Ryan Gosling Finally Corrects a Long-Held Grievance with the ‘La La Land’ Poster
Hollywood stars, like all professionals, have their fixations. For Ryan Gosling, a seemingly minor detail on the iconic poster for the 2016 musical La La Land became a source of enduring regret. The position of his hand during a dance sequence with co-star Emma Stone haunted the actor for years, a detail he obsessively wished he could revisit. Gosling’s dedication to his craft, and perhaps a touch of perfectionism, led him to publicly lament this artistic quibble, even going so far as to say he’d replay the role simply to rectify it. The story highlights how even the most celebrated moments in film can be viewed with a critical eye by those involved in their creation.
In a 2024 interview with the Wall Street Journal, Gosling confessed that he hadn’t realized the dance pose would become the defining image of the film. “There’s a moment that haunts me where we’re dancing, Emma and I. I didn’t know that it would become the poster,” he explained, expressing his lingering dissatisfaction. The issue stemmed from a spontaneous decision to alter the choreography slightly, a deviation from the intended alignment of their hands and arms. He recounted that while instructed to keep his hand in line with his arm, he opted to bend his wrist, believing it would look “cool.” “I thought it would be cool to put my hand like that, even though everyone was telling me it wasn’t cool. And now that I see it, and I see the poster all the time, you know what would have been better? The hand aligned,” he lamented.
Gosling playfully dubbed the offending hand position the “la la hand,” a nod to the “jazz hands” gesture often seen in musical performances. The actor’s admission quickly went viral, prompting many to notice the detail they hadn’t previously considered. This seemingly small artistic choice became a point of fascination for fans and critics alike, demonstrating the power of visual details in shaping a film’s legacy. The story resonated with audiences, highlighting the often-unseen anxieties and self-criticism even the most successful actors experience.
A Second Chance with an Alien Twist
Ten years after the release of La La Land, Gosling finally had the opportunity to “correct” his perceived mistake, as demonstrated in a recent promotional video for his new film, The Fall Guy, released in theaters on March 18th. For the promotional stunt, he recreated the iconic dance scene in the same location, but with a decidedly extraterrestrial twist: replacing Emma Stone with an animatronic version of Rocky, a character from The Fall Guy. The video, which quickly circulated online, shows Gosling flawlessly executing the dance steps, this time with his hand perfectly aligned.
Gosling’s commitment to the bit was evident, as he remembered the choreography with precision. His partner, actress Eva Mendes, with whom he has two daughters, shared the video on Instagram, humorously acknowledging that the hand position had been “one of Ryan’s great regrets.” Mendes’ post further amplified the story, turning it into a lighthearted moment of internet culture. The revised poster featuring Rocky alongside Gosling signaled a playful resolution to the actor’s decade-long preoccupation.