HOLLYWOOD

Ryan Gosling

HOLLYWOOD — Ryan Gosling has written, produced and directed his first film, “Lost River” (formerly called “How to Make a Monster”), starring Christina Hendricks, Eva Mendes and former “Dr. Who” Matt Smith. The film premiered in Cannes, and most critics were not kind. Reviewers called the film “a train wreck”; “a conceited clunker”; “an overcooked affair that lacks much-needed wit and humor”; “an arty mess”; and “colossally indulgent, shapeless, often fantastically and unthinkingly offensive, and at the same time insufferably conceited”! One favorable critic did say it was “an impressive, impressionistic, well-wrought debut for Ryan Gosling — very David Lynch.” Gosling will need to rethink and re-edit the film if he wants a distributor to release his first directorial work.

Jennifer Aniston will soon be everywhere: “Life of Crime,” with Tim Robbins and Isla Fisher, will be released Aug. 29. “Horrible Bosses 2” will open Nov. 26, followed by the recently completed “Cake” (which she stars in and exec-produced) with Anna Kendrick, Sam Worthington, and William H. Macy and his wife, Felicity Huffman. Then comes next year’s “She’s Funny That Way,” opposite Owen Wilson (directed by Peter Bogdanovich), and “Convention,” a sci-fi comedy she’s currently shooting with “Ghandi” Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley.

Woody Allen’s new film finally has a title, “Magic in the Moonlight,” and it’s shooting in the south of France with Emma Stone and Marcia Gay Harden. It’ll hit screens July 25.
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Why do networks keep pitting our favorite shows opposite each other? It only erodes the ratings of both shows. “Dancing With the Stars” finale drew 14.9 million viewers, while “The Voice” finale drew 11.6 million viewers. Imagine their ratings if they hadn’t been thrown against each other. If you love watching both shows and didn’t have a DVR, you either had to choose between them or yo-yo back and forth. The once powerful juggernaut “American Idol,” not up against anything significant, saw its finale drop off dramatically from last season’s finale. Is the death rattle in the air for “Idol”? Meanwhile, “I Wanna Marry Harry” flopped with a 0.7 rating (under age 50), and “Judge Judy’s” prime-time special drew a 0.9 rating in key demographics.

Last week we revealed the new shows that were canceled, now here are the old shows that are starting their final season: “Mad Men” (7th), “Glee” (6th), “Cougar Town” (6th), HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” (5th), “Justified” (6th), HBO’s “The Newsroom” (3rd), “Parenthood” (6th), “Sons of Anarchy” (5th), HBO’s “True Blood” (7th) and “Parks & Recreation” (7th). It’s kind of like life, love and marriage … you just get comfortable and somebody pulls the rug out from under you!