To be completely honest, I forgot that Ryan Gosling has already made his directorial debut with 2014's Lost River. The somber fantasy film had a lot of buzz following its Cannes premiere, but not necessarily for the right reasons, and when it finally hit theaters the response was resounding silence. Now it appears he's set to return behind the camera, and cinematographer Benoit Debie has revealed a few details to Cinema Teaser.
Debie, who worked with Gosling on Lost River and also shot Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, confirmed his involvement in Gosling's upcoming film. He didn't reveal any details, however, except to say that Netflix showed interest in backing it, but that Gosling turned it down for artistic reasons...
“I have a new project with Ryan Gosling. Its financing isn’t complete and Ryan told me that Netflix offered to produce it, on the condition that he would shoot it digital. And necessarily not releasing it in theaters or barely. I told him I found it was a pity and he agreed."
Good on Gosling for refusing to compromise his creative vision. He's a big enough name that he can afford to be picky, knowing someone will pitch in even though his first movie was a dud. That said, we're starting to see Netflix rethink their distribution models to include larger theatrical releases, so maybe Gosling will change his mind?
