Ask Me a Question: The Nice Guys w/Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Shane Black & Joel Silver

Leave it to The Alamo Drafthouse to put on an epic sneak preview of one of my most anticipated flicks of the summer, The Nice Guys! Yes, this screening took place a couple of weeks ago but I've been frigging busy, ok? I believe a press embargo is still in place but let's just say that the Shane Black directed and co-written tale of a private eye (Gosling) and bruiser (Crowe) investigating a missing persons case involving a soft core porn star with implications of government cover ups is a great time at the movies. Part comedy, pulp noir novel, buddy flick, action movie and physical gags, The Nice Guys is a fun and R rated time at the movies with a couple of well known actors who share fantastic chemistry. Gosling and Black were first announced then joined by Crowe and super producer Joel Silver. A few highlights from the Q&A:

- Russell Crowe needs more EQ in his microphone to sound heroic.
- Black wrote the script with writing partner Anthony Bagarozzi back in 2001, went from modern times to 70's in between and Joel Silver championed film the entire journey.
- Took so long as Black would work on Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, go uncredited on Iron Man then be drafted to write and direct Iron Man III.
- Gosling signed on as Black jumped on a plane to Russell Crowe's home in Australia to pitch the Oscar winner. Crowe saw a list of contemplated co-stars and thought it didn't fit into his view of what the film would and could be. As an actor, Crowe chooses projects by narrative and character and was prepared to cook Black a steak, make him a cocktail then turn the movie down.
- Black showed up, doesn't drink anymore as he's "allergic to alcohol, I break out in handcuffs", then told Crowe that Gosling had signed on leading Crowe to agree.
- Film was shot in Georgia and Los Angeles, it was cold in Georgia.
- Gosling would crack Crowe up constantly leading Silver to chide them one night when they had shut down Sunset Boulevard. Which is pretty expensive apparently.
- Asked about stunts, Crowe responded classically something along the lines of, "I'm an old man that has given his life to cinema, whatever I have left, is yours". While Gosling's stunt double had been stabbed fully in the chest on the set of Fury but reported to set ready to go, the star stepped up and decided to fall through a window in his place.
- Crowe is all about social media and Tweeted during the sometimes awkward Q&A as the moderator tried to find questions from Alamo's Twitter.
- Warner Brothers wants Crowe and Gosling to be more engaging on social media as they open against Angry Birds, Gosling stated they were the angriest birds you'd ever see.

On and on it went, the panel was totally hilarious and seemingly didn't give a f*ck. Crowe dominated with his intelligent yet kind of @$$hole that knows he's an @$$hole personality. Black we've seen in person before who is just as witty and funny as you could ask for from a writer-director. Gosling was generally kind of quiet but weirdcool while Silver chimed in appropriately to give you a little behind the scenes of filmmaking. A terrific night and I hope you check out the movie.

(Pre)miere! The Nice Guys

Besides Captain America: Civil War, Shane Black's 70's set buddy action-comedy The Nice Guys is my most anticipated summer flick. Now thanks to our friends at The American Cinematheque and Alamo Drafthouse, you can win tickets to a sneak preview of the film this Wednesday, May 4th at The Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood! Writer/director Shane Black along with co-star Ryan Gosling are scheduled to attend for Q&A! Co-written by Anthony Bagarozzi, The Nice Guys finds Ryan Gosling as down on his luck Hollywood private eye Holland March as he teams up with hired enforcer Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) to investigate a missing persons case and death of a porn star before uncovering a wide reaching conspiracy. The trailers are terrific with a mix of laughs and violence while Gosling and Crowe's chemistry looks like a winner. The duo have been participating in a series of hilarious couples therapy skits to promote the film which hits theaters on Friday, May 20th.

This is a members screening with no tickets being sold. The Cinematheque holds exclusive early screenings frequently so sign up and support cinema on the big screen as it's meant to be seen.

