At this year’s Toronto Film Festival, I was able to speak with Ryan Gosling about starring in director George Clooney’s political drama The Ides of March.  Starring Clooney, Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood and Jeffrey Wright, the pic takes place during the tension-filled moments leading up to an all-important Ohio presidential primary where a press secretary (Gosling) finds himself in the middle of a scandal that could upend his candidates’ (Clooney) shot at winning.  Loaded with great performances and a smart script, The Ides of March is really well done and definitely worth your time.

During the interview, Gosling talked about how he got involved in the project, working with the great cast, filming in Ohio, what it’s like having two big films come out at the same time, and does he prefer the Clint Eastwood two-take method or the David Fincher way of doing things.  In addition, Gosling talked about working with director Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine) again on The Place Beyond the Pines and what the film is about.  Hit the jump to watch.

Drive is a truly unique and original dramatic thriller, as seen through the eyes of intriguing Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn and brought to life by its talented cast, including Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman. The Driver (Gosling) is a Los Angeles wheelman for hire, stunt driving for movie productions by day while steering getaway vehicles for armed heists by night. When his beautiful neighbor Irene (Mulligan) catches his eye, and what was supposed to be an easy job spins out of control, he finds himself wanting to protect the girl that he loves, no matter the cost.

At the film’s press day, actor Ryan Gosling talked about how he saw this film as a violent John Hughes movie that he could live out his Rambo fantasizes in, what made Nicolas Refn the perfect director to handle this material, that he credits the REO Speedwagon song “I Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore” with getting the film made, how learning the stunt driving was the best two weeks of prep he’s ever had, and that co-star Carey Mulligan was his partner in crime. He also talked about how he always looks for directors that he can build a relationship with, that his fantasy of robbing banks led him to play a motorcycle stunt driver in The Place Beyond the Pines (with Blue Valentine director Derek Cianfrance), and that his next project will be The Gangster Squad for director Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland).

Two-time Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Rose Byrne (FX’s Damages) has agreed to take on a role originally planned for Greta Gerwig in director Derek Cianfrance’s (Blue Valentine) crime drama The Place Beyond the Pines. Although Gerwig had never officially signed onto the film, we reported back in June that the actress was in talks to join. Today, Vulture is reporting that Byrne has officially taken over the part as a result of scheduling conflicts that arose with Gerwig’s film promotion commitments.

For those unfamiliar with the project, The Place Beyond the Pines also stars Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta, and Ben Mendelsohn. The pic centers on a showdown between a cop turned politician (Cooper) and a biker/bank robber (Gosling) and is currently shooting in Schenectady. Per the report, Byrne will play the role of Cooper’s wife. The actress most recently appeared in hits such as X-Men: First Class and Bridesmaids. As for Gerwig, she is currently filming Woody Allen’s The Bop Decameron in Rome alongside Alec Baldwin and Jesse Eisenberg.

A few casting details for you here. Nia Vardalos, co-writer of the upcoming romantic comedy Larry Crowne starring Tom Hanks, will appear in a new American Girl film. I know what you’re thinking. I had no idea there were old American Girl films either, but you might have heard of the lone theatrical release, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. Apparently Vardalos is influenced by her daughter’s opinion just like a lot of actors that do kids films these days.

On the flip side, we have Ben Mendelsohn (Animal Kingdom), who is in talks to join Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper in Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond the Pines. While Mendelsohn has a large number of films under his belt, he broke out last year playing the creepy uncle in Animal Kingdom that would never go away. With two films coming before the end of the year, it doesn’t look like Mendelsohn will be going anywhere either. Hit the jump for more details on both films and actors.

Not all romances end with rousing music and fairy tale happy endings: The Break-Up gave us the finite side of love; the Before Sunrise/Before Sunset franchise offered soulmates with bad timing; and that’s to say nothing of the doom that faced lovers like Romeo and Juliet. Yet on top of the decades and centuries of creative coupling, Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine finds new ground by unleashing the infrequently-visited aspects of romance as Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams meet, love, and leave. Hit the jump for my review of Blue Valentine on Blu-ray.

Last month, we learned that Bradley Cooper had been offered a role opposite Ryan Gosling in Blue Valentine director Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond the Pines. Well now it looks like Cooper’s deal is closed, as Variety reports that he’s now officially on board the crime drama. Written by Cianfrance and Ben Coccio (Zero Day), the story follows a motorcycle stunt rider (Gosling) who becomes a bank robber to support his newborn son. Characterized as being reminiscent of The Godfather and The Deer Hunter, Cooper will play a rookie cop who crosses paths with Gosling’s character.

The Hangover Part II star is a busy guy as of late, as he’s poised to play Lucifer in Alex Proyas’ Paradise Lost, is shooting The Words this month, and has been offered the lead in the remake of The Crow, though that project is currently caught up in some legal troubles. Production on The Place Beyond the Pines is set to start this July in New York.

Director Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine was one of the most celebrated films of last year.  This past February, we learned that he was planning to reunite with star Ryan Gosling for the crime flick The Place Beyond the Pines.  Cianfrance says people have told him that the film, which follows a motorcycle stunt rider (Gosling) who becomes a bank robber to support his newborn son, feels like a cross between The Deer Hunter and The Godfather.  Variety reports that Sidney Kimmel Entertainment has come on board to finance and produce multi-generational crime drama and that Bradley Cooper has been offered a starring role.  If Cooper were to sign on, he would play a rookie police officer who crosses paths Gosling’s character.  Principal photography is set to begin this summer.

