Celebrating 1 Year + Opening The Film Flavor Suggestion Box
My DMs are open... | Lessons from 12 months on Substack, and what's around the river bend
Hello fellow cinephiles and epicures!
One year ago this month, I began writing Film Flavor. The premise was simple: Film Flavor was to be a newsletter surveying food in films, the history of food and films, and all things I find culturally flavorful.
Thanks to Film Flavor, I’ve spent the past year connecting with other culture readers, writers, and people who spend their time browsing food-themed Letterboxd lists.
On our six-month anniversary, I was ecstatic to report Film Flavor had over 100 audience members. Half a year, dozens of posts, and one micro-viral Substack Note later, and today, that number is pushing 500, which is nearly 1000, which essentially means red carpets + Olipop sponsorships, here we come!
While I’d love to light a few taper candles and reach out my hand to yours across a white tablecloth in a show of thanks, the costs of taking each and every one of Film Flavor’s subscribers out for a nice dinner in a dimly lit restaurant are alas prohibitively expensive for a food-film writer’s budget.
In lieu of wining and dining with you all, I thought I’d mark our one-year anniversary with a thank-you, a look back at our best posts to date, and an earnest opening of the Film Flavor Suggestion Box!
The Film Flavor Suggestion Box is Open!
I’m working on making Film Flavor even tastier, and I need your feedback to do it!
This quick two-minute survey — it’s five tiny questions! — is your chance to share what you love, what you’d like to see more of, and how I can make your experience with Film Flavor even better!
PLUS If you submit your response by December 1st, 2024, I will send you one of my top-secret at-home spiced popcorn recipes.
Don’t dilly-dally, fill out the Film Flavor Suggestion Box here:
If you'd like to receive instructions on how to make my favorite winter-movie-watching popcorn in the comfort of your own home, please fill out the form above before December 1st, 2024.
Film Flavor’s Most Popular Posts To Date
After taking a look at the (albeit minimal) data Substack provides, Film Flavor’s most popular posts fall under a few different categories…
Film-Specific Food Breakdowns
Okay, in the interest of keeping it real: I am way too proud of our Some Like It Hot Piece. In said article, I uncovered a blasphemous swap of Skippy’s Peanut Butter for Kraft’s Cheez Wiz, and other period-inaccurate food products. Billy Wilder may have had the public fooled for years, but — oh ho! — I, Via Marsh of Film Flavor, knew better.
Breakdown pieces — those that identify each and every food (and, ahem, “food product”) that appears in a film — certainly require the eye of a sleuth.
Luckily for me, my sometimes-day job as an archival researcher (and often-night job as a consumer of unhealthy amounts of media) has trained me for this very task. I am unafraid to take screenshots, zoom in, and dare I say, “enhance.” In short, I am a far better Googler than most. As society falls into idiocracy all around me, I stand firm, cracking my knuckles with focus as I search for the exact brand of potato chips Marilyn Monroe ate in 1955.
Indeed, identifying foods in films makes me throw my head back and laugh in unabashed glee.
Food, Film, + Movie Theater Controversies
Have You Ever Smuggled Snacks into a Movie Theater? (Concession Confessions)
Blimey, Sweet Popcorn! Hidden Secrets Behind Britain’s Cinema Concessions
How To Revive Classic Films: Fun Snacks For Old Movie Nights
It should come as no surprise that, in our Lord’s year of 2024, the people love a hot take. Just like some of our favorite movies, some of our favorite Film Flavor pieces are polarizing as all heck. From smuggling snacks into movie theaters to sprinkling sugar on popcorn, cinephiles get up to some divisive activities, and we’re here to report it!
Food-in-Film Roundups
The Year of the Egg (in Movies): We Live In Time & The Substance Cracked Open
The Golden Age of Pizza Cinema: Italian-American Summer Slices
This category is a newer addition, having become a part of the Film Flavor repertoire in the last six months. To my surprise, Film Flavor readers have read and shared our food-in-film roundups more than I could have ever imagined. Pastries, pizza, pickles — there is a near-endless amount of food that has graced the silver screen, and I will continue to dutifully report it!
Food-Film History + Behind-The-Scenes Deep Dishes
How Movie Menus Are Made: An Interview With Alamo Drafthouse Chef Brad Sorenson
A Nostalgic Look Back At Movie Theater Candy + Concession Stands
Though they may be a bit more research-intensive, these deep dishes have been a real treat to write. We’d love to continue sharing these historical food-film deep dives and behind-the-scenes looks. They will, of course, be a bit more spread out, given the time investment involved. Still, let’s be honest, deep dishes are Film Flavor’s bread and butter!
Film Flavor’s Collaborations
Remember when I said I was lucky enough to collaborate with a few fellow culture newsletter writers? Meet the crew:
Ezgi Eren runs the effervescent movie theater newsletter 11am Saturday. By some miracle, 11am decided to ask me — of all people — 15 questions! Please read it quickly before they realize I’m unworthy of such an honor:
Adam Cecil writes one of my all-time favorite newsletters, Night Water. (If you want some late-night cultural comedy to quench your thirst, it’s the newsletter for you.) In addition to sharing his British movie theater popcorn criticisms with Film Flavor readers, he featured some of my late-night vibes in one of his nightcap segments earlier this year:
I wrote a few pieces for Feature Presentation Video earlier this year! More than a substack newsletter, FPV produces daily columns, multiple podcasts, and a slew of other media about media. Below are some pieces I had a blast working on with their talented Editor-in-Chief Patrick J. Regal:
The Film Flavor Instagram
Did you know Film Flavor with Via Marsh initially started as a humble Instagram page?
Once we graduated to newsletter status, our Instagram has remained active, and you can check it out over at @FilmFlavor!
We recently had to block/remove some of our Instagram followers due to some young souls creating a less-than-idyllic environment in our comments section. All that is to say, any support you could throw Film Flavor’s way on Instagram at this time would be all the more appreciated!
What’s Next on Film Flavor?
While I have my hunches, you, dear reader, are going to ultimately determine what Film Flavor features in 2025. That is, if you remember to fill out the Film Flavor Suggestion Box Survey, below!
Cover Notes: Images taken from The Seven Year Itch, Titanic, and Barbie, depicting Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, and Marilyn Monroe evidently celebrating the one-year anniversary of Film Flavor.
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Finally, a HUGE THANK YOU to all of Film Flavor’s subscribers, new and old. It’s been a profound privilege to have you read my food and film thoughts multiple times a month. Your support means the world to me, and I’m honored to serve up food & film in your inbox!
With gratitude,
Congratulations on your first anniversary here.
Congrats! When you've got some non-food in film ideas, you've got the green light at FP.