What makes the ultimate scary or action-packed movie night? In Part 3 of How to Do the Pot’s Summer Movie Nights series, host Ellen Scanlon is joined by Sophia Wronsky, writer of the popular Substack Sophia is Voracious, to share how to create a night full of suspense, excitement, and fun.
Sophia reveals her favorite scary, horror, and action films — plus her tricks for recreating a movie-theater atmosphere at home. From themed snacks and crowd-pleasing meals to drinks and cannabis tips that match the mood and keep the night flowing, you’ll learn how to keep guests engaged from the first trailer to the final scene.
You’ll also hear:
We cover everything from intense thrillers to lighter action favorites — plus a few surprises you might not expect.
[00:00:06] Sophia Wronsky: Try to make it as much like a movie theater as possible. Keep the lights down low. One thing I’ve been really wanting to do is like flashing up one of those warnings. Don’t talk. Otherwise, you’ll get kicked out. Could be really fun, especially, as you can probably tell I’m a bit chatty.
[00:00:23] If I have a little too much THCA become even more chatty, I definitely need the reminder to keep it down.
[00:00:31] Ellen Scanlon: Welcome to How To Do The Pot, the award-winning podcast, helping you feel confident with Canvas. I’m your host, Ellen Scanl0n.
[00:00:46] You just heard from Sophia Ky, the New York based writer of the popular Substack. Sophia is voracious. This is the final episode in our summer movie nights series. If you miss part two, [00:01:00] now is the perfect time to go back and listen. Sophia shared her ultimate comfort movies that’ll make you wanna curl up with a blanket, your favorite snacks, and the people you love.
[00:01:11] With summer winding down, it’s a great way to squeeze in one last cozy movie night with friends or family before the summer ends. And now in part three, we are turning up the suspense. In today’s show, we’re talking about scary horror action, the kind of movies that have you gripping the couch and reaching for the snacks every time you get scared.
[00:01:37] Whether you’re into spine chilling, horror, or heart racing action. Sophia shares her favorite films to keep the tension high, plus her hosting tips for making your movie Night into one you and your guest. Remember, don’t forget to check out my substack for exclusive recipes from Sophia. I hope you enjoy my [00:02:00] conversation with Sophia Roski.
[00:02:11] The next movie night that we wanna prepare for is Scary horror Action. The goal is to keep people on the edge of their seat and suspense and probably reaching for snacks. So what are some recommendations for the best, scary horror or action movies to stream?
[00:02:29] Sophia Wronsky: You know, I used to never watch horror movies, and then last year I got really into them.
[00:02:34] A couple that came out last year that I thought were amazing were Long Legs, which has Nicholas Cage and just one of the stranger performances of his career, and he has already had a very strange career. But it’s excellent. It’s really inspired by Silence of the Lambs, and so if that was something you loved growing up, I would definitely send you that way.
[00:02:54] I also loved Trap, which features Josh Hartnett. You know, I [00:03:00] love nineties Heartthrobs. He’s fantastic in it. I have never seen any of the final Destination movies, but I know that the latest one called Bloodlines is getting absolutely rave reviews from every. Podcaster or journalist out there. I just refuse to watch anything from that series because I was traumatized by one of the trailers in middle school, but to each of their own.
[00:03:22] And then if you don’t wanna go the full kind of horror route, I might try something that’s just gonna be a little more action focused, a little more suspenseful. That might be Gravity, which is a great Sandra Bullock film for that really kind of edgier seat suspense the entire time. I also recently re-watched Heat, uh, which is a fantastic, fantastic movie you, Ellen should absolutely watch it soon and make sure that’s on your list for the year.
[00:03:50] And then I do have a soft spot for. Bad action movies, really anything with Jason Statham, Liam Neeson, it’s the perfect Friday night movie [00:04:00] for me. Beekeeper, which came out I think it was last year or the year before, was one of, I think one of his best performances is really fun and a lot better than the one that came out this year, which is a working man.
[00:04:11] So I definitely do beekeeper. Some of the old Fast and Furious movies are also. Just a, a delight, suspenseful, but, but with a bit of tongue in cheek and along that line, hit Man with Glen Powell that came out last year would be another fun action movie, but it, but it’s not super serious.
[00:04:30] Ellen Scanlon: I took my son to the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC and it’s an amazing museum.
[00:04:36] Also good for adults and a lot of spy ish movies have been on my brain. And Mission Impossible two came up as sort of a classic, not Mission Impossible one, it’s number two that people really love and I know there’s a new one out at the same museum. The International Spy Museum, they were having an exhibit of James.
[00:04:57] Bond, movies, cars, so [00:05:00] all of the, really all the vehicles, so you could go and check those out too. And I do love a Bond movie. The more recent ones have been a little bit dark and scary for me, but I love sort of like a nineties bond movie.
