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Ryan Gosling's violent new film earned some boos at Cannes.

Can Ryan Gosling be forgiven? At the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, the actor's new film, "Only God Forgives," premiered to poor reviews.

Gosling, 32, stars in the Nicolas Winding Refn-directed thriller as Julian, a drug-smuggler in Bangkok who is pressured by his mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) to avenge his brother's death. According to a review by Vulture, the press screening of the very violent film at Cannes ended with boos from the audience.

PHOTOS: Cannes Film Festival 2013 red carpet

"When one painfully long torture sequence concluded with eye and ear mutilation, the audience revolted. When one character stuck his hand inside a woman's slashed body, the audience locked and loaded its boos," Vulture writes. "Gosling doesn't have much to say in this movie, but the auditorium sure did."

PHOTOS: Ryan Gosling's best movie romances

Gosling himself did not attend the premiere. The actor is currently working on "How to Catch a Monster" in Detroit, which is his directorial debut. During a press conference on Wednesday, Cannes director Thierry Fremaux read a letter from Gosling apologizing for missing the festival.

"Can't believe I'm not In Cannes. I was hoping to come but I'm on week three shooting my film in Detroit," he wrote (via The Associated Press ). "Miss you all. Nicolas, my friend, we really are the same persons in different dimensions. I'm sending you good vibrations."

PHOTOS: Ryan Gosling's hotness evolution

"Only God Forgives" is Gosling's second film with Refn. They worked together in the equally violent film "Drive," which won the award for Best Director at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Boos have become common at the annual event. Last year, Zac Efron and Nicole Kidman's "The Paperboy" received mixed reviews from the audience. In 2011, Brad Pitt's "The Tree of Life" also got a few boos mixed in with applause.

REVIEW: "Gangster Squad" made the news last summer before most moviegoers had even heard of it. A scene in the film's trailer shows four men with automatic weapons who stand behind a movie screen and fire through it at the seated audience while a movie airs, then walk through the holes their bullets made in the screen and continue firing.

The scene would've been brutally violent in any context, but after the horrific shootings at a Colorado theater showing "The Dark Knight Rises," the trailer was pulled and the film altered. That scene's now gone from the film, and those who haven't heard of the controversy wouldn't ever notice its omission. (The released film contains a scene with a shooting in Chinatown, which reportedly was added in as a replacement for the theater scene.)

But as with "Jack Reacher," which came out just a week after the Connecticut school shootings and opens with a sniper who takes aim on innocents, including a young girl, it's going to be tough for many -- perhaps all -- to see the sheer amount of violence in "Gangster Squad" and not wonder about it.

Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who's acted in his share of violent films, has come out and said that Hollywood can't be blamed for real-life shootings like those in Colorado and Connecticut. And in a lively discussion on the TODAY Facebook page, many readers agreed with the former California governor.

"Watching Roadrunner-(Wile E.) Coyote cartoons did not make me hit people on the head with an anvil," wrote reader Abel Garcia.

And indeed that's true. Few Acme anvil murders have been reported even when Looney Tunes was at the height of its popularity. But that doesn't mean it's easy to sit and watch the sheer unrelenting violence that flows across the screen in "Gangster Squad," to see a pregnant woman shot at over and over again, to watch a man murdered with a giant drill and then see the camera quickly switch -- in a supposedly witty segue -- to a raw hamburger patty sizzling on a grill.

But suppose you can take as much violence as Hollywood cares to dish out here, from the guy ripped in half by a car and quickly devoured  by coyotes to the henchmen burned up in an elevator. Even then, "Gangster Squad" is no "Godfather," no "L.A. Confidential." It doesn't delve into the minds of its characters like those films, doesn't use its richly painted retro setting for anything meaningful.

Josh Brolin stars as Sgt. John O'Mara, an Irish cop who sets out to stop New York mobster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) from taking over Los Angeles. It's 1949, and Brolin and his pals repeatedly remind us that they're World War II vets, who fought for freedom overseas and aren't about to give up fighting back at home. But there's no real indication of how the war hardened or changed them, only the constant repetition that they are veterans. Which every man was back then, and few needed to trumpet.

