Though Ryan Gosling and Christina Hendricks shared the briefest of tense, violent moments in “Drive” – and in actual production likely not much longer – it seems from Gosling’s recent choices the experience was more than favorable. After eyeing a remake of 1980’s “The Idolmaker” for his first foray behind the camera, the actor instead chose to write a film, “How To Catch a Monster,” which he’d also direct, specifically tailored to Hendricks in the lead. Billed as a “fantasy noir fairy-tale,” the project has already exceeded anticipation levels all around, but recently Hendricks dropped some hints as to what the genre tags entail, and how her character fits into the narrative within them.
Naturally the thought that a director fashioned a part just for you would be flattering, but according to Hendricks, her love of the project was absolutely certified the minute she received the script. “He sent the script over in this cool box with an interesting little key, and cool artwork in it,” Hendricks said. “It was like the full package! And then I read the script and was in love with it, so I called him back and said, ‘Yeah, please.'”
While Billy, the single mother which she portrays, battles a dark fantasy underworld after her teenage son discovers an underwater town, Hendricks also noted the film’s personal focus on family. Her character is “supporting two children and trying to provide a home for them and a place of comfort in a continuously harder place to be,” she explains and in the film’s narrative, that harsh world will include a fetish club, apparently. “I find myself working in this very surreal club that gets me into a sort of predicament, and in the meantime, these boys are off on their own adventures and they discover this underground city.”
Aside from grabbing a new section of fans from that statement alone, Hendricks then refused any more specifics of the film, instead finally painting a first-hand account of its actor-turned-director’s vision. “Ryan already has storyboards and pictures of neighborhoods and homes, and he’s already collecting music for it … when you read it, it gives you the feeling, maybe, of a memory. Something from your childhood that you can’t really pinpoint.”
Though influences may be scattered, like a dose of “Where the Wild Things Are” filtered through a live-action Laika production, luckily the future of the project is not. Gosling is currently hard at work finding pre-sell distribution during TIFF before production begins next spring, but given its star power, strong concept, and the weight of Hendricks’ words, it shouldn’t be long at all before we get our first glimpse of Gosling’s strange debut. [Vulture]
I WANT TO SEE THIS NOW.