The Knockturnal was on the scene Thursday night at a special screening for “The Nice Guys,” the latest Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe crime comedy hitting theaters May 20th.
Attendees traveled down to New York’s Lower East Side for the private screening and party at Metrograph, the city’s newest indie theater that opened its doors just two months ago.
On-hand at Metrograph were the cast, crew, and a veritable who’s who of film fans, critics, and notables. Written and Directed by Shane Black (Lethal Weapon), The Nice Guys tells the story of a private eye (Ryan Gosling) and a gentle hitman (Russell Crowe) investigating a missing person’s case and a possibly related homicide in 1970s Los Angeles. The film also stars Matt Bomer, Kim Basinger, and Margaret Qualley.
For Ryan Gosling, it was Black that got him involved.
“I grew up on his films. His Monster Squad was the first film I ever quoted probably, it’s hard to say, but I think he really understands,” Gosling told Examiner.com.
“He’s like a master of the genre of noir, but he also knows how to subvert it, and he also knows what the audience is expecting, and knows how to surprise them and also deliver what they want, and he’s always trying to watch out for clichés and either use them or spin them in some way.”
Crowe agreed that it was the director’s particular way of writing and directing that really resonated with him.
“Even though he is the writer, he’s not precious about what he’s written,” Crowe told Examiner. “He doesn’t see it as biblical, or that we have to sort of say everything in the nuance he intended, when he was writing it down.
It was the type of experience that keeps him energized.
“When he’s got a room full of people, who can do it, he trusts in the fact that we’ll stay true to the spirit of what he intended, and that gives us so much space and so much freedom,” Crowe said, “So you end up having these fun days where you just feel like you’re jumping of cliffs together all day, so the days are adrenalized.”
After a short red carpet and screening, party-goers were welcomed to the second floor of the Metrograph for cocktails and tasty hors’devours like coconut lettuce wraps and juicy sliders. Other attendees included Yigal Azrouel, Eric Bergen, JC Chandor, Bryan Greenberg, Dree Hemingway, Pat Kiernan, Katie Lee, Ryan Leslie, Billy Magnussen, Matt & Kim, and Caroline Rhea and Domenico Vacca.
The film hits theaters this Friday.