Penn, so good in so many films, has just two emotions here: "I'm About To Go Full-Blown Completely Freakout Psycho," and "Here I Am, In Full-Blown Completely Freakout Psycho Mode." There's never a sense, as we got from the Corleones in "The Godfather" or even Tony Soprano in "The Sopranos," that Cohen has anything in his personality that would make him a leader. He's just a sadistic crazy who's bound to turn on anyone he's ever met, including lovely girlfriend Emma Stone.

Ryan Gosling utilizes his Hey-Girl charm as the womanizing member of the squad, with Robert Patrick as the sharpshooting cowboy, Giovanni Ribisi as the brainiac, and Anthony Mackie as the black guy who hates Burbank. Seriously, he's given no other distinguishing characteristics, but at least he's slightly more of a full squad member than Michael Pena, who plays the group's lone Mexican member.

The screenplay never avoids a chance to remind us that Cohen is Bad with a capital B. After he has the man torn apart and fed to coyotes, his henchmen sweet-talk a midwestern innocent fresh off the bus into a hotel room where they plan to gang-rape her. O'Mara's able to smash his way in one-handed and stop it, of course, because that's the kind of movie this is. Uncomplicated evil meets uncomplicated good, and blood and brains grease the path. 

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Jonathan Alcorn / REUTERS

Ryan Gosling and mom Donna Gosling at the "Gangster Squad" premiere.

Ryan Gosling made for half of an adorable couple tonight on the red carpet, as usual. Hold your horses, it was mom and frequent event date Donna basking in the glow of her son's success at the "Gangster Squad" premiere in Hollywood -- but Eva Mendes was there in spirit!

"My mother's wearing all my girlfriend's clothes," Gosling told E! News, a tidbit we found highly believable considering her paisley-print trench, which we could easily picture on a certain actress.

Emma Stone talks writing around on Ryan Gosling's bed

"I'm wearing Eva Mendes," Donna confirmed, adding, "She let me raid her closet."

Well, that's ... cute?

Gosling also sweetly attributed his sex-symbol status to genetics. "I mean, obviously, as you can see...." he said, gesturing toward Donna.

See more pics from tonight's "Gangster Squad" premiere

Alas, the Canadian-born heartthrob couldn't tell us who designed his as-seen-on-every-actor-this-year brown suit -- probably because he had no idea. It appears that the ladies in his life are the ones who take the lead in the style department.

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Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper, together at last! Fans of both actors will be delighted to know that the "Sexiest Man Alive" rivals are set to appear in their first film together, "The Place Beyond the Pines," next March — and that there's finally a trailer available to showcase their considerable talents.

It's a match up made particularly sweet thanks to a campaign fans waged in 2011, when Cooper was named People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" — and petitions immediately surfaced asserting that Gosling was the better choice, and was robbed of the crown.

But with "The Place Beyond the Pines," it seems everybody wins. The trailer shows Gosling as a very blond stunt motorcycle driver who learns he has a child with a former flame. He decides to provide for the child by robbing banks. Cooper plays the rookie cop who goes after him. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film will unfold "in three chunks, taking place over 15 years." 

"The Place Beyond the Pines" is set to open March 20, 2013. 

Check out the trailer!

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Mike Cassese / REUTERS file

Ryan Gosling earlier this fall.

Hey girl, here's another reason to love Ryan Gosling. Over the weekend the 31-year-old actor attended a charity event benefiting the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin. Those who organized the Spooky Skedaddle 5K and Festival didn't know beforehand that the "Notebook" hunk would be gracing them with his presence. 

"You should have told me Ryan Gosling would be there ;)," @FreeFunInAustin tweeted to the school. "Ha :)," the organization replied. "We didn't know either!" 

