Secrets of the well-heeled

I SEE, I HEAR ...
That Canada's Ryan Gosling, the Mousketeer-turned-best-actor candidate, has been sweating the small stuff. After playing crack addict Dan Dunne in his now Oscar-nominated turn in the movie Half Nelson, he had to seek medical attention.
"I got sick," Gosling starts to say in this week's special Oscar issue of Entertainment Weekly. "I went to the doctor, and after talking me he said I wasn't sick. He pulled out his prescription pad and wrote down: "Try a light comedy."

Source: Canada National Post

RYAN GOSLING AND RACHEL MCADAMS AT THE SAG AWARDS

click on each image to make it bigger

Source: HQ forums

Portraits of the Class of 2007

The Academy has a soft spot for people portraying addicts, but Ryan Gosling's work in Half Nelson — in which he plays Dan Dunne, a high school teacher and barely functioning crack addict — carries none of the grandstanding that plagues the form. Instead, he turns Dunne into an exhausted shell, hollowed out by hangovers and barely able to muster a facial expression. The actor's greatest success comes in finding the balance between competence and collapse: The character still has to go to work, coach girls' basketball, function around his family. Wiping his nose on his collar, clapping his hands constantly in an effort to stay awake, Gosling adopts a dry, recalcitrant demeanor that's both seductive and heartbreaking — Dunne may be disappearing, but it's impossible to let him go. —Whitney Pastorek.

Source:Entertainment Weekly

SAG AWARDS TONIGHT

Don't forget that tonight Ryan Gosling will be attending the SAG awards, he's nominated for best actor. The 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be presented at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center Jan. 28. TNT and TBS will simulcast the ceremony beginning at 8 PM ET.

Good luck!!!

MANDI GOSLING ON ET CANADA

Source: Purplesparks at rachelmcadams.org forums

Cornwall's Oscar contender (Mandi Gosling's interview)
Bruce Ward, with files from Melissa Arseniuk in Cornwall, The Ottawa CitizenPublished: Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Half a lifetime ago, a lanky 13-year-old Cornwall boy beat out 17,000 other hopefuls for a role in the 1990s revival of the Mickey Mouse Club TV show.
Now Ryan Gosling, 26, has defied the odds again by being nominated for an Academy Award as best actor. Mr. Gosling was picked yesterday for his role in Half Nelson, in which he plays an inner-city school teacher hiding his drug addiction.
"I have tremendous respect for all the actors in this category and it's a great honour to be in their company," Mr. Gosling told the Citizen in a statement. "It's extremely encouraging to see a small film be recognized at this level. By recognizing me, I feel that it honours everyone I love and for that I am truly grateful."

Born in London, Ont., Mr. Gosling began his showbiz career performing with his older sister, Mandi Gosling, at weddings and talent shows in Cornwall. He also sang with the S, D, & G Vocal Ensemble there before moving to Florida for the Disney series. Ms. Gosling said yesterday that the nomination will not change her brother. "He's really not affected by Hollywood glamour, maybe because he started so young," she said in an interview from New York City.
"He's excited to be recognized for the work he has put in, but he's very good about keeping it all in perspective. At the end of the day, this is really not what his life is about." He called my mother and he called me, and he said, 'I don't really have a lot of time, but we're going to the Oscars.' " Added Ms. Gosling: "I'm so proud of him, regardless on what happens on Feb. 25th (Oscar night)."

As a nominee, Mr. Gosling is definitely a dark horse -- just as he was when he joined a Mickey Mouse cast that included future singing stars Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez of *NSYNC, as well as Keri Russell of TV's Felicity. He once got in trouble on the set for giving Ms. Spears and Ms. Aguilera some candid, but misguided, information on sexual positions. In the best actor category, Mr. Gosling is up against Forest Whitaker, who is widely expected to win for his portrayal of African dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland, as well as sentimental favourite Peter O'Toole in Venus. The other nominees are Leonardo DiCaprio for his role as a smuggler in Blood Diamond and Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness.

Mr. Gosling became a teen pin-up in for his 1997 role as smooth-talking hypochondriac Sean Hanlon in Breaker High, a half-hour series about a high school set on a cruise ship. His rugged good looks and offbeat charm won him more young fans when he was cast as Young Hercules in 1998-99. Asked about his heartthrob status and legions of adoring female fans in a 2003 interview, Mr. Gosling laughed and said, "They need to get glasses." He went to high school in Burlington, Ont., and was so self-conscious and shy that he would sometimes skip class picture day. "I didn't want to be judged," he said in one interview. At school, Mr. Gosling often got into fights. "The truth is I picked most of those fights. I just lost most of them. I told my mother I got beat up just to get some sympathy. It really wasn't so bad." Mr. Gosling's high school grades were average at best, but he was close to several faculty members, including his history, world religion, and auto shop teachers.
The only son born to Donna, a hospital worker, and Thomas, a paper mill employee, he grew up "thinking about normal kid stuff, like being an astronaut or police officer."

