Xixax Film Forum

Toronto 2012: Ryan Gosling to Make Directing Debut With 'How to Catch a Monster'
Source: THR

The actor will helm the fantasy noir from a screenplay he wrote; Christina Hendricks is attached to star.

Ryan Gosling will make his feature directorial and writing debut with How to Catch a Monster, which Sierra Affinity will shop to foreign buyers during the Toronto International Film Festival.

Christina Hendricks -- who starred with Gosling in Drive -- is attached to headline the fantasy noir, which Gosling wrote.

Gosling will produce via his Phantasma banner alongside Marc Platt and Adam Siegel of Marc Platt Productions and Michel Litvak and David Lancaster via Bold Films, which is financing Catch a Monster.

"I am very appreciative to Marc Platt, Adam Siegel and Bold Films for being so supportive, and I look forward to making this film with all of them," Gosling said.

Principal photography is set to start in the spring. Sierra/Affinity is handling international sales.

Catch a Monster weaves elements of fantasy noir with suspense to create a modern fairy tale set against the surreal dreamscape of a vanishing city. Hendricks (Mad Men) would play Billy, a single mother of two who is swept into a macabre underworld, while her teenage son discovers a secret road leading to a underwater town.

"We have a tremendous amount of trust and confidence in Ryan, Christina, Marc and Adam, both personally and professionally," Litvak said. "We responded immediately to Ryan's script and look forward to nurturing the next phase of his career and continuing Bold's commitment to an artistically collaborative environment."

Catch a Monster isn't the only project that Gosling will be attending to in Toronto. Derek Cianfrance's The Place Beyond the Pines, headlining the actor, makes its world premiere at the festival. Bradley Cooper and Eva Mendes also star in the film, which reunites Gosling with his Blue Valentine director.

Gosling is represented by IFA Talent Agency and Carolyn Govers; Hendricks is represented by CAA and Kritzer Levine Wilkins Griffin Nilon.

From Total Film: http://www.totalfilm.com/news/ryan-gosling-quitting-acting-for-a-while

"Having been fairly ubiquitous over the last couple of years, Ryan Gosling is set to give our fluttering hearts a bit of a breather by stepping away from acting for a while.

The star is soon to turn his hand to directing with his forthcoming fantasy drama How To Catch A Monster, and sounds as though he'll be staying on that side of the camera for the foreseeable.

"I've lost perspective on what I'm doing," says the star. "I think it's good for me to take a break and reassess why I'm doing it and how I'm doing it. And I think this is probably a good way to learn about that. I need a break from myself as much as I imagine the audience does.

"There's a lot of pressure to be the lead of a film," he  continues. "I have done it. It's not my favourite way to work. The more opportunities I'm given, the more I learn about how easy it is to fuck it up. You fight for freedom and then you get it, and then you have enough rope to hang yourself. It's like trying to exercise some restraint, because I do have so much freedom."

Looks like we'll have to make the most of Gosling when The Place Beyond The Pines hits our screens on 12 April 2013. And Nicolas Winding Refn's Only God Forgives is still awaiting a release date."

Also, you can read my take if you'd like here: http://flickeringcinema.wordpress.com/2013/03/22/ryan-gosling/

Opinions? Thoughts?

Dude's had a good run, let him go cobble shoes if he wants. It'll give my panties a chance to dry out.