Even at 12 years old, Ryan Gosling was a little charmer

Anne Adams, the executive director of the Texas School for the Deaf, told E! News that Gosling (who is currently in Texas filming a Terrence Malick flick) was joined by a film crew and his costars Michael Fassbender and Rooney Mara.

"Ryan was extremely kind, allowing lots of photo ops with fans and when the director told him, 'Enough,' he said, 'No, one more,' and pulled a small deaf child out of the line for a picture. Ryan is a wonderful person and we were delighted that they came!"

Ghada Soufan, a local college student, posted a pic of Ryan surrounded by kids in costume at the event. After tweeting that "RYAN GOSLING JUST LOOKED AT ME," Ghada went for the gold and got a picture taken of herself and a pal with the plaid-clad hunk. (She hashtagged the pic #bestdayever. We'd have to agree on that one.)

From Mouseketeer to movie star: Check out some of Ryan Gosling's film credits! 

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Getty Images, EPA file

Justin Bieber, left, and Ryan Gosling.

Talent clearly runs in this Canadian family. Researchers at Ancestry.com have discovered some extremely surprising news: pop singer Justin Bieber is cousins with Ryan Gosling and Avril Lavigne! Not only that, but he's also related to Celine Dion!

Here's the connection ...

Bieber's house was the target of a prank emergency call

Bieber, Gosling and Lavigne share a common family connection that goes back 400 years to some of Quebec's earliest settlers, according to the Ancestry experts.

Bieber and Gosling are 11th cousins once removed, while Bieber and Lavigne are 12th cousins through common relatives Mathurin Roy and Marguerite Bir. As for Dion, she and the Biebs are 10th cousins three times removed through Jacques Vzina and Marie Boisdon.

Sounds kinda confusing, but, as with most things, a diagram helps.

"Discoveries like this are rare, so the fact that some of Canada's top entertainment industry stars are all related is especially fascinating," says genealogist Lesley Anderson.

"There's something special about discovering a shared connection, and to be able to go so far back in history to do so is one of the most satisfying aspects of family history research."

Talk about a famous family!

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Katy Winn / AP file

Ryan Gosling apparently saved a British woman's life in New York.

Just when Ryan Gosling couldn’t get any better, he did. The actor apparently saved a British woman from getting hit by a taxi in New York on Tuesday.

The woman, Laurie Penny, is a writer who contributes to The New Statesmen, Independent, Guardian, Al-Jazeera, and The Nation, according to her Twitter account, where she broke the news of Gosling’s heroic endeavor.

In disbelief, Penny tweeted, “I literally, LITERALLY just got saved from a car by Ryan Gosling. Literally. That actually just happened.”

She later described the incident in detail.

“I was crossing 6th avenue in a new pink wig. Not looking the right way because I am from London,” Penny tweeted. “Ryan Gosling grabbed me away from a taxi…He did not say 'hey, girl.'He said 'hey, watch out!'”

The actor's action was not lost on bystanders, who expressed jealously over Penny’s encounter.

Penny added, “Identity of no-idea-if-actually-a-manarchist-but-definitely-a-decent-sort Ryan Gosling confirmed by girl near me, who said 'you lucky [expletive].”

The Canadian-born actor also broke up a Manhattan street fight in August, and despite praise, later told MTV News he wished he’d stayed out of it.

Some New Yorkers, however, are pretty excited about the latest Gosling good deed.

“I see so many celebrities I don't care about around the city, on a regular basis.   But I still haven't bumped into him. It's not fair,” writes a reader going as PlumNYC on Gothamist. “Apparently I need to get myself into some kind of predicament and he will come save the day. I'm going to run around downtown in different states of distress until he finds me.”

Entertainment Tonight Online editor Jarett Wieselman‏ jokes on Twitter, “Ryan Gosling saves woman from being hit by cab, NYC-ers begin hurling themselves into traffic.”

What do you think of Gosling's act? Can you imagine how shocked the writer was to recognize him? Tell us what you think on Facebook.

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FilmDistrict

Ryan Gosling's "Drive" was snubbed by the Academy.