[00:05:12] Sophia Wronsky: I love a Pierce Brosnan bond. I didn’t love the Daniel Craig era, but I’m really just excited to see who they’re gonna pick next.
[00:05:19] They haven’t announced it. It’ll be so interesting now that Amazon owns the, the ip. I guess I have a bit of trepidation about the future of the franchise, but I have to go see the car exhibit, but both my, my husband and my my father are huge. Car people. So we’re always, my, my dad refuses to watch action movies unless they have good car scenes.
[00:05:41] So the Mission Impossible movies are great for that. Some of the born movies, even the Italian job, if you wanna watch, you know, the old one or the remake. But those are all other fun kind of car oriented and tech oriented thrillers.
[00:05:57] Ellen Scanlon: Let’s talk about party planning for an edge of your seat [00:06:00] kind of night where people are gonna be maybe a little jumpy, but also kind of getting amped, you know, how do you, how do you please that crowd?
[00:06:08] Sophia Wronsky: Amp that up. Um, try to make it as much like a movie theater as possible. I mean. I went to see the most recent mission, a possible movie a couple weeks ago, and everyone was so excited. Everyone got to the theater 20 minutes early, had popcorn cheeseburgers. I was at the Alamos. You can get food and drink, but it was so exciting to be around all these people who just wanted to see what Tom Cruise was gonna do next.
[00:06:32] And so try to do something like that. Keep the lights down low. One thing I’ve been really wanting to do and is like. Flashing up one of those warnings, don’t talk. Otherwise, you’ll get kicked out. Could be really fun, especially as you can probably tell I’m a bit chatty and especially if I have a little too much DHCA become even more chatty.
[00:06:52] I definitely need the reminder to keep it down. But I would really try to mimic the, the movie environment, have a disclaimer, maybe queue up some [00:07:00] trailers. People love watching trailers, even if it’s not for the movie that they’re gonna see. But kind of give them some ideas for what to watch for the rest of the summer or the rest of the season.
[00:07:10] And then similarly I’d, in order to make sure people are being quiet, would be to establish some breaks. So have an official intermission. Make sure people know where the bathroom is so they’re not getting up and being disruptive.
[00:07:24] Ellen Scanlon: What type of food are you gonna serve for an edge of your seat night?
[00:07:28] Sophia Wronsky: I love a DIY.
[00:07:29] It’s at any dinner party. And I think especially when you’re on the edge of your seat, you wanna have control over something. And so that might be like how spicy it is or you know how much of one thing you want over another. And also I think there’s something really fun about. Having a lot of textural contrast, so I’d probably lean Mediterranean or or Mexican, and you can either do this yourself or you can order out making an easy big chicken choma or Flo, have [00:08:00] some rice, have some pickles, and a bunch of different sauces that you can pick up at your local.
[00:08:06] Middle Eastern market, you can make them yourself. Although I’ve made hummus enough times that I can just tell you just, just buy the store-bought hummus. It’s not worth the effort. A Mediterranean spread would be really lovely. People can make it their own pita or they can do a rice bowl depending on, on how many carbs they want that day.
[00:08:23] I also think DIY Taco Bar is is another perfect stoner food. You can make it yourself. You can braise anitas some chicken, some beans. Or you can just order Chipotle. There’s also a Mexican place about a block from me called Super Burrito that serves the best mission style burritos, which is the only thing I miss about San Francisco.
[00:08:45] And they also make a crunch wrap Supreme, which is. Just an elite donor food. Um, if you wanna make anyone who smoked weed in high school happy, like just say there’s gonna be a crunch wrap. Supreme on the menu. [00:09:00]
[00:09:01] Ellen Scanlon: Okay. Let’s talk about what you’re gonna serve for dessert.
[00:09:05] Sophia Wronsky: I’ve really been loving this. Banana cake with Tahini Fudge from one of my new favorite cookbooks.
[00:09:12] It’s called Third Culture Cooking by Zainab Isa. It’s super easy to put together. I think it took me like 45 minutes start to finish, and I think that, uh, the slightly mommy fudge on top made it more special than just a banana bread. So that would definitely be on my list. I also think that there’s nothing better than a pie in the summer, and so just any sort of whatever fruit looks good, like you can use pre-made pastry dough, you can make it yourself.
[00:09:43] I can give you recipes for my favorites, but just throw it all together and, and have a nice juicy slice of pie.
[00:09:50] Ellen Scanlon: And what are you serving for people to drink?
[00:09:53] Sophia Wronsky: Because there’s gonna be some spice and some texture in the meal. I’d probably go a little more [00:10:00] simple with the drinks. Do some just topo Chico or a seltzer with lime, maybe a, a margarita or just a even a tequila soda with lime if they had like a little alcohol as well.
[00:10:11] But really keep it simple and make sure it’s not anything that’s gonna spill if someone jumps up and you don’t want them to spill red wine on your couch.
[00:10:21] Ellen Scanlon: And what weed tips do you give for an edge of your seat night?
