15 Questions With Rachel Wallace, Entertainment Editor at Architectural Digest
"I don’t think it’s true that people want to be looking at a second screen while watching a movie."
Name: Rachel Wallace
Location: Brooklyn
Occupation: Writer/Senior Entertainment Editor at Architectural Digest
Links: Rachel’s Substack, Instagram
1. What’s your favorite day & time to go to the movies?
8pm on Friday night is absolutely *chef’s kiss* to me. I’ve tried so hard to become a morning person over the years, but at my core I’m a night owl. Also, I cannot cope with coming out of an emotional movie while it’s still daylight. The darkness is my friend.
2. What’s your favorite movie theater?
Sadly there’s no theater in NYC that has all three qualities that are most important to me: fully reclining seats, Coke products, and proximity to my home. But the seats at Nitehawk are comfortable enough, and it has the other two things plus overall good vibes, fun little montages that play before the show, and special showings of old films—which I love.
Regal Essex or Regal Union Square are always good for an on-a-whim movie, on a day where you’re doing something in Manhattan and then decide to do what I call “bopping around” which just means taking hours to get back to Brooklyn. I’ve also found myself at Williamsburg Cinemas many times on a Brooklyn bop-around day.
Syndicated in Bushwick is a really special theater even though they only play a few movies at a time. It really has that Bushwick spirit where everything feels vaguely postmodern. I have such good memories of going to watch The Bachelor there, although that was in the bar area, not the theater—but still on a big, big screen.
I see a lot of movies for work, and over the years I’ve discovered many of the different screening rooms all around the city. I often forget which one is which, and then it’s a surprise when I show up. But one that sticks out is the screening room in the A24 office in Flatiron. They have great, really plush seats that are spaced really far apart from each other. They also have very fancy pads, tampons, and wipes in the bathroom and little individual packets of bubble gum mouthwash.
3. What’s your go-to movie theater snack & drink combo?
I love gummy candy of all kinds, especially Sour Patch Kids, Swedish Fish, and Nerds Gummy Clusters (which I think we all agree is the best invention of the 21st century). There’s nothing like snapping a gummy during a suspenseful part of a movie. I love a fountain Coke, but at Pepsi-only theaters (looking at you, Regal) I will ask for a seltzer from the fountain, which is also great. I like popcorn, but whether I get it depends on my mood.
4. What’s your dream movie theater snack & drink combo (if noise and sound weren’t an issue)?
Honestly, all I really want is an elevated version of what I’m already getting. If a theater had those Swedish BonBon gummies, flavored seltzer options, and maybe popcorn with real melted butter and some garlic powder (which I love making for an at-home movie), I’d be in heaven.
5. First movie you remember seeing in a theater?
I have a really vivid, short flash of a memory of watching Pocahontas running across the screen singing “Colors of the Wind,” and my mom confirms that was the first movie I saw in a theater. It was at the Jersey shore. We definitely used to go to the movies a lot while we were there just because of the air conditioning. I really don’t think air conditioning was ubiquitous in the northeast until the 2010s, or at least the 2000s. And now all of a sudden, AI is encroaching. It’s crazy. Anyway, I was barely three years old the summer Pocahontas came out, so now I’m wondering if that might be one of my earliest memories…ever?
6. Last movie you saw in a theater?
Erupcja. It was a screening at MoMa. I loved it.
7. Is there a movie you wish you could have seen in a theater?
I was really sad that I missed when The Sound of Music came back to theaters for its 60th anniversary recently. As a kid, I watched it over and over and over again and I just love it. That is my more wholesome answer.
One of my favorite movies is American Honey, and I never saw it in a theater. I would love to be immersed in that perfect soundtrack in the dark. I deeply relate to teen angst and I definitely don’t mind a movie that is kind of running on vibes, as long as it makes me feel something.
8. Have you ever seen a movie more than once in theaters?
I’m pretty sure the only time I’ve ever done this was with The Iron Claw, because I wrote an article about it and I needed another watch as I was working on it. In my day job, I’m writing about set design, and I’ll see a movie once and then refer to pictures of the sets as I’m writing. But this was a piece I pitched to Vogue about how the film reflects the current state of masculinity. It was a new challenge for me, and I am very proud of it. It made me realize that my two main interests, when it comes to writing, really boil down to movies and mental health. PS: That film was criminally snubbed. Give Zac Efron his Oscar.
9. Do you stay through the credits or leave once the film ends?
I leave when it ends but I feel guilty.
10. What’s one thing you would change to make movie theaters better?
Like everything in this world, it would be great if they could be cheaper. But also, I want theaters to stay open, especially the small ones.
11. Tell me about an especially memorable moviegoing experience that stands out in your mind.
Coming out of Black Swan in the middle of the day is a visceral memory. This is the reason I don’t like daytime movies. I just remember feeling like it was so wrong that it was still light out. It was like waking up from a nap and being disoriented, only 100 times worse.
12. What’s a movie you’re looking forward to seeing?
I Love Boosters. And Mile End Kicks.
13. What’s your dream combination of director and lead(s)?
Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson with Bong Joon Ho. I think fellow frustrated American Horror Story fans will agree.
14. If you could live in a movie, which one would it be?
Any Pedro Almodóvar movie, because you know the design will be amazing.
15. Why do you think people should continue seeing movies at the movie theater?
Because I don’t think it’s true that people want to be looking at a second screen while watching a movie. We are victims of being addicted to our little second screens sometimes, but what we really want is to be totally immersed in something that makes us feel seen.
Seeing a movie in the theater is just so special. If you go alone, you’re still kind of with other people. If you go with friends, you can be together without having to talk. Above all else, I always leave the theater feeling inspired, which is what keeps me going back.