Sure, everyone's got a film they feel the Oscars snubbed. But not one major nomination for "Drive," Ryan Gosling's dark and stylish look at a wheelman who thinks he can shut out the world outside his car?

No nomination for best picture, nothing for Gosling himself, no supporting actor nod for Albert Brooks? Did the Academy members think this was a "Fast & Furious" film, like the Michigan woman who sued over it?

At least Brooks took it in stride in his witty Twitter feed. After the nominations came out, he Tweeted "I got ROBBED. I don't mean the Oscars, I mean literally. My pants and shoes have been stolen" and followed up with 'You don't like me. You really don't like me.'" (We do, Albert! Think of the Academy as crotchety old Statler and Waldorf from "The Muppets." Real people do like you.)

As was made clear by that woman who sued, "Drive" was not marketed clearly. It's a dark picture, not a fun-filled race. It's full of ponderous silences and bleak landscapes, giving you the sense of a man who's completely in control inside a car, and lost when he's not behind the wheel. There are shockingly violent scenes and one elevator attack that comes seemingly from nowhere and sets your nerves on edge.

Gosling and Brooks play it pitch-perfect -- when they meet, Gosling tells Brooks he can't shake hands because his are dirty, and Brooks, a movie producer with a secret criminal life, pounds out every bit of the double meaning when he says, "So are mine."

"Drive" feels like one of those 1970s movies, where the hero isn't clean and there's more talking than fighting, where spaces left in coversations sometimes say as much as the words. We don't get many of those films in a world with movies like "Jack and Jill" and "Battle: Los Angeles," and watching one is a refreshing change, like settling in to an air-conditioned theater after a day of partying at the beach. Brooks was right the first time -- he, and "Drive," did get robbed.

 Do you think "Drive" deserved at least one Oscar nomination? Tell us on Facebook.

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Ryan Gosling and George Clooney were among the top -- and repeated -- Golden Globe Award nominees on Thursday morning.

A look at what went down:

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In the key Best Motion Picture Drama category, the Clooney-directed "Ides of March" will go up against the Clooney-starring "The Descendants." "The Help," Martin Scorsese's "Hugo," "Moneyball" and Steven Spielberg's "War Horse" were nominated, too, despite their lack of Clooney.

In other Clooney news, the star was nominated for Best Director ("Ides of March"), Best Drama Actor ("The Descendants") and Best Original Screenplay ("Ides of March").

Gosling, who was shut out at the Screen Actors Guild nominations, but otherwise has been an awards-season player, will go up against Clooney, his "Ides of March" costar, for Best Drama Actor. In a mild surprise, Gosling's also nominated for Best Comedy-Musical Actor, for the previously unheralded "Crazy Stupid Love."

"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," meanwhile, which has run hot and cold, was warm-ish at the Globes. The film picked up two nominations: one for Original Score, and one key one for breakout star Rooney Mara (Best Drama Actress). But it failed to rate in any of the other big-boy categories, including director, screenplay and film.

PHOTOS: 2012 Oscars Cheat Sheet!

Overall, the Hollywood Foreign Press, which typically can be counted on to lose its collective head during the course of its nominations, played things pretty straight.

"50/50," "The Artist," "Bridesmaids," "Midnight in Paris" and "My Week With Marilyn" are up for Best Motion Picture Comedy-Musical.

TV series nominees include "American Horror Story," "Glee," "Game of Thrones" and "New Girl."

The 69th Annual Golden Globes are set for Jan. 15. Ricky Gervais will be back as host -- consider yourself duly warned.

You can read a full rundown on the Globes nominations here.

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Columbia Pictures

Brad Pitt, left, and Jonah Hill star in "Moneyball."

George Clooney's considered a top Oscar favorite. Ryan Gosling's considered no slouch himself.

But it was Brad Pitt who claimed the first major best actor win of awards season courtesy the New York Film Critics Circle, which honored the star for the outside-the-lines baseball movie, "Moneyball," and the arty epic, "The Tree of Life."