[00:10:25] Sophia Wronsky: I think this really depends on which movie you choose, and so make sure you choose that in advance.
[00:10:31] If you’re doing something like a, a heat where you actually, you really wanna be present for Robert De Niro’s meltdown, you probably wanna. Be a little light on the THC, but you know, if you’re watching Jason State, then you can kind of go all out. So I would say make sure people know what the movie is in advance, offer up a couple of options, both lower dose and higher dose, and kind of go from there.
[00:10:56] Ellen Scanlon: And you’ve said a couple times that things are [00:11:00] really easy and as a, as a not great cook, that is not how it feels to me. Um, so when you’re thinking about ease versus challenges, like if you’re gonna challenge yourself to make something new. What does that look like? Is that like a, a multiple day kind of thing?
[00:11:19] And then maybe you would call in the Chipotle for that. How do you blend things that you’re gonna take a lot of time with and then other things that you just kind of want snap your fingers and they’re done?
[00:11:30] Sophia Wronsky: Oh, that’s a great question. I think if you’re, you’re the type who likes a quote unquote kitchen project.
[00:11:37] You can go all out and, and there’s, there’s part of me that does that and wants. Every time someone comes into my house, I want everything to be homemade, from the crackers, to the cheese, to the vermouth. I’ve been aging in the bathroom. That’s only part of me, and I try not to do it all the time. And also it can be really overwhelming both for me as well as for the guests, [00:12:00] because then they constantly have to feel like they have to compliment everything and say, oh, wow, I can’t, can’t believe you did this, or even feel bad that they’re not putting that much effort into, to something that they’re doing.
[00:12:12] In terms of a balance of things that I really wanna spend the time on and feel like my time is really valuable, that’s where I’ll lean in. Usually it’s the main dish. It’s a really nice pasta, or it’s some vegetables that I spent time going to go find and blanch and, and prep. But it’s really like the, the signature.
[00:12:32] Of the meal and then the rest I feel to completely fine outsourcing either to Whole Foods, um, a local vendor or, or to a friend to have them bring it. But I think for the, for the main dish, I usually like to have control over that. That can be a multi-day project or it can just be something that I know I can execute over and over again.
[00:12:54] You know, I can make a roast chicken, I can make a lasagna, and I know that people are gonna love them and feel great about them. [00:13:00]
[00:13:01] Ellen Scanlon: So where did you learn to be such a wonderful host?
[00:13:05] Sophia Wronsky: I’ve always been really into food. I started cooking when I was in high school and my dad established a rotating meal schedule, uh, one summer, and so we each had to cook one night a week, and I loved it because I got to control what everyone was doing.
[00:13:22] So that was where I first fell in love with food and the idea of kinda nourishing the family and getting to control every aspect of the dinner experience. Then when I went to college, um, instead of taking out loans, I decided to get a full-time job. Uh, so I ended up working at a couple restaurants in downtown Charlottesville and my first job was as a hostess and I really credit them for.
[00:13:46] Teaching me like how to be welcoming and getting to see that my actions had such a big impact on the experience of the guests in a [00:14:00] really meaningful way was I think something that was really powerful for me at 18 to get to see that when I told someone, oh, you’re actually gonna have to wait two hours for a table, and they’d look at me like, Ugh.
[00:14:12] But if I could say, oh, but. Don’t worry, like have a drink at the bar. I can also call someone at a restaurant down the street, see if there are seats for you. They came back so much happier. The reviews were better and also I felt better because I didn’t, I didn’t wanna send them away. I just wanted them to have a good night.
[00:14:27] And so I think it started at home and then it really grew when I was in. Working in restaurants in college. And then of course as I moved up through the restaurant industry becoming a server, uh, bartending, you realize that candidly, like the nicer you are, the better experience you provide, the more money you bring home at the end of the day.
[00:14:49] So not to be too much of a capitalist out of it, but I graduated without student loans because I learned to be a really wonderful host and server. And so these [00:15:00] days I’m not getting paid to host, but I do find that the better time people have, the better time I have. Not from a monetary perspective, but it brings me a lot of joy and satisfaction that people go home at the end of the night having had a great time.
[00:15:16] Ellen Scanlon: And that’s a wrap on our summer movie night series. From comedy favorites to emotional comfort films to heart pounding action, we’ve explored all the ways to make your movie nights memorable. I hope you’ve discovered some new favorite movies. Picked up a few hosting tips and found snacks that are just as fun as the films themselves.
[00:15:40] Thank you for listening to How To Do The Pot.
[00:15:48] For lots more information and past episodes, visit do the pot.com, and that’s also where you can sign up for my Substack newsletter. If you like how to do the pot, please rate and review [00:16:00] us on the podcast platform that you use for listening. It really helps more people find the show. Thank you to our producer Nick Patri.
[00:16:10] I’m Ellen Scanlon, and stay tuned for more of how to Do the Pot.
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