When Did RYAN GOSLING Become THE MAN?

The best artists in the business have to put the hours in. You remember Ryan Gosling from 'Half Nelson' and 'Lars and the Real Girl'. As great as he was in those, they weren't a ticket to the A-List. There's no ticket to the A-list. You just need talent and you have to keep working. Robert Downey Jr was a genius in the 80's -- but he wasn't the man. Sure, you can blame the drugs -- but it's more than that. He wasn't as good then as he is now. The personal problems, the great roles in smaller films (A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints, Black & White, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) and his genius turn as Larry Paul in 'Ally McBeal' -- they all led him to the place he deserves to be: one of the most in demand actors in the business. 

Ryan Gosling has talent. Some people knew this in the mid nineties. Every woman knew this after seeing 'The Notebook'. But he still had work to do. 'Half Nelson' set him apart from the rest; his talent was undeniable. Same goes for 'Lars and the Real Girl'. 

There's a key fact on his Wikipedia page - He dropped out of high school at the age of seventeen to focus on his acting career. Now he's in his early thirties. It takes that long to get to the top. And you could argue, he's not even there yet. 

But this year has been something special. He's reached a level where he's getting all the best scripts in town. It's like when Hanks did 'Sleepless In Seattle', 'Philiadelphia' and 'Forrest Gump' back to back -- or when Will Smith went through a period of hit after hit, year after year.

Right now Gosling is cool. The women love him, the men want to be him. 'Drive' is the coolest film of the year. 'Blue Valentine' is one of the truest relationship films we've had in a long time. 'Crazy, Stupid, Love' shows his ability to be slick and funny.

After great roles in 'The Notebook', 'Fracture', 'Half Nelson' and 'Lars and the Real Girl' --- what did he do to catapult himself to the top of the industry? He, uhhh---- he toured with his band for a few years. 

That's what an artist is, someone who follows their muse. He didn't go and get cast in a Marvel flick, he went out on the road with his band. That's why he's so sought after now --- because he's so authentic. He means it. We feel it. Can he hold on to this truthfulness? I have a feeling he can, he's doing it on his own terms. 

It's hard to say exactly how or when it happens: but actors get their moment in the spotlight. They're the one who everyone is writing for, everyone is trying to cast; it was Hanks, it was Will Smith, it was Robert Downey Jr. Right now, it's Ryan Gosling. He did years of ground work, he did the great indie flicks, and now he's the real deal, he's doing big movies.

These next five years are critical. They'll determine his career. This could be exciting.

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All In A Day's Work

The plan today was to meet with my producer and then go see 'The King's Speech' with Anna in Camden. But my producer had to reschedule because of a family thing so I decided I'd go see 'Blue Valentine' before meeting Anna. And then Irena facebooked me to tell me she was back in the country and she mentioned something about getting a coffee but instead she came to see 'Blue Valentine.' Actually we were early so we went for lunch in Chinatown, which was great because she offered to pay -- which I accepted after momentarily considering hesitating or offering to pay myself.

The movie was great, but I was a bit annoyed because the concept, of showing the beginning and ending of a relationship play out over a movie was something I'd been wanting to do for years. The difference between my script and the one for 'Blue Valentine' is that they actually wrote their one. It's like that Sorkin line from The Social Network', "If they invented Facebook they'd have invented Facebook"

After the movie I'd had enough of hanging out with a talented and pretty actress so I went and hung out with Anna, a talented and pretty actress, and realised I could give up making the films and just hang out with actresses. Anna offered to pay for the movie which I accepted after momentarily considering hesitating or offering to pay myself.

'The King's Speech' was like all English films funded by America; lengthy, full of strange accents, and simple. But Colin Firth did his thing and did it amazingly and is worthy of the Oscar he'll almost certainly get nominated for. And if anyone says "no way he's getting an Oscar, it's going to ACTORS NAME," you're probably right and it probably isn't important.

The film ended and me and Anna hated the old women near us who'd been talking the whole time. We often thought of telling them to shut their stupid mouths but were worried; due to the nature of the film; that they may actually be royalty. That sounds crazy, but Anna is American and Americans think most people in England know the Queen.

After the film we went to get a tea and Anna chose some Turkish place because apparently they give out free food. They didnt give us free food but they did give us tea so long as we paid for it. They were closing in 27 minutes so we rushed through our topics: favourite Friends episodes, crazy director/actor stories, the American football sucks/rocks conversation, and then the Turkish people began sweeping under our feet, which Anna read as 'time to leave' but I interpreted as 'the free food is coming.'

And then I jumped on the tube and began writing this blog as the guy opposite me picked his nose and the guy to my right had a weird smile on his face which is maybe because he can hear Ennio Morricone's theme from 'Malena' coming out of my headphones, but probably not. And then I stopped typing.

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