"Alamo Drafthouse with Drew McWeeny" is Episode 464 of Doughboys, hosted by Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell. "Alamo Drafthouse with Drew McWeeny" was released on September 19, 2024.
"Tomorrow… with Drew McWeeny" - @doughboyspod
Synopsis[]
Drew McWeeny (@DrewMcWeeny, Formerly Dangerous) joins the 'boys to talk movie theater experiences, the state of the film industry, and working as a projectionist before a review of Alamo Drafthouse. Plus, they Snack or Wack the famous "Tom Cruise Cake."
Nick's intro[]
Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka
In 1946, amidst the American occupation and reconstruction that followed World War II, former missile engineers Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita partnered to open the Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation. A small, struggling company for its first decade of existence, it was a partnership with an American firm that led to its breakout product: a handheld transistor radio, marketed in Japan under the new brand name, Sony.
Over the next half century, Sony would innovate in the consumer electronics industry in both Japan and globally, introducing and/or popularizing the pocket calculator, the color television, the Betamax VCR, and the iconic Sony Walkman. And then, in 1988, Sony once again made a momentous business move in the U.S.: this time acquiring American companies CBS Records Group and Columbia Pictures, migrating from electronics into music and movies, before it was all just a smear called “content.” In 1995, the company merged electronics and entertainment with the introduction of the Sony PlayStation, which would realign the video-game industry by finally dethroning sector kingpin Nintendo.
In 1997, just as Sony scored a coup by publishing Square’s Final Fantasy VII as a PlayStation exclusive, two graduates of Texas’ Rice University, Tim and Karrie League, opened a single-screen movie theater in Austin. With little aspiration beyond screening films while serving food and drinks, the picture house became a Mecca for movie buffs, known for menu offerings themed to its exhibitions, and soon grew into an Austin-area fiefdom of cinema and cuisine. After successfully expanding across the Lone Star state, in 2009, the company opened its first outlet outside of Texas, and today has a presence in two dozen regions across America.
But in March 2021, weighed down by the COVID pandemic and mismanagement of its aggressive expansion plans, the burgeoning chain was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. To paraphrase a film that might be exhibited alongside astronaut ice cream and a Tang cocktail: "Austin… we have a problem." The solution came when Sony ventured into yet another new business. In June of 2024, Sony acquired the struggling company and its nearly three dozen locations, entering into theatrical exhibition for the first time. To quote another Austin-related film that might screen along with Mini-Meatballs and a Fat Bastard IPA: “Yeah baby, yeah!”
And so, just as movie theaters have endured for over a hundred years amid ever-shifting economic realities and crises big and small, so too will the nation’s now seventh-biggest theater chain endure under the stewardship of the former Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation.
This week on Doughboys… Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.
Fork rating[]
Inside Out 2
| guest / host | ordered | rating |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Wiger |
|
4 forks |
| Mike Mitchell |
|
4 forks |
| Drew McWeeny |
|
4 forks |
| shared |
|
The Doughboys all went to Alamo Drafthouse in downtown Los Angeles together. They saw Inside Out 2. (They didn't love it.)
With these scores, Alamo Drafthouse joins the Golden Plate Club!
Snack or Wack[]
In Snack or Wack, the Doughboys try a snack and decide if it is good or bad ('snack or wack').
For this episode, they try the "Tom Cruise Cake," which is a White Chocolate Coconut Bundt Cake from Doan's Bakery in Woodland Hills, CA. Tom Cruise famously sends the cake to his celebrity friends as a gift. Drew ordered the cake and brought some slices for The Doughboys to try.
They all love the cake (and Tom Cruise too).
| guest / host | rating |
|---|---|
| Nick Wiger | Snack |
| Mike Mitchell | Snack |
| Drew McWeeny | Snack |
| Emma Erdbrink | Snack |
| Casey Donahue | Snack |
Roast Spoonman[]
Cici's Pizza
| “ | A Man Who CC's Pizza On Every E-mail | ” |
–Jeffrey | ||
Quotes[]
| “ | As a projectionist, was there ever a time when the Gremlins tried to take over the projection? | ” |
–Mike Mitchell re: Drew working in a movie theater | ||
| “ | There's 'Mommy & Me' screenings that Wiger and I try to get into. I dress up as a baby and you take me. | ” |
–The Doughboys re: going to movies | ||
The Feedbag[]
| “ | Do you have any favorite movie tie-in foods or merch? | ” |
–Ethan M. | ||
| guest / host | movie tie-ins |
|---|---|
| Nick Wiger | |
| Mike Mitchell |
|
| Drew McWeeny | Despicable Me 4 popcorn bucket |
Drops and Plugs[]
| reference | notes |
|---|---|
| movie trailer for The Murder Boy | in Mitch's drop (by Kevin) |
Related Episodes[]
| Drew McWeeny episodes |
|---|
|
Photos[]
-