Cannes: Ryan Gosling Misses 'Only God Forgives' Premiere
The star stayed in Detroit directing "How to Catch a Monster."
CANNES -- If the rain isn’t enough to dampen spirits Wednesday, the absence of star Ryan Gosling might do so. The star is skipping the red carpet premiere of Only God Forgives to stay in Detroit to continue shooting his directorial debut, How to Catch a Monster.
Festival organizers and Croisette gossips had been anxiously waiting all week for word on if the actor would attend. At the morning press conference for the film, festival director Thierry Fremaux instead read a letter in which the actor said travel restrictions were preventing him from flying and apologized for not being able to make it from the Motor City to the Med.
“I do not have the right to fly while I’m filming,” Gosling stated in the letter, citing insurance restrictions while he works. “I tried everything to bend the insurance company, but it fell on deaf ears.”
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“I better stay focused and turn in the best movie if I want to show in Cannes next year,” he added.
Director Nicolas Winding Refn easily forgave his longtime friend and collaborator for missing the event, saying he understood Gosling needed to stay with the production. “I would never even do it if I was in his situation," said Refn. "One thing is being an actor. When you're directing, it's another arena.”
Earlier in the week, Refn spoke of Gosling to The Hollywood Reporter, explaining: “We say we must have been twins separated at birth. Of course, then there’s the question of who is the good and who is the bad twin.”
Gosling wrote in his letter: “Nicolas, my friend, we really are the same person in different dimensions. I'm sending you good vibrations.”
Only God Forgives is the ultra-violent story of revenge set in Thailand, and the second film the two have worked on together, after 2011’s Drive.
"He is not with us physically, but as he stated, his thoughts are with us," added Fremaux.
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