John Wilson, the thirty-eight-year-old filmmaker, was drinking iced coffee on his home turf of Ridgewood, Queens, one recent morning. He was in Rudy’s Bakery and Cafe, a venerable neighborhood joint, ...

In New York, the average movie ticket is an astonishing $23.10, which—other than destroying the love lives of high school sophomores trying to take anyone out on their dad’s crisp $20—means it’s ...