'How to Catch a Monster': Ryan Gosling to make directorial debut

‘How to Catch a Monster’: Ryan Gosling to make directorial debut

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Ryan Gosling wears a dark blue Donegal wool tweed suit by Burberry Prorsum. (Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

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Ryan Gosling sports a trim khaki suit. (Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

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Ryan Gosling’s white speckled shoes. (Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

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Ryan Gosling dresses down in a textured Henley layered over a tee and slacks. (Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

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Ryan Gosling wears a tailored suit with a grunge tee and polished loafers. (Theo Wargo / Getty Images)

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Ryan Gosling goes sleek in a Gucci small checkered suit with suede loafers. (Jason Kempin / Getty Images)

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Ryan Gosling wears a navy Burberry suit, deep red socks and black suede loafers. (Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

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Ryan Gosling, left, Nicolas Winding Refn and guest. Gosling wears a custom-made burgundy tuxedo suit by Ferragamo. (Ian Gavan / Getty Images)

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Ryan Gosling steps out in a dapper royal blue tuxedo style suit. (Ian Gavan / Getty Images)

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Ryan Gosling in a black velvet suit by Ferragamo, white shirt with pearl buttons by Lavin, black velvet tie by Hugo Boss and black patent leather Ferragamo shoes. (Vittorio Zunino Celotto / Getty Images)

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Ryan Gosling in a Ferragamo deep purple brocaded jacket with velvet collar. (Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

By Amy Kaufman

Aug. 29, 2012 11:51 AM PT

Hey girl, it turns out that Ryan Gosling really may be able to do it all.

The Oscar-nominated actor who has broken up street fights and saved pedestrians from oncoming traffic is now set to direct his first feature film, “How to Catch a Monster.”

The movie, which will star “Mad Men” actress Christina Hendricks, was also written by Gosling and is set to start filming next spring. The film, set in what a news release described as a “surreal dreamscape of a vanishing city,” follows a single mother whose teenage son uncovers a frightening and mysterious underwater town.

Gosling has long showed an interest in the macabre. His band with Zach Shields, Dead Man’s Bones, often performs songs about ghosts and monsters, and once filmed a music video in a cemetery.

“How to Catch a Monster” will be produced by Marc Platt Productions, which worked on Gosling’s 2011 crime thriller “Drive.” In a statement, Platt called the actor’s latest project a “beautifully haunting script,” adding that Gosling’s “ability to draw audiences into his world as an actor will serve him well as a filmmaker.”

International distribution rights for the film will go on sale at the Toronto International Film Festival, which kicks off next week. The fledgling filmmaker will be in his native Canada promoting “The Place Beyond the Pines,” which co-stars Bradley Cooper and Gosling’s rumored ladyfriend Eva Mendes.

Last week, Gosling, 31, was in Los Angeles filming reshoots of “Gangster Squad” in Chinatown. The noir film about a secret 1940s anti-mob gangster squad saw its release date pushed from Sept. 7 to January after the Aurora, Colo., movie theater massacre. Warner Bros. decided it would take the time to reshoot a scene from the film in which mobsters fire guns through a movie screen at the audience.

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Amy Kaufman

Amy Kaufman is a columnist at the Los Angeles Times, where she writes the A-1 column “For Real With Amy Kaufman.” The series examines the lives of icons, underdogs and rising stars to find out who the people are shaping our culture — for real. Since joining The Times in 2009, she has profiled hundreds of influential figures including Stevie Nicks, Nick Cannon, Drew Barrymore and Lady Gaga. She is also an investigative reporter and was part of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist team that covered the tragic shooting on the “Rust” film set. Her work often shines a light on the darker side of the entertainment business, and she has uncovered misconduct allegations against Randall Emmett and Russell Simmons. In 2018, her book “Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure” became a New York Times bestseller.

‘How to Catch a Monster’: Ryan Gosling to make directorial debut

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