Daily Front Row

2012 March 9

Catch and Release

Comments | | Print

Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor
Owen Hoffmann/PatrickMcMullan.com View Gallery

(NEW YORK) Something fishy was in the air Thursday night at the Crosby Street Hotel, where The Cinema Society and Opium Yves Saint Laurent hosted a screening of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Guests including Patricia Clarkson, Helena Christensen, Noah Baumbach, Greta Gerwig, Debbie Harry, Pablo Schreiber, David Basche, Nicole Trunfio, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, and Joshua Bell tuned in to watch onscreen co-stars Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor cast, hook, and reel their way into the Yemen to prove the impossible with a little bit of faith.  

Your Daily got a chance to talk fishing with Academy Award-winning writer Simon Beaufoy, who revealed his initial skepticism for the sport. “I always thought fishing was a stupid sport until I had to write this script," he confessed. "I discovered fly fishing is just the most incredibly difficult thing to do. And watching someone who really knows how to do it is like watching a master painter.”

Just ask Ewan McGregor, who divulged the difficulty of learning fly fishing techniques during outdoor study sessions. Where did these lessons take place, pray tell? “In a field or a parking lot. You don’t have to be next to a river to practice the action," he began. We lost him somewhere during the "migratory cycle." Meanwhile, Emily Blunt reminisced about her childhood fishing trips. "My dad was a fisherman. He loved taking us deep sea fishing where you have to go way out with huge waves," said Blunt. "I’d just be hurling off the side of the boat every time. I don’t have the stomach for that. I get really seasick!”

Luckily, everyone brought their sea legs. Guests feted the film with Grey Goose Cherry Noir cocktails, bacon-wrapped dates, Kobe sliders, and petite bowls of tuna tartare post screening at the Crosby, prompting The Daily to wonder: How do you like your salt water poisson? Simon Beaufoy enjoys a good free-range smoked Scottish salmon, whereas Emily Blunt prefers it raw. “I like sushi. And I like white fish, things like branzino.” Sounds like a winning catch!
ALEKSANDRA HOGENDORF