Matt Bomer, recently nominated for an Emmy for his heartbreaking turn as an AIDS patient in the HBO movie The Normal Heart, is set to join the cast of The Nice Guys, the latest film from director Shane Black (Iron Man 3). Ryan Gosling (Gangster Squad) and Russell Crowe (Noah) headline the period thriller being produced by Joel Silver (The Matrix) at Warner Bros. Black co-wrote the original screenplay with Anthony Bagarozzi.
Back in the late 1980s/early 1990s, Black helped usher in a new type of action film as the screenwriter behind such alpha-male flicks as Lethal Weapon (1987), The Last Boy Scout (1991), Last Action Hero (1993), and The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996.) By mixing snarky self awareness with classical noir tropes, Black made an indelible impression on audiences as well as Hollywood. This continued when he added an even more meta approach (as well as a perfect foil in actor Robert Downey, Jr.) to his craft with the 2005 film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which he not only wrote but directed as well. Eight years later, Downey, Jr. thanked Black by pushing for him to be the director on Iron Man 3.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see what kind of tone transpires in The Nice Guys, a mystery set in the 1970s that stars Gosling as a troubled Los Angeles detective who is hired by a mob guy (Crowe) to find a missing girl. Over the course of the investigation the mystery is paired with the seemingly unrelated suicide of an adult film actress. Bomer’s role has yet to be defined, as has the part being taken by the also recently cast Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers.) The Nice Guys is slated to open in theaters on June 17th, 2016.
Bomer, who is currently shooting Magic Mike XXL – the sequel to the 2010 Channing Tatum stripper flick – was last seen in the retro indie Space Station 76 opposite Patrick Wilson and Liv Tyler. Next year he will lend his voice to the animated family film B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations from DreamWorks Animation and will also continue his role on the USA hit TV show White Collar, which will begin its sixth and final season this fall.
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