Patrick Cook, owner and dance instructor of Magoo's Dance Company in Cornwall, where Mr. Gosling took lessons in hip hop, street jazz and other dance styles for two years, remembers his student as a born performer. "He's a natural. He just wanted to be on stage," Mr. Cook said.
"He was wonderful back then and we knew he was going to make it." Mr. Cook's wife, Shana Cook, who is director of the dance studio, remembers the day she knew Mr. Gosling had made it big. She was standing in line at the supermarket checkout and saw his photo. "Holy Crap," she thought. "He's in the Enquirer!"
"We never knew he'd become this famous," she said. "He's a sweetheart. For me, it's hard to see him grown up and in movies. He was a natural at acting." Mr. Gosling's last Mickey Mouse Club episodes were broadcast in 1996, after which he played a British foundling in an episode of The Road to Avonlea that brought him a Gemini Award nomination. Mr. Gosling made the transition to the big screen in 2000, playing a football player in the integration drama Remember the Titans. He caught the attention of film critics with a powerful performance as a Jewish neo-Nazi in the fact-based The Believer, the 2001 Grand Jury Prize winner at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2002, he played a murderous teen trying to outwit an FBI agent (Sandra Bullock) in Murder By Numbers. Hollywood tabloids claimed that he and the older Ms. Bullock were lovers, but both denied that they were involved romantically.

In 2004, he played the romantic lead opposite fellow Canadian Rachel McAdams in The Notebook, the role that launched his mainstream movie career. He and Ms. McAdams began a relationship during the filming and have said they will marry next year. Known to some of his friends as Opie, Mr. Gosling is an accomplished jazz guitarist. He picked up his love of music from his father, who plays the piano. Mr. Gosling is a celebrity with a social conscience. He is involved with the ONE Campaign, which works to help the poorest people of the world overcome AIDS and extreme poverty. He has has travelled to Darfur and New Orleans to assist in relief efforts. Mr. Gosling is also an animal-rights activist, and wrote a letter to Kentucky Fried Chicken on behalf of PETA, urging the company to improve its treatment of animals.

Source: Ottawa Citizen

RYAN QUOTE FROM VARIETY ABOUT THE OSCAR NOMINATION

"I'm very surprised," said "Half Nelson's" Ryan Gosling. "I was convinced that it wasn't gonna happen, and I knew that my manager was up watching TV, so I called her to try and make her feel better, and before I could say, 'I told you not to be disappointed,' she said, 'What do you mean, they haven't announced it yet.'"Then I heard this huge squeal and car crash out my window. I went to have a look and saw that a cop on a bike had been hit and thrown into the middle of the intersection. Before (the nomination) settled in, I had to watch this poor guy get put into an ambulance."It was on the news a little later and he only broke an arm, so it turned out to be a good day for both of us, but the polar extreme of that moment for him and I left me speechless for a little while."

Source: Variety

Statement from Ryan on his nomination for the Oscar

"I have tremendous respect for all the actors in this category and it's a great honor to be in their company. It's extremely encouraging to see a small film be recognized at this level. By recognizing me I feel that it honors everyone I love and for that I am truly grateful".


Source:IMDB

RYAN GOSLING HAS BEEN NOMINATED FOR AN OSCAR IN THE CATEGORY OF BEST ACTOR, CONGRATULATIONS!!

