Gilroy made his directorial debut with the thriller '' Nightcrawler '' ( 2014 ) , which starred Jake Gyllenhaal , Rene Russo , and Riz Ahmed . Gilroy also wrote the script , which he conceived in 1988 after reading the photo-book '' Naked City '' , a collection of photographs taken by American photographer Weegee of 1940s New York City residents at night . Gilroy did not begin writing the script until he moved to Los Angeles two years later , when he recognized an abundance of violent stories on television news . According to Gilroy , he considers the film to be a success story about a modern equivalent of Weegee , and a cautionary tale about the risks posed by capitalism . '' Nightcrawler '' was well received by the press on release , as was Gilroy 's script , for which he was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 87th Academy Awards , and won Best Screenplay at the 30th Independent Spirit Awards . At the Independent Spirit Awards , Gilroy closed his acceptance speech by lamenting the proliferation of superhero films in Hollywood
30th Independent Spirit Awards
30th Independent Spirit Awards
Dan Gilroy