*All tickets have been claimed, thank you for the enthusiastic response* For your chance to win tickets to Wednesday's 7:00 PM show, e-mail Dammaged Goods, winners will be notified by Wednesday morning with tickets left at the box office.

Shane Black burst onto the 80's cinematic scene scripting 1987's classic Lethal Weapon and co-starring with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Predator the same year. From there Black became Hollywood's highest paid screenwriter for the likes of The Last Boy Scout and The Long Kiss Goodnight. In 2005, he wrote and directed Kiss Kiss Bang Bang co-starring Robert Downey Jr., who drafted Black to do some uncredited work on 2008's Iron Man before taking the reins for part III in 2013. Ryan Gosling has been performing for the camera since childhood, starting as a Mouseketeer before seguing into stints on Breaker High and Young Hercules. 2001's The Believer put him on the map as an actor before The Notebook made him into a meme and heartthrob. Subsequent roles in edgier and quirky fare like Half Nelson, Lars and the Real Girl, Blue Valentine, personal favorite Drive and recent awards contender The Big Short have provided both critical and box office success. Plus he seems like a funny guy so should be a good Q&A.

Weir Watch: Master and Commander The Far Side of the World

Happy 2016, my internet friend! The future is officially now! With Back to the Future Day behind us, we can still look forward to The Running Man's violent game show future in 2019 though. As for me, I kept it low key, seeing movies and friends, drinking eggnog, cider, ginger beer, Jameson, Fireball and the like. Consuming bagels, Chinese food, McDonald's and pizza. My Christmas weekend turned into a bit of a Peter Weir-a-thon as I watched Dead Poets Society while assembling a shelf then couched out with Witness and finished things off with an early morning viewing of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. I remember seeing the nautical slice of life adventure in theaters back in the fall of 2003 but forgot how Damme good it is. Of course Weir is a master of dramatic character stories that never bore and always coaxes standout performances from his leads that include Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Robin Williams, Jim Carrey and Commander's Russell Crowe. Set in the Napoleonic Wars, Master and Commander follows Captain Jack Aubrey, a strong and smart British sailor who navigates the HMS Surprise and is tasked with pursuing the lighter, faster but more fortified French vessel the Acheron. He's accompanied and consoled by surgeon Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany) as they tackle surprise attacks, weak shipmates, bad jokes, unexplored islands and violin/chello duets.

Based on the 20 novel series by Patrick O'Brian and adapted by Weir with John Collee, Master and Commander is big budget Hollywood filmmaking at it's best. The characters have depth and played by strong actors, the action is visceral, exciting and harrowing while the story keeps things moving, interesting and educational as we view day to day life on board the Surprise. Production values are immense from the ornate and dingy costumes to the reach out and touch it authenticity of the ship. Shot partially in open water, the film looks and feels very real with nary a fake looking CGI wave in sight. Crowe gets to play a brawny leader made of equal parts brains and ego with a blonde ponytail and is absolutely terrific in the role.  

Commander was supposed to be the start of a franchise for Twentieth Century Fox who poured in $150 million to produce the film plus marketing costs. Master and Commander would gross a decent if unspectacular $94 million in the US behind films like Daredevil, The Last Samurai, Seabiscuit, X-Men 2, Finding Nemo and The Lord of the Rings III on it's way to a $210 million gross worldwide. Video revenue for the U.S. alone is listed at $135 million. Reviews were strong and included 10 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Director. While a packed special edition DVD was released in 2004, the film seems to be a bit of a forgotten title and a sequel was never produced. Peter Weir figured the OK but not great financial performance was the culprit while in 2010, Crowe urged fans to e-mail Fox head Tom Rothman to get things going. Sadly, that Tweet only garnered 271 Retweets...

On the plus side, you can visit the screen used replica of the HMS Surprise at the Maritime Museum in San Diego. I just lined up a training session with local legend Frank Zane and will be sure to check out the recreated 24 gun British Frigate during Comic-Con!