Canadian Actor A Dark Horse For Oscar Nomination

For film buffs it's almost as fun as predicting who'll win an Oscar: guessing which dark horses will make it into the running for one and perhaps even emerge victorious on Hollywood's big night.
Each year there are a few surprises when nominations are announced - inevitably some performances and films are overlooked, while others are given surprise nods.
Take last year's Academy Award winner for best picture: Crash. The ensemble drama about racial tensions in Los Angeles didn't make a big splash at the theatre, and wasn't nominated for a Golden Globe - a key indicator of which films will go on to receive Oscar nominations. It beat out heavy favourite Brokeback Mountain for the biggest prize of the night.
Again this year there are a host of films the Globes didn't touch that movie fans and critics are speculating could make the cut next Tuesday when Oscar nominations are announced.
Among them: Half Nelson, a bleak film about an idealistic teacher who becomes addicted to crack. Playing the teacher is talented Canadian actor Ryan Gosling, who made it big in the film The Notebook.
The London, Ont.-born performer received critical plaudits for the role and was centred out by several critics' associations at the end of 2006 for his work in the film. But whether that acclaim translates into an Academy Award nomination for the young star remains to be seen.
The small budget film's co-director Ryan Fleck says all the buzz about the film, "is exciting but we didn't make the movie with event stuff in mind."
If Gosling is nominated, he'll likely compete against odds-on favourite Forest Whitaker, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Peter O'Toole.
Other films that could receive attention next week include the adultery drama Little Children, the futuristic infertility tale Children Of Men, and September 11 drama United 93. The latter was named best picture of the year by New York film critics, but it wasn't nominated for a Golden Globe.
Clint Eastwood could also be feted for his ambitious work in releasing companion World War II films, relaying the battle of Iwo Jima from the American and Japanese perspectives. Flags of our Fathers told the American side, while Letters from Iwo Jima represented the Japanese side of the fight.
The latter is being considered for best film in a foreign language - it won the Golden Globe in that category Monday - leading the director to joke that as a foreign director he should learn a foreign language.
A Canadian film - director Deepa Mehta's Water - made the short list in that category, and it could end up competing with Eastwood's film if both are nominated next week.
As for what chance these dark horse films have of coming up on top - as past underdog winners Shakespeare In Love and Rocky prove, nothing is certain on Oscar night.

SOURCE: CityNews

Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling @ 12th Annual Critics' Choice Awards

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Source: Rachel McAdams forum.

HALF NELSON CREW AT NBR AWARDS

Photo by Brian Brooks (January 11, 2006)

"Half Nelson" star Ryan Gosling, sporting a 'stache, came out for the National Board of Review's awards gala to pick up his nod for Breakthrough Performance Actor before a restaurant-full of celebs, including a hilarious Parker Posey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Helen Mirren, Forest Whitaker and many more... His co-star, Shareeka Epps (not pictured) praised her co-star while introducing him, and he returned the favor saying she was the best actor he's worked with, and returned to the table handing her his award. Gosling is pictured here with "Nelson" director Ryan Fleck (right), co-writer Anna Boden and producer Jamie Patricof.

Source: indieWIRE.com

Gosling going to Africa soon

Helping Hollywood get serious about Africa, after advising the Clinton administration, John Prendergast moved on to movies.

"He and actor Ryan Gosling — a possible Oscar contender for his role in "Half Nelson" — are working on a script about child soldiers in Uganda and are planning a trip there in the coming weeks. Prendergast said he also hopes to have a website (called Enough!.com) online in February about the challenges facing the world in regards to Africa."

Source: Calendar Live

Ryan Gosling wins a NBR award for breakthrough performance

Among the endless lineup of speeches, Ryan Gosling’s was particularly charming. After accepting the breakthrough performance award from his “Half Nelson” co-star, Shareeka Epps, he talked about his mother and her anguish over his decision to become an actor.
“I did a film called ‘The Believer,’” Mr. Gosling said, “and she watched 10 minutes. She started crying and locked herself in the bathroom.” The NBR award, he added, made his mother “think she didn’t do such a bad job, so more than anything, thanks to the National Board of Review for making my mother happy, getting her off my back.”

SOURCE: Nytimes blog

indieWIRE Video: Ryan Fleck/Ryan Gosling, NY Critics Awards

Source: IndieWire youtube.

The better 'Half Nelson'

(SAG-nominated film triumphed over troubled production)

