It depends on the movie. A movie that I expect to be good for crowd engagement and fun (horror, action, mainstream comedy), I prefer to go Saturday around 7:30pm, opening weekend with friends/family.
Any other time—unless it’s a special screening—I prefer to go alone and love a matinee between noon and 2pm. I prefer this matinee slot because it tends to draw a small crowd pretty good at respecting cinema etiquette. I also don’t love the feeling of entering a screening in the daylight and leaving in the dark. I find that disorienting, as you can often already feel like you’re not in reality after watching a film at the cinema. This time slot ensures that even in the winter, I can still meet this preference provided it’s not Sátántangó.
2. What’s your favorite movie theater?
It doesn’t actually exist anymore but Red Vic Movie House in San Francisco was always a favorite. It was for years physically annexed to The Red Victorian Hotel which is a bed-and-breakfast in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood — where I used to live. It only had one screen, but they always played arthouse films and it was a real community staple. I was always there when I first moved to SF (I lived three blocks away) and have some good memories of screenings and meeting people outside during a smoke. I also collapsed during a date while watching Aguirre, the Wrath of God there once, discovering I experience vertigo (no cute love story to follow though sadly!).
I also adore The Castro Theater in SF. Beautiful theater, in a great location and I have seen so many double features there. Also, I wouldn’t be a true A-Lister if I didn’t have a favorite AMC theater. Even though I never lived in New York, I love it there and the AMC at Lincoln Square is a fave.
3. What’s your go-to movie theater snack & drink combo?
Lately at AMCs I get the two hot dogs and a drink combo if I missed lunch. Diet Coke lime or Coke vanilla. If I’m feeling whacky, Sour Patch Kids watermelon.
Indie theaters are where I tend to get a small buttered popcorn but it’s honestly rare. My open-hearted gums love a popcorn kernel and I don’t tend to keep that thang on me (dental floss).
4. What’s your dream movie theater snack & drink combo (if noise and sound weren’t an issue)?
A small batch of crab rangoon, a Thai iced tea and several cubes of fresh mango. Emphasis on ‘if sound wasn’t an issue’ as the noises that escape my body when I consume mango…I’d rather release my search history or let the journal factory explode in front of a crowd of sociopathic comedians than have an audience for that.
5. First movie you remember seeing in a theater?
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I was very young, I want to say around five or so. I don’t remember much from around that age but my mom took me and my older sister to see it. I remember the scene where she’s on the bed surrounded by the distressed dwarves most vividly. Oddly, I’ve never watched that movie at any later point in my life. Hope that’s not something I have to unpack in therapy.
6. Last movie you saw in a theater?
Happy Together for Bleak Week.
7. Is there a movie you wish you could have seen in a theater?
Raise the Red Lantern. Never seen it in a theater. Hardly gets more visually arresting and contemplative than that. I saw it’s getting a 4K restoration later this year, screening in New York. Oh to live in Mamdani’s NYC.
8. Have you ever seen a movie more than once in theaters?
Last time I did, it was for Sinners. I saw it four times in the theater within five weeks. Definitely had to take advantage of 70mm IMAX.
9. Do you stay through the credits or leave as soon as the film ends?
I don’t always stay through the credits but only because I have the world’s tiniest bladder. Still do my kegels btw ☺️. I do like sitting through credits usually though, just to gather myself but I also like getting the answer to a question I may have about a song or production location(s). Obviously I could just google, but I like gathering info that way.
10. What’s one thing you would change to make movie theaters better?
It’s really more about human behavior than it is about movie theaters in general as I wouldn’t wish there to be some kind of ‘spiritually’ cop enforcement, but I wish movie-goers adhered better to theater etiquette once the trailers end. Put the phones away or at least lower the screen brightness and shut up.
11. Tell me about an especially memorable moviegoing experience that stands out in your mind.
I went to see Melancholia in San Francisco, which is where I was living at the time when it was released. I’m not a huge public crier, but I was sobbing at that movie. Let’s just say I related to Kirsten Dunst’s portrayal of depression a lot. There was another person sitting right in front of me, the only other person left. She was also crying. My hand was on the back of her seat and she turned around to me and put her hand on top of mine quietly and gave me a Kleenex. She said something but I can’t recall what it was now. A heartwarming moment though.
12. What’s a movie you’re looking forward to seeing?
Cheating here as I have three: The Unknown starring Léa Seydoux, the Esiri brothers’ Clarissa and Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma starring Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder.
13. What’s your dream combination of director and lead(s)?
Hear me out, Evan Peters and Yorgos Lanthimos. I think Evan has great intensity, accessibility and earnestness but he is often typecast in disturbing or troubled roles and usually for TV. I want to see him as a romantic lead in a feature that isn’t overly saccharine, incorporates off-beat and dry humor, still has a bit of darkness in concept and shows his versatility.
I would also love to see a collaboration between Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Barry Jenkins. She has a wonderful ability to live in her characters but not in a psychotically methodical way and I think Jenkins would make magic with her.
14. If you could live in a movie, which one would it be?
If the murderous cult was removed, Mandy. Mamma mia! Red and Mandy’s cozy lakeside cabin embedded in the woods with its big windows, always lives rent-free in my head. I’m a city girl but spending days surrounded by books, beautiful nature, a boat and the love of my life — sequestered from the annoyances and demands of urban life? An absolute dream.
15. Why do you think people should continue seeing movies at the movie theater?
I know the economy is in shambles in many parts of the world but going to the movies is one of the few remaining communal activities that is relatively affordable. One-off, prime time tickets can add up especially for certain formats but there’s subscription services available now not to mention many smaller theaters offer discount days. It’s not just about having something to do, even if you aren’t engaging with the community, you are with the community. It’s invigorating to experience. Especially during popular releases where movie-goers dress up.
The fact of the matter is, films are made to view at the cinema. On the big screen. All the decisions the filmmaker and cinematographer have made are to maximize that movie-going experience. You are with community in the audience and with the staff. You have no domestic distractions. You get the best visual and audio quality and you’re sitting upright because that’s the way films are intended to be watched, not on your laptop whose motherboard is wailing in agony because it’s on its last legs. Support art. Support the things that keep us informed, excited, connected and sane. Most importantly, support your local independent theaters and city’s special summer screenings if you have them.
I would also be remiss to not mention that people should find it in themselves to go see movies alone sometimes. Once you start, you can’t stop. It’s such a serene experience.
it was such an honor ☺️
Marquita is a fucking legend. ✨