Why are we obsessed with asking actors about their favourite movies?

Every actor now has to arrive on a red carpet prepared for a specific question: what are your favourite movies? It seems simple, but it’s provoking turmoil — performative or otherwise — in some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. “The last time I did this, I panicked so hard that I nearly cried,” says Anya Taylor-Joy. “Oh no, is now the moment?” says Austin Butler. “Really? This is where we’re starting?” says Charlize Theron.

All three of those stars have just been asked to name their four favourite movies. The social media website Letterboxd — a facility for film fans to keep a diary of their viewing and share reviews — has made this question its trademark when interviewing famous faces or vox-popping movie fans on the street. The three videos mentioned above have a combined 200,000 likes on Instagram.

There’s no denying the entertainment value of this sort of material. It’s fascinating to hear about the movies that shaped the actors and filmmakers who are now riding high in Hollywood, whether their choices are mainstream blockbusters, classics from the past, or obscure arthouse gems. And studios no doubt love it as it steers interviewers away from asking genuinely challenging questions or talking about controversial issues.

Jamie Lee Curtis and Sophia Hammons from Freakier Friday choose four favourites with Letterboxd. (Letterboxd)

“I actually quite enjoy the Letterboxd Top 4 because I think it breaks the monotony for artists during the red carpet and I enjoy pairing the celebrity with their films and getting to know a little about how their favourites inspire their choices in acting,” says Sarah Cook, who has worked in social media and marketing for Picturehouse Cinemas and the Royal Albert Hall. “I think it works well as a format and has done extremely well on social media because everyone has their four favourites and it’s thrilling when someone famous has the same favourite as you.”

Read more: Inside the Art of Letterboxd’s ‘Four Favorites’ (IndieWire, 8 min read)

It’s not just Letterboxd that’s responsible. Criterion’s ‘Closet Picks’ YouTube series has been a destination for stars promoting their work for years, with famous faces selecting influential movies from the thousands of films stored in Criterion’s collection. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes runs an occasional written article series in which stars speak about their five favourite films, with an archive of chats stretching all the way back to 2008.

Simon Pegg is one of the stars who has picked his favourite films in the Criterion Closet. (Criterion)

However, it’s worth asking whether this viral, snackable material comes at the expense of more thought-provoking and in-depth interview questioning. In the social media era, quick-fire content is king and there are fewer places than ever for longform interviews to thrive. While podcasts are a terrific medium for longer and more considered interviews — with the likes of The Empire Podcast and The Ringer’s long-running The Big Picture among the best examples — the days of them appearing prominently on TV or on the radio are long gone.

Cook agrees that, while viral “favourite movie” content is successful, it shouldn’t be the only thing around. “I think we are steering too close to soundbites and now every single publication is champing at the bit to get the views, which means we are diluting red carpet journalism as a response,” she says.

Read more: Inside the Criterion Mobile Closet, the Best Five Minutes You Can Spend at Your Favorite Film Festival (IndieWire, 4 min read)

It’s certainly true that there’s an arms race going on. A flick through the Instagram feed for BAFTA shows stars being asked to name their favourite rivalry or share their first movie memories — definite cousins of the “four favourites” format. Meanwhile, Entertainment Weekly marked the Toronto International Film Festival by asking actors to talk about their most formative cinema experiences. Everyone is chasing the same audience in the same way.

BAFTA’s Instagram feed is leaning into discussion of favourite films. (BAFTA)

To some extent, this sort of content is a refreshing use of time — especially when it comes to red carpet interviews. The inherently rapid nature of this format — it’s rare for an outlet to get more than two or three minutes with a star — means it’s difficult to ask interesting questions or encourage real, thoughtful reflection. In that context, getting actors and filmmakers to talk about movies they like is arguably a good use of time and snaps the interviewees out of their routine, prepared answers to the five most obvious questions about what attracted them to the role. But when everyone is doing it, it’s much less impactful.

Read more: How Charli XCX became the world’s most surprising movie influencer (Yahoo Entertainment, 4 min read)

The popularity of “four favourites” isn’t a problem in and of itself. Letterboxd has carved out a niche in the field and it’s genuinely interesting to see famous faces pick through their cinephile credentials. But in a landscape when longform interviewing seldom gets time in the spotlight, it feels like a symptom of a wider problem — risk-averse, undemanding, and driven solely by encouraging people to click on a heart.