mooomin

Only God Forgives is a Danish-French Production. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn starring Ryan Gosling and Kristen Scott Thomas. Nicolas is doing prep work in Thailand right now, and shooting starts Feb 1, 2012 according to various sources.

A quick summary from Danish Film Institute and the French co-production company Wild Bunch respectively:

"Julian lives in exile in Bangkok where he runs a Thai boxing club as a front for the family's drugs smuggling operation. When Julian's brother Billy is killed their mother, Jenna, arrives in the city. She wants revenge and forces Julian to find the killer. Julian's contacts in the criminal underworld lead him directly to The Angel of Vengeance, a retired police officer who knows everything and who is both Judge and Punisher. Jenna demands that Julian kill The Angel of Vengeance, an act that will cost him dearly."


"Bangkok. Ten years ago Julian killed a cop and went on the run. Now he manages a Thai boxing club as a front for a drugs operation. Respected in the criminal underworld, deep inside, he feels empty.

When JULIAN’s brother murders a prostitute the police call on retired cop Chang - the Angel of Vengeance. Chang allows the father to kill his daughter’s murderer, then ‘restores order’ by chopping off the man’s right hand.

Julian’s mother Jenna - the head of a powerful criminal organization - arrives in Bangkok to collect her son’s body. She dispatches Julian to find his killers and ‘raise hell’.

Increasingly obsessed with the Angel of Vengeance, Julian challenges him to a boxing match, hoping that by defeating him he might find spiritual release… but Chang triumphs. A furious Jenna plots revenge and the stage is set for a bloody journey through betrayal and vengeance towards a final confrontation and the possibility of redemption."

-Bianca-

Title is fine.

Thanks for starting this!

heaven85

Thanks for starting the thread. I like the title.

Can't wait to get more info on this.

mooomin

No problem. I was just listening to a podcast today. One of the podcaster saw Nicolas a few days ago and basically confirmed that it's scheduled for a Feb start. One thing very interesting she said was that she liked Drive very much, and Nic did one thing to Ryan that the no one else was able to do, is that he made Gosling a movie star, and Ryan is grateful for Nic I am sure! (I am happy for Nicolas success in Hollywood too! Both are well deserved!). I think it makes a lot of sense really. Ryan wasn't an unknown before, but his popularity has really risen among the public with Drive. His appeal did expand beyond cinephiles and notebook fans. I am so happy (and I am sure they are too) that they worked so well together on Drive and it turned out to be quite a success. After having seen most of Nicolas Winding Refn's movies now, I have to say that he is one of the most interesting director out there and I am so glad that they're going to work together again! And I am sure Ryan will continue to make smart choices in the future!

The other thing I was wondering about is the release date of this movie. I know in Denmark it won't be release until April 2011. I wondered if it will open in some of the festival circuit. I don't think it will make Cannes besides the marketing team. Toronto or Venice (Sept) may be reasonable. Perhaps even in one of the smaller one in Scandinavia like Stockholm? Sundance is the january after but OGF doesn't really sound like a Sundance film.

But it looks like Ryan's training is coming along http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6-OA0BfkSQ. Although I have to say that, as much as I like to get updates for Ryan, some of these pap videos and shots really seems to bother him and his filming. Poor guy!

-Bianca-

I kind of disagree with that a little.

Drive upped Ryan's "cool" factor with men -- at least a contingent of men -- and solidified his place with film geeks even more than before, but CSL, over the summer, is what really crossed him over to "movie star". His swag in that film, as a lot of folks have called it, pushed him over into an area he'd never been before. It and his promo for it took the ball he had started to form in promo for Blue Valentine and grew it x20.

heaven85

Definitely agree there B. I think it was more CSL that did it too compared to Drive. Couldn't have said it as clearly.

mooomin

I kind of agree, I think no doubt CSL and Ides had a lot to do with his rise in popularity. But I also agree with her though, mostly because CSL is more of a Steve Carrell vehicle and an ensemble piece. It is probably Ryan's most "movie star performance" out of the three films, but I think it brought in more female fans than any other and sort of adds to his notebook appeal. I guess we can look at it like this when Drive opened it only made 11 million on its opening weekend. So whether Ryan is a "movie star" or not is still up to debate I think.

But Drive was able to show what Ryan can do, not only to the public but to the studio. He had to carry the entire film by himself. I think the buzz started in Cannes and continued through to comic con and Toronto. In the end it was able to breakout in a way and generate some kind of a following, and a broader audience that in a way differs a movie star from say a heartthrob or character actor. Ides has a specific appeal as well, with a extremely well known cast. So I actually do think Drive probably did more for Ryan than the other two.

Sorry I didn't mean to start an argument though But you guys are absolutely right in the end I think it's the combination of the three films, in addition to Blue Valentine from earlier this year, a film that really appeals mostly to cinephiles rather than the public, that really made him a "movie star" this year. But I am sure he had the chances to in the past but decided not to actively pursue it. Movie star or not, Ryan was still great in all of them and I am so glad he took these roles! Before his real breakout year this year I was always debating whether or not I would like Ryan as a movie star as oppose to more of a indie darling. But it seems like he can handle both pretty well


But back to OGF, here's a little more information on the film http://www.bangkokpost.com/arts-and-...431/hard-drive:

"Drive will open in Bangkok on October 27. Refn, meanwhile, has been here since last month to prepare for the shooting of Only God Forgives, an action film in which a Thai ex-cop who believes he's God faces off with a faith-deficit American gangster, to be played by Gosling. The location scout has been under way; Refn says Bangkok "is very cinematic" and the film "will take place mostly at night". The casting of the Thai parts, the director insists, is ongoing (meaning: don't believe what you read on the internet).

The Bangkok-set film will continue Refn's fascination with the male psyche and the transformative force of violence. The film-maker's career is built around the Pusher trilogy, the gritty, brutal gangster films about the Danish drugs underworld that began in 1996 (one of the Pusher films was screened at the Bangkok International Film Festival in the mid-2000s, which brought the film-maker to Thailand for the first time)."

heaven85

We always enjoy reading your thoughts and opinions so its not at all an argument so definitely feel free to express whatever thoughts you have on the subject.

Agreed that did a good job in all three of the movies and glad he took them them all cause it showed different sides to Ryan which I do love to see.

-Bianca-

Oh, we're not arguing. I was just disagreeing a bit. We're all not going to see everything exactly the same way and there's nothing wrong with that.

If I'm reading that blurb right (re: October 27th), I guess that's another fall 2012 release? We might be looking at another Drive/Ides situation, with GS and OGF bunched together if that's the case.

mooomin

I would be quite excited for an Oct 27th release! But I am a bit worried that it will be too close to the release of gangster squad again, I do prefer his movies to be more spread out. But it is great nonetheless, I can't wait too see his upcoming films.

heaven85

Me too. I also preferred his movies to be stretched out more but it would be a good bday present lol.

mooomin

Is Oct 27 your birthday? That would be so cool! A Ryan premiere for your birthday!

heaven85

Nope. the 29th so its pretty close lol.

-Bianca-

It should be interesting to see where TPBTP falls too.

It's rumored to have a Cannes push a la Blue Valentine, with a fall/winter release. We could have three movies (although two with supporting roles) in theaters within like a three month span.

mooomin

Oh happy belated H

I wondered how Pines will do in Cannes. (I was kind of surprised that Drive entered the competition in Cannes this year, let alone getting the reception that it did). But I still think 3 movies in 3 months kind of sucks! After OGF he's off to do Malick, which probably won't come out till 2016 (if we're lucky!). I am worried that we may have a bit of a drought