Exclusive: The Stars Came Out To Celebrate Metrograph's 2nd Anniversary

The famed art theater which many have hailed as the most gorgeous of its kind attracted top celebrities and stars from all over New York as it celebrated its 2nd Anniversary.

Being the go-to home for the premieres of many of New York’s independent films, the Metrograph has seen its fair share of stars and celebrities grace its open atrium and stylistic theater. However, on this special night, to celebrate the brilliant theater’s second anniversary, many of New York’s stars came out to revel in a night of good fun, much like scenes out of the many classic films that show there. From Chloe Sevigny and Rachel Weisz to Sienna Miller and Thomas Middleditch, actors, writers, and directors from tv and film alike came out to show their support. Movies are the closest thing we’ll ever get to magic and the places we see them are just as important to the experience as the film itself.

I got a chance to speak with the brilliant owner of the theater, Alexander Olch, about the inspiration for the theater as well as his plans for the future. Check out our conversation:

The Knockturnal: From neckties and filmmaking to being the owner of the coolest movie theater in the world, what’s one thing that inspired you to do this?

Alexander Olch: The inspiration for Metrograph is in many ways was to marry the two things that you mentioned which I love so much, which was cinema and design, to really sort of think about movies through the act of watching movies which is what really made me fall in love with movies, which is the watching of the film and when you think about the spaces and the rooms you watch films, that really triggers all of my design impulses. So to really bring all of those loves together in one project was really a dream come true. This has been a very, very personal project for me and I’m just very, very happy celebrating 2 years old.

The Knockturnal: In the upcoming year, what are you most excited about?

Alexander Olch: We’re taking this into overdrive, for 2018, and 2019. We’re very excited, we’re starting to look at new locations around the world in fact, and we’re starting to grow the library of films that are playing here, and it’s a very exciting time.

Other notables that we spotted included: Programming Director Jake Perlin, Timothée Chalamet, Patti Smith, David Cross, Amber Tamblyn, Christopher Abbott, Zosia Mamet, Ira Glass, Amy Heckerling, Kenneth Lonergan, Josh & Benny Safdie, Cristin Milioti, Tavi Gevinson, Ashley Benson, Shiloh Fernandez, Britne Oldford, Judah Friedlander, Alex Ross Perry, Geremy Jasper, Keith Poulson, Kentucker Audley, Josh Hamilton, Crystal Moselle, Rebecca Fourteau, Chelsea Leyland, Hamilton Leithauser, Emily Tarver, Hailey Gates, Rel Schulman, Sophie Auster, Joshua Marston, Katja Blichfeld, Ben Sinclair, Kevin Kane, Voula Duval, and Emily Warren.

Founded and designed by Alexander Olch, Metrograph projects archive quality 35mm and state of the art digital video and features the Commissary restaurant, balcony lounge, a Bookstore, and Candy Shop.