By STEVEN ZEITCHIK

"Half Nelson" with Philip Seymour Hoffman as the teacher, half the budget and no distributor?The little secret of the year's indie-film success story is that, for a long time, it looked like a failure. Investors fell out, buyers got cold feet and its twentysomething filmmaking team scrambled to write, helm and edit their first feature.
But the plucky indie has stayed on the radar, quietly winning slots on critics' top 10 lists and, as of Jan. 4, a lead-actor SAG nom for star Ryan Gosling.
Even the film's origins were a roll of the dice: Writer-directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (who are also a couple) wrote and shot scenes around songs from Canadian mood-rock band Broken Social Scene -- even before they tried to get the band's approval.
Luckily, the rockers agreed to license the songs for next to nothing.
Other snags arose before production.
The $800,000 budget had producer Jamie Patricof of Hunting Lane Films and a private-equity investor sharing the costs. But the investor dropped out, leaving the film without half its budget just weeks away from shooting. Patricof rustled in indie producers like Charlie Corwin and Paul Mezey to get the coin in under the wire.
Gosling -- who worked for scale and is regarded by many as the movie's most powerful asset -- wasn't even supposed to be in the film.
His character, an idealistic but drug-addled teacher, was written as a 35-year-old -- which is why Hoffman and Mark Ruffalo were sent the script. Gosling's reading persuaded the filmmakers to rewrite the role.
Selling the movie wasn't any easier. Despite buzz after its Sundance screening, buyers were nervous about distribbing a movie about a crack-addict teacher.
Miramax came close, but the sides couldn't agree on a price, and other distribs hemmed and hawed. That left ThinkFilm, which despite having limited funds, made an impassioned pitch that landed the pic.
ThinkFilm developed an unorthodox release strategy for the pic, gambling first on an August release to beat the fall glut of prestige pics. It made Gosling and Fleck the centerpiece of the promo campaign, pitching the movie as an early chance to see new talent. And, perhaps most significantly, it never, ever, mentioned drugs in any of its literature.
The logic: "If we had focused on the subject matter it would have kept the film in a ghetto," says ThinkFilm's U.S. distribution prexy Mark Urman.
Of course, how much it got out of the ghetto remains a question.
"Half Nelson" is one of those movies whose box office everyone has an opinion on -- its nearly $3 million to date has some shouting success but others wondering if, given the buzz, it could have taken in more.
As for its kudo campaign, ThinkFilm is circumspect about how much it's spending; it has taken out print ads and reacts strategically to every new bump in interest, like Gosling's SAG nom last week, which prompted it to spend a piece of its preciously small budget on a table at the ceremony and an ad in the guide.
ThinkFilm hopes it can stretch its few dollars by being creative. "If you start spending, you stop thinking," Urman says. And the exec consoles himself with his mission." Of all the awards candidates out there, only two movies are indie films -- "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Half Nelson," he says. "Both went into Sundance indie. And only one came out indie."

Source:Variety

DREAM NIGHT IN NEW YORK

By Donna Freydkin, USA TODAYNEW YORK — While Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett held court with the Babel crowd on the West Coast Saturday, the gang from The Departed reunited on the East Coast, where director Martin Scorsese was among honorees at Sunday's New York Film Critics Circle bash.Yes, the winners were announced beforehand, but the star power and lighthearted fun at the Supper Club gala compensated for the lack of mystery.
"Who cares what Simon Cowell has to say?" joked Dreamgirls' Jennifer Hudson (and American Idol castoff) as she accepted the award for best supporting actress. Robin Williams brought down the house when he deadpanned, "I accept this on behalf of all gay penguins." Williams, who accepted the award for best animated film, Happy Feet, even poked fun at his recent stint in rehab, saying from the podium: "No wine at the table!"
Departed's Matt Damon was on hand as a presenter, and another Departed star — Leonardo DiCaprio — was a surprise attendee at the soiree. Mark Wahlberg rounded out the cast, noting from the red carpet: "If a guy like Marty calls, you show up. I hope it's his year (for the Oscar). I'm going to vote for him; he's my guy!"
The Last King of Scotland's brutal dictator and best-actor winner, Forest Whitaker, was an early arrival, long before the entrance of Half Nelson's drug-addled teacher Ryan Gosling, whose movie earned accolades as best first feature.
On her arrival, Hudson admitted her win brought tears to her eyes when she found out. "If I can make it in New York, I can make it anywhere," she said from the red carpet, where Williams was as animated as he was at the podium. Williams earned giggles when he spoke French to a Canadian TV crew, expounding on topics such as the Rosie O'Donnell/Donald Trump feud.
The New York win was especially significant for director Paul Greengrass, whose United 93 took best-film honors. The film tells the story of the hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001. On the red carpet, he said, "If anyone would hold this movie to account, it's the city of New York."
Among winners:
Film: United 93
Director: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Screenplay: Peter Morgan, The Queen
Actress: Helen Mirren, The Queen
Actor: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Supporting actress: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Supporting actor: Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro, Pan's Labyrinth
Animated film: Happy Feet

Source: USAtoday.com

RYAN NOMINATED FOR A SAG AWARD

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role: Leonardo DiCaprio / BLOOD DIAMOND – Archer - Warner Bros. Pictures, Ryan Gosling / HALF NELSON – Dan Dunne - THINKFilm, Peter O’Toole / VENUS – Maurice - Miramax FilmsWill Smith / THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS – Chris Gardner - Sony Pictures, Forest Whitaker / THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND – Idi Amin - Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Congrats to him for this recognition!!