Ryan Gosling wowed the crowds at the opening ceremony of the Hua Hin Film Festival last night before getting ‘mobbed’, according to a festival insider.
The Ides of March star arrived on the red carpet dressed in a sharp grey suit at the Intercontinental Hotel, impressing the glamorous onlookers with his wai greetings. Promoting his movie Drive, which is screening at the festival this weekend he arrived with director Nicolas Winding Refn and Nicolas’s wife, Liv Corfixen. Gosling’s new girlfriend, Hitch star, Eva Mendes, is rumored to be back in LA taking care of Gosling’s dog.
Gosling has been in Bangkok shooting Muay Thai action film Only God Forgives, which will be his second collaboration with the director Refn.
He looked relaxed and happy as he headed into the VIP area with the group, taking time to chat and pose with Film Festival execs, including Festival Director, Jareuk Kaljareuk, who hopes that scoring a Hollywood A-lister in the middle of awards season will help boost the profile of the festival and bolster the image of Thai film in the ASEAN region.
The actor sent Hollywood into a spin two weeks ago, by jetting out of the US to film Thai action pic Only God Forgives, leaving George Clooney to explain his absence as his two Golden Globe nominations were announced (lead actor in a comedy/ musical for Crazy, Stupid, Love and lead actor in a drama for The Ides of March).
And, it seems as though Gosling has caused a stir in Thailand, too: the actor stopped for photos with beautiful Thai superstar Krystal Vee (Street Fighter; The Legend of Chun-Li, The Scorpion King 3; Battle For Redemption) and spent time at the gala dinner before he became overwhelmed by the attention and left, leaving in his wake a lobby full of young, dressed-up girls, clamoring to get a glimpse of the sexy star.
The Hollywood Reporter scored an interview with Gosling, who said that he was loving Thailand.
“Incredible… Ever since I came here I’ve been dreaming about making a film in Bangkok. I’m happy to be here,” he told the entertainment industry trade mag.
He’s been spending most of his time working on the Muay Thai fighing scenes for Only God Forgives and said that he’s super impressed with the local Thai fighters. “It’s very hard. They have people training around me and they could all beat me up,” he said.
The director Refn also had nothing but praise for Bangkok. “I love it… Bangkok is one of my favorite cities — a mixture of everything that’s crazy and beautiful,” he said.
More photos of Gosling from last night are available on the Hua Hin Film Festival Facebook page.
