It's not every day that a certifiably A-list director hosts a film screening (and an enthusiastic one at that) for a movie he actually has nothing at all to do with. Of course, such a rare occurrence speaks more to the picture than of the fan who also happens to make movies. On Tuesday night, Spike Jonze gathered up all his favorite cinema-loving guests to host a special screening, with The Cinema Society, of Arrival, starring his friend Amy Adams. After experiencing it, we now know why. The cerebral sci-fi flick, directed by Denis Villeneuve, is less of a thriller than a chiller and it must have stuck with Mr. Jonze as relentlessly as it has stuck with us. Adams, just in time for Oscar season, puts on an incredible performance, one that her famous friends were quick to congratulate her on at the screening's after-bash. Within the sophisticated Metrograph theater on the Lower East Side, partygoers including Sienna Miller, Christina Hendricks, Patti Smith, and Trevor Noah all came out to show their support, lounging in intimate corners of the upstairs bar.

[Photos courtesy Patrick McMullan]