Inside the Art of Letterboxd’s ‘Four Favorites’

There’s much to consider when you’re a publicist and a client planning for the push of a new movie. If a celebrity needs to prove just how down-to-earth or relatable they are, they can consume obscenely fiery chicken wings on “Hot Ones” and nearly lose control of their bodily functions. If they’re looking to be taken more seriously, they can journey into the Criterion Closet and pontificate about the artistic wonders of some of the most acclaimed movies in celluloid history.

The more obscure, the better. Letterboxed ’s viral “Four Favorites” gives participants a chance to demonstrate their relatability and cinematic knowledge simultaneously and in a fraction of the time, too. Any film fan who has been online in the last few months will have undoubtedly seen clips of Nicolas Cage, Adam Sander, Jennifer Lawrence, Keanu Reeves, Tom Hanks, Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt — basically anyone with a new movie to wax about — overwhelmed and struggling to whittle their favorite movies down to just four.

Through Letterboxd ’s unique red carpet approach, we discovered Sandler’s love of “Five Easy Pieces” and “The Last Detail,” Lawrence’s equal adulation for both “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and “The Long Goodbye,” as well as Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott delightfully geeking out over “The Remains of the Day.” In an age when most film coverage can feel the same, and sanitized answers are repeated ad nauseam by media-trained talent bored by their own re.