15 Questions With Jason Weltman
"That Thursday (opening) night slot with a crowd full of sickos like me is where I want to be."
Name: Jason Weltman
Location: Studio City
Occupation: Business Affairs Exec
Links: Jason’s Letterboxd
1. What’s your favorite day & time to go to the movies?
If there’s a movie that I’m hotly anticipating and the crowd having juice is going to have a positive effect on the experience - Weapons is a good recent example - that Thursday (opening) night slot with a crowd full of sickos like me is where I most want to be.
2. What’s your favorite movie theater?
I’m definitely at the AMC’s in Century City and CityWalk the most, and this answer would be the Hollywood Arclight if it were not still tragically closed (any underground networks or secret societies working on rectifying this please enlist me). But my answer has to be a tie between the 70MM Imax theater in the Lincoln Square AMC in New York and the IFC Center in the Village, both mostly for nostalgia and memories of seeing so many things there with friends in my 20s.
For example, it took me way too long to get around to seeing Miyazaki films, and I got to see my first, Castle in the Sky, in the theater at IFC because they were always nailing the perfect combo of indie and repertory fare. I also distinctly remember taking a very rare night off from law school studies to catch Nolan’s Interstellar on that 70mm screen. I kinda think the movie itself is mid, but I’ll never forget having my mind blown by seeing that black hole look that good at that size.
3. What’s your go-to movie theater snack & drink combo?
I try to do this as little as possible these days for aging reasons, but I’m just an absolute sucker for an Icee, particularly the blue raspberry flavor, and love to pair it with popcorn smothered in butter and salt.
4. What’s your dream movie theater snack & drink combo (if noise and sound weren’t an issue)?
I’m so boring on this. To me, the perfect theater snack is one that sits at the exact intersection of delicious & not distracting from the movie. I think theaters have largely found the right supply for that, but I guess I’d like to see more of the new wave of allegedly healthier snacks, such as candy with more fiber and less sugar, protein chips, that kinda stuff.
5. First movie you remember seeing in a theater?
My most vivid and early memory of a theater-going is somehow convincing strict parents to allow my best friend and I to see the midnight opening (remember when those were a thing?) of Attack of the Clones.
6. Last movie you saw in a theater?
Sentimental Value - just incredible.
7. Is there a movie you wish you could have seen in a theater?
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is one I’ve seen but wish I could see in the theater, I’ll get to a repertory screening one of these days. A movie I haven’t ever seen that I’m holding out to see on the big screen is Ben-Hur (this slot was previously occupied by Seven Samurai, and Lawrence of Arabia before that).
8. Please describe your ideal movie theater seat.
Front row of the second section behind the walkway, towards the ende for a quick exit / bathroom flexibility if need be. Preferably behind some sort of bars to put my feet up if the seats don’t recline.
9. One thing you would change to make movie theaters better?
Mostly I’d just like to see each of them become a unique and special place that is of a piece with the community and location in which it sits.
For my personal taste, I’d also love to see some class it up and evoke more of the old movie palace vibe. What Tarantino did with the Vista here in LA is an ideal example. So many of them, especially the biggest chains, are just these anonymous, anodyne, modern-but-not-in-a-cool-way rectangular blahs nowadays.
Oh, and as a bonus, stop getting rid of masking! Every screen should have proper masking.
10. Tell me about an especially memorable moviegoing experience that stands out in your mind.
Possible recency bias, but I had the extreme fortune of getting to see Jafar Panahi in person for a screening this year of It Was Just an Accident. Being able to see that man move freely, let alone in *this* moment given what he represents as a human and filmmaker, plus what that film has to say, is definitely an all-timer for me.
11. Is there a trailer you’ve seen before a movie recently that stuck with you?
I gotta say, especially after having seen the movie itself, I thought they cut a wildly effective trailer for The Lost Bus.
12. What’s a movie you’re looking forward to seeing?
At this point based on what I’ve already seen from this season, this has to be a tie between No Other Choice and Marty Supreme.
13. What’s your dream combination of director and lead(s)?
As our preeminent framer of faces (and just one of our absolute best directors), I’d love to see Barry Jenkins direct just about anything with some of our best micro-expression and eye actors like Emma Stone, Daniel Kaluuya, and/or Carey Mulligan.
14. If you could live in a movie, which one would it be?
Left unchecked, I could have spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about this one and gone down some weird rabbit holes, like making this answer Synecdoche, New York.
Out of innumerable good options, I’d have to say Chungking Express, not necessarily to be in that specific movie, but because the notion of living in a world that looks and feels as seen through Wong Kar-Wai’s eyes just sounds so gorgeous, vibey and romantic.
15. Why do you think people should continue seeing movies at the movie theater?
Do I have a word limit? I think three very important things happen at the theater you cannot replicate at home, and if you’re lucky, you can get all three simultaneously:
Seeing a movie in a theater is giving the tireless work from a small nation’s worth of people the most fair chance to be seen in the closest approximation to their design as possible. (I do need to acknowledge with all the format hoopla these days - VistaVision this, 70MM Imax that and price hikes for them all - this is becoming worryingly less democratized and exhibitors, filmmakers, and the industry at large need to reckon with and rectify this issue).
Seeing a movie in a theater requires an audience member to give themselves over to a movie, to watch intently and intentionally, in a way just about any other environment simply cannot match. Of course, the insane stunts and set pieces of Fury Road or the rollercoaster effect of the One Battle After Another camera cresting each hill in Burggo Springs have a heightened potency on the biggest screen with the best sound compared to the best at-home setups.
But equally important, in my opinion, is giving yourself over to an intimate movie, to see the tight-knit, persevering family of Minari, for example, and its smaller, more everyday but no less moving or beautiful moments on the big screen as well.
The community and crowd effects that, when discussed, often can sound like saccharine pablum are real. Funny is just funnier when the whole room is laughing. Scary is made scarier. Wild, wilder. If you’re seeing one for just the sickos, there’s even something affirming about knowing you’re in a room full of fellow sickos.
In short, and to paraphrase Nicole Kidman, when everything is really working right, theaters just make movies better.
I completely agree with adding in protein chips and I’ll take it a step further and say they’re really missing an opportunity not offering protein popcorn
the people yearn for smart sweets and joyride candy!!! Skinny dipped!!! Unreal!!!