Friday October 7, 2011
Ryan Gosling isn't setting box-office records, but the media has only become more infatuated with the 30-year-old actor.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Ryan Gosling started out as a Mouseketeer on Disney's "The Mickey Mouse Club"
- Gosling currently stars alongside George Clooney in "The Ides of March"
- "Crazy, Stupid, Love" has become his highest-grossing film since 2004's "The Notebook"
Despite critical acclaim and a smoldering stare, Ryan Gosling still manages to fly under the radar with most of the moviegoing masses.
The actor has already received praise for his performance as the press secretary/spin doctor to Gov. Mike Morris (George Clooney) in "The Ides of March," which hits theaters Friday. And his role as heartthrob Noah Calhoun in 2004's "The Notebook" will continue to haunt mediocre boyfriends everywhere.
Yet Gosling's movies, many of which are smaller films, don't always resonate at the box office.
Consider this our public apology to you, Gosling, for not rewarding your hotness and all around good-guyness by making you a mega-star by now. We've loved you since you started out as a Mouseketeer on Disney's "The Mickey Mouse Club," though we assure you it was in an age-appropriate way.
So if his rocking bod and humble nature -- he told CNN that women are disappointed when they realize he's not Ryan Reynolds -- aren't enough to draw crowds, what is?
Don't ask Clooney, Gosling's "March" co-star and director.
The Los Angeles Times explored the likeness between the two leading men in September.
Despite being adored by fans and critics, Clooney and his films don't always garner commercial success either, as the article pointed out. Remember "Leatherheads," "The Men Who Stare at Goats" and "The American"? Each of those Clooney-starrers reportedly grossed between $31million and $35 million domestically, which is considered low these days for an A-lister.
But like his "March" co-star, as Gosling sets hearts afire while his movies fail to do the same, the media only becomes more infatuated with the 30-year-old actor.
First there was that amateur video of Gosling breaking up a New York street fight that surfaced in August. Then those heartwarming photos of the actor carrying his tired pooch around hit the Web. And what about that time he told UK paper The Times, via the New York Daily News, "I'll make movies until I make babies." Are you swooning yet?
"He is willing to show real vulnerability and ugliness," movie buff Leslie Henstock told MSNBC's Today.com. "There are moments in 'The Notebook' when he is absolutely tragic, begging, weak. He has a journey."
It's safe to say Gosling has perfected the sexy, yet vulnerable persona.
So much so that you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who didn't fall just a little bit in love with him after seeing "Crazy, Stupid, Love."
Speaking of that July release, with help from Steve Carell and Emma Stone, that flick brought in about $82 million domestically, making it Gosling's highest-grossing film by more than $40 million since "The Notebook."
Frankly, "Crazy, Stupid, Love" -- Gosling's first mainstream film since the 2007 dud "Fracture" -- featured the actor's six-pack so prominently, it's a wonder it didn't break box-office records.
Meanwhile, with a 93 out of 100 rating on Rotten Tomatoes, "Drive" was expected to find major box-office success upon its September release. However, the movie, which Gosling said was crafted to resemble a violent "Pretty in Pink," has raked in $21 million domestically so far. It cost about $15 million to make.
And December's "Blue Valentine," co-starring Michelle Williams, brought in $9.7 million domestically after costing about $5 million to produce.
So will the numbers continue to catch up with the hype surrounding the release of "The Ides of March" this weekend?
At this point it may not even matter because Gosling will continue to heat things up.
No comments:
Post a Comment