15 Questions With Tyler “Llewyn” Taing

"Stop putting movies on streaming and VOD so soon, let them breathe and become successful from word of mouth."

“Here’s a photo of me on Halloween dressed as Steven Spielberg at the Alamo Drafthouse in San Francisco :) ”

Name: Tyler “Llewyn” Taing
Location: Santa Ana, California
Occupation: Freelance journalist/volunteer at The Frida Cinema
Links: Tyler’s work, Twitter, IG

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

I have always loved the cinema on Thursday nights ever since I was a kid, especially because it’s the time for opening previews for the week’s new releases. Some of my most formative moviegoing experiences as a kid were midnight movie openings, and I loved the entire ritual of waiting in line in the parking lot and bragging to my classmates that I’ve seen the movie already the Friday after. While we don’t quite have that today, Thursday night openings still remain the most communal experiences you can possibly have with a movie.

2. What’s your favorite movie theater?

I have major loyalty to The Frida Cinema in my hometown in Santa Ana, California. I’ve been going to The Frida ever since I was in high school, and this year marked the theater’s 11th anniversary. It’s the first arthouse I’ve ever been to, and geographically one of the only arthouse theaters in the Orange County area.

The Frida Cinema, Orange County, CA. photo cred

I feel emotionally bonded to this place, and it’s almost as if we’ve grown up together. I recently have become a volunteer since I have moved back from San Francisco, and I have made so many valuable friends and feel even more immersed in the local film community. The Frida has strong legs now and has come a long way from how it was when I went to Rocky Horror screenings in high school. Being in that lobby feels akin to a second home.

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

I go to the movies often enough that I don’t always get a snack, but when I do, I usually opt for a hot dog with a diet cherry vanilla coke or an ICEE depending on the mood. With a group, we add a large popcorn with Buncha Crunch mixed in to share.

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

The ultimate fantasy would to have full service boba and Taiwanese fried chicken in the theater. I also love hot Cheetos but they’re not an optimal theater snack because I get insecure about the crunching.

5. First movie you remember seeing in a theater?

The first movie I have memories of seeing in a theater is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It really stuck with me. When my family got a portable DVD player, that was one of the DVDs I would take around everywhere. When I become obsessed with a movie, I really become so obsessed with it from a mechanical perspective. Even now as an adult, I find myself rewatching movies I love over and over, trying to understand how they tick or why I get swept away watching them. Prisoner of Azkaban is the perfect movie for that. It’s pure escapist fantasy and good vibes.

6. Last movie you saw in a theater?

The last movie I watched in a theater was the 2025 remake of the The Wedding Banquet. It was so lovely! I think Andrew Ahn is a beautiful storyteller and I love that he balances queer fantasy with realistic queer characters. As a previous Star Wars stan account I will follow Kelly Marie Tran anywhere she goes. I’m so proud of her and loved to see her in this film because she’s the true heart of it all.

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

Thankfully I am blessed to be in an area with so many great repertory screenings, but one that I haven’t yet been able to catch yet is Lawrence of Arabia. I know it screens often, but I usually am always busy when it comes around in my usual spots. Eventually I will get around to it.

8. Please describe your ideal movie theater seat!

I love to be dead center in a standard format screen. Any closer and I feel like I’m not getting a good view of the image, and any further back kind of feels like I’m not being immersed. In a large format or IMAX theater, I prefer to be all the way to the back so I can see the full scale of the image. This feels critical, especially for movies like Dune or Oppenheimer that use the full square IMAX ratio.

9. One thing you would change to make movie theaters better?

I think rep screenings should be more normalized at regular movie theater chains as well as arthouses. When I was younger and couldn’t afford to go to the movies as regularly as I do now, I know that I fell in love with film through watching our family’s DVD collection and discovering older movies on TV. We should be taking the opportunity to educate younger generations and the general public of cinema’s history whenever possible.

Outside of that, stop putting movies on streaming and VOD so soon, let movies breathe and become successful from word of mouth.

10. Where do you stand on intermissions?

Intermissions are nice and I think we should bring them back, however, I do think that should also be up to the discretion of the filmmaker. I know recently there was a huge debate over this when Killers of the Flower Moon came out. That film is a pretty breezy 3 hours, but something like The Brutalist totally needed it. Not just because it was long, but because the two acts are so distinct that they feel like they needed to be broken apart. Regardless, it was fun to be able to go the bathroom, get an extra snack, and digest what you’ve seen.

11. Is there a trailer you’ve seen before a movie recently that stuck with you?

The trailer for Zach Cregger’s new movie, Weapons. I loved Barbarian and this seems to be something even more sinister. I loved that it doesn’t give anything about the plot away but it shows you a very compelling image of the kids running into the dark with their arms out. It gives me genuine chills. That is a proper trailer.

Weapons dir. Zach Cregger (trailer)

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

One Battle After Another is my most anticipated film of the year. I’m a huge Paul Thomas Anderson fan, and I feel like whenever a movie of his comes around it feels like such an event. I saw Licorice Pizza in 70mm three different times. This seems to be a huge departure for him artistically and that’s also always very exciting.

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

Steven Spielberg will always remain my favorite director. I feel so blessed that we’ve gotten so many films from him recently and that he seems to be at the top of his game. West Side Story and The Fabelmans are amongst his best work which is so impressive for a director of his age and influence. Selfishly, I would love to see him work with Oscar Isaac one day. Isaac is an actor that is so natural and the camera loves his face, for a while after Star Wars it seemed like he was going to be the next movie star, and that hasn’t really paid off yet outside of a few classics like Inside Llewyn Davis and Ex Machina. I also love whenever Oscar works with Jessica Chastain specifically. Get them together in a Spielberg, ASAP.

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

This is a tricky question for me, as I’ve gotten older I’ve started to really enjoy complex and darker material with morally complicated characters. I am a sucker for the Paddington films though, how could you not want to live in that world? Even just being a background character tangential to Paddington’s story seems like living your best life.

I also love Turning Red’s depiction of early 2000s Toronto. Very pastel pink and magical girl inspired.

I am an Indiana Jones obsessive and I saw a lot of myself in Short Round growing up, so I would love to go on an adventure with Dr. Jones.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom dir. Steven Spielberg

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

Seeing movies in a cinema is one of the medium’s longest communal and sacred traditions for a reason — it elevates every film you see and gives you the maximum amount of immersion possible. My ADHD brain makes it quite difficult to watch movies at home, there are so many distractions and even having the option to pause or rewind can overcomplicate things. In a theater, I feel like I am transported to a new state of mind and when all elements come together and the movie is especially great, walking out of that theater evokes such a unique euphoric feeling. I do want to direct films one day, and I can only hope that one of my movies makes people feel exactly what I am describing.