Hit the jump for a brief refresher on the multitude of other projects Cooper has at his disposal.

One of the most heart-wrenching films of this past Oscar season had to be Blue Valentine starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. The film shows, in painfully honest detail, the destruction of a marriage. Williams’ performance got her an Oscar nod, and now the man behind the camera is talking about his next feature. Director Derek Cianfrance said his next project, The Place Beyond the Pines, will be about “the transformative power of fatherhood and the idea of what happens though generations, the things that get passed down.” Furthermore, his Blue Valentine star Ryan Gosling is set to play the lead:

“Ryan’s going to play Luke, a motorcycle stunt rider who finds out he has a baby and he tries to become a father. It’s kind of an epic movie. It takes place over a couple of generations and it’s kind of a crime story, kind of a mystery. I’ve had people tell me they feel like its The Deer Hunter meets The Godfather.”

In his interview with The Playlist, Cianfrance said the film is influenced by the works of author Jack London. He also revealed that they’re in the middle of financing right now and plan on shooting sometime this summer in New York. The director is also currently working on a bodybuilding comedy for HBO.

NBC issued its first pilot order for this development season to Playboy.  According to Variety, the script comes from Chad Hodge (Tru Calling) and centers on a group of women working in the New York Playboy club in the 1960s.  Naturally, the time and place of the setting will be used to explore the nation’s coming sexual revolution.

There were once 22 Playboy clubs around the world.  The hourlong drama comes at a time when Playboy Enterprises hopes to revive the brand, with plans to launch around 20 locations in the next few years.

Hit the jump for details on the bodybuilding comedy HBO is developing with Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine).

The MPAA has overturned its original decision to give Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine an NC-17. The Weinstein Company recently mounted a legal campaign to get Blue Valentine an R-rating and knock The King’s Speech down from an R-rating to PG-13.  This is wonderful news for Blue Valentine and for sanity. I saw the film earlier this week and while it’s raw and emotional, there’s nothing in it that merits an NC-17.  According to Deadline, the MPAA’s decision to overturn the rating was reportedly unanimous.

Blue Valentine, which stars Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams as a married couple in a deteriorating relationship, should now open on December 31st without any problems from nervous exhibitors.  Now the trick is getting audiences to ring in the new year by watching the love between two people crumble and fall apart.

Last Week, Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine was hit was an unexpected NC-17 rating for a scene that was emotionally jarring but not graphically offensive.  Since most theaters won’t run NC-17 films, The Weinstein Company was left with the choice to either appeal the rating or have Cianfrance make cuts and re-submit the movie.  The Weinstein Company have now issued a statement saying they will appeal the rating.  Hit the jump to read the official statement from Harvey Weinstein regarding the matter.  Blue Valentine stars Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams and is set to open on December 31st.

The Weinstein Company has released the trailer for Derek Cianfrance’s drama Blue Valentine starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams.  While the film was recently slapped with an NC-17 rating by the MPAA, I predict that the movie will find its way to an “R” whether through the appeals process or by making the necessary cuts (probably the latter).  The trailer doesn’t hint at anything that would lead to an NC-17 unless the MPAA has decided to take a hardline stance against people hugging and crying.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  Blue Valentine is slated to open on December 31st.

The MPAA has created a stir this morning by giving the drama Blue Valentine an NC-17 rating.  The “NC-17″ is a kiss-of-death for a film and most theaters won’t exhibit a film that has NC-17 (and as demonstrated this week by Hatchet 2, you can’t get away with no rating either).  Blue Valentine stars Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams and is about the deterioration of a marriage.  So as to avoid spoilers, hit the jump to find out what was so offensive to the MPAA as to merit the dreaded NC-17.

While some may have thought The Weinstein Company was down for the count, Harvey Weinstein has finally pulled the trigger at Sundance as his company purchased director Derek Cianfrance’s relationship drama Blue Valentine – which stars Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams – for just over $1 million. Also, according to Variety, TWC is close to landing the documentary The Tillman Story, which is about former NFL player Pat Tillman and the cover up by our government after he died.

While I haven’t seen The Tillman Story, the buzz in Park City is the film is really good.  But I did see Blue Valentine and it’s fantastic.  You know how everyone always says how good someone’s performance is?  Trust me when I say, Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are amazing in this film, which is about the beginning and ending of a couple’s relationship.  Director Cianfrance cuts back and forth during the movie and he uses bright colors and film for the beginning of the relationship, and close-ups with the Red camera for the end.   It’s a great way to show the difference in time.  With how good the movie is, it’s no surprise it landed a distributor.  More from Sundance soon.

As we move closer to the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, the first glimpses of movies playing at the festival are arriving online.  Since there are so many, we’ve decided to group them into a single article for your viewing pleasure.  The films we’ve included in this group are 3 Backyards starring Edie Falco and Elias Koteas; Abel directed by Diego Luna; Blue Valentine starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams; Douchebag, which just has a catchy title; HappyThankYouMorePlease starring Kate Mara, Malin Akerman, Richard Jenkins, Tony Hale, and Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother) who also wrote and directed the film; and Night Catches Us starring Kerry Washington and Anthony Mackie.  Hit the jump for the first images as well as brief synopses for all of these movies.

The 2010 Sundance Film Festival will run from January 21-31^st.