The best actress pick, meanwhile, didn't shock. At all.

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Meryl Streep won the critics' approval for "The Iron Lady," a biopic about former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

But while it seems Streep always wins, because she does, she hasn't won an Oscar since the 1982 ceremony. Tuesday's win could be the sign her relative bad run is about to end. Right now, oddsmakers give her the best overall shot at best actress.

Pitt isn't considered as heavy an Oscar favorite as Clooney and perhaps Gosling, but he's in the game, and Tuesday's win is his first significant one as a leading man.

Elsewhere, Albert Brooks made good on his budding Oscar buzz with a best supporting actor win for "Drive," where the acclaimed comic does very unfunny things.

Jessica Chastain, the newcomer who's everywhere on the strength of six 2011 releases, was named best supporting actress for work in three of those films, including "The Tree of Life," in which she plays Pitt's wife.

"The Tree of Life" was the most-honored film, being named in three categories, but it lost best picture and best director to French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius' throwback silent, "The Artist."

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The New York Film Critics Circle Awards are critics' awards, so make of the results what you will. That said, the East Coast writers are often in sync with Hollywood.

The group's awards are the first major critics pronouncements of the fall. The winners of the Gotham Independent Film Awards were named last night, but, outside of The Tree of Life, which was named best film, along with the geriatric coming-out dramedy, "Beginners," none of its other favorites look to figure prominently at the Oscars.

Here's the complete list of winners from the 2011 New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Film: The Artist. Actor: Brad Pitt, "Moneyball" and "The Tree of Life." Actress: Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady." Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks, "Drive." Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain, "The Tree of Life," "The Help" and "Take Shelter." Director: Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist." Screenplay: "Moneyball." Cinematography: "The Tree of Life." Documentary: "Cave of Forgotten Dreams." Foreign-Language Film: "A Separation." First Feature: "Margin Call." Special Award: Raoul Ruiz.

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Frazer Harrison / Getty Images file

Ryan Gosling

Tuesday night, we were busily preparing for Wednesday morning's announcement of PEOPLE magazine's annual choice for Sexiest Man Alive.

We were preparing for it to be Ryan Gosling. And judging by most of the chatter on the Interwebs today, so were a lot of other people. Except maybe Steve Martin.

No knock on Bradley Cooper -- he is a damn fine looking man who is in no danger of being kicked out of bed for eating crackers. He's also an accomplished actor. He was great in "The Hangover" and "Limitless." My personal favorite was his turn as Sack in "Wedding Crashers." And while his bilingual skills are quite impressive, it didn't melt everyone's heart, and this year that just shouldn't add up to Sexiest Man Alive.

Gosling, on the other hand, has enjoyed a breakout year. He played a troubled man falling in, then losing, love in "Blue Valentine"; the charming cad (my personal weakness) in "Crazy Stupid Love"; and he went head-to-head with perennial Sexiest Man Alive candidate George Clooney in "Ides of March." Oh, and he's, well, gorgeous.

In this share-all digital era, feelings are running high on his "slight." There is currently a petition online asking PEOPLE to admit its mistake. Buzzfeed.com is offering 63 reasons why Cooper is not the right choice. The site is also examining Sexiest's checkered past. #SexiestManAlive has been a trending topic on Twitter all day, but seriously folks, Justin Bieber -- ah, no.

But hey, it's all subjective. One person's sexy is another person's "what-the-frack!?" There are very few stars whose sex appeal alone will get this writer to the theater. Two to be exact -- last year's winner Ryan Reynolds and fellow actor Gerard Butler. Otherwise, I only go to the movies for the stories. And to laugh (hmmm, still Ryan Reynolds). And nobody has yet to match my all-time favorite cinematic hunk -- Ray Stevenson as Titus Pullo in the HBO series, "Rome."

Which begs the question -- which sexy star quickens your pulse enough to plunk down $10 at the box office? Is it Cooper? Gosling? Someone else? Share you choice in the comments below.

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