The Playlist

Nicolas Winding Refn Suggests You Should Lower Your Expectations For 'The Equalizer,' Plus NSFW New 'Only God Forgives' Clip

By Cain Rodriguez
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May 22, 2013 1:20 PM
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2 Comments

News

With "Only God Forgives" screening this morning at Cannes (read our review), it's clearly Nicolas Winding Refn day here at The Playlist. In the shadow of the success of the new film's predecessor, 2011’s “Drive,” one of the more surprising moves the director made was signing up for an adaptation of the TV show “The Equalizer” with Denzel Washington set to star, before just as suddenly bailing on the project. While no specific reason was given for his exit at the time -- Sony was unable to close the deal with Refn -- the director has hinted at the reason for his departure.

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Ghosts, Pornographic Cock Talk, Bitch Switches & Art & Violence As Penetration - Highlights From The ‘Only God Forgives’ Cannes Press Conference

By Rodrigo Perez
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May 22, 2013 11:10 AM
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0 Comments

Festivals

“Only God Forgives,” Nicolas Winding Refn’s latest collaboration with Ryan Gosling just let out in Cannes this morning and the conversations on Twitter are heated and polarizing. There’s either love or loathing in the air and not a lot in between. Many are remarking that it’s similar in tone to Refn and Gosling’s last team-up in “Drive.” This stands to reason as Gosling himself told us earlier in the year, “It's very extreme. It's part of the same dream as ‘Drive,’ but it's more of a nightmare than a dream... So that's what happens when you let Nicolas loose in Thailand. There's no one around to put the reins on and he's completely unleashed.”

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Cannes Review: 'Only God Forgives' Stretches Refn's Neon-Noir Style Over Too Little Oedipal, Amoral Substance

By Jessica Kiang
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May 22, 2013 6:48 AM
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49 Comments

Festivals

With the weight of expectation behind it, Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Only God Forgives” was never going to be able to deliver the same neon blue jolt of surprise that thrilled through the 2011 Cannes crowd at the first screening of “Drive.” But the audience in attendance today was prepped and primed, and practically salivating, for something that looked a little like “Drive 2” -- reuniting Refn with star Ryan Gosling in a similarly taciturn role, and also with that reflective black and fizzing blue/red aesthetic that’s as heady and addictive as a drug to the director’s fans (of whom we number ourselves, of course).

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Watch: Three New Neon-Soaked, NSFW Clips For Nicolas Winding Refn's 'Only God Forgives'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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May 19, 2013 12:02 PM
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28 Comments

News

"Bling Ring," "The Past" and "Inside Llewyn Davis" might be out of the way, but there's still many highly anticipated Cannes movies to show in the next week. And perhaps most eagerly awaited among them; "Only God Forgives." This time two years ago saw "Pusher" and "Bronson" helmer Nicolas Winding Refn move up to the big leagues with his acclaimed pulp crime tale "Drive," and he's reunited with his star Ryan Gosling for his new film, a Bangkok-set spiritual sequel that promises to be even more brutal than its predecessor.

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Nicolas Winding Refn & Ryan Gosling Want To Make A Comedy Together, Refn Confirms 'Logan's Run' On Hold

By Kevin Jagernauth
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May 14, 2013 8:56 AM
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6 Comments

News

"Ryan and I are practically one," director Nicolas Winding Refn says about Ryan Gosling in the press notes for "Only God Forgives," which they are preparing to unspool at the Cannes Film Festival next week. But it seems they are already tinkering with what they will do next.

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Ryan Gosling Is Blue & Cool In Poster For 'Only God Forgives' Plus Some New Pics

By Kevin Jagernauth
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May 10, 2013 10:45 AM
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2 Comments

News

That Nicolas Winding Refn's "Only God Forgives" is one of our 10 Most Anticipated Films Of The 2013 Cannes Film Festival is pretty much a no-brainer. You already know everything there is to know about the Ryan Gosling starrer, that finds him on a quest for vengeance in Bangkok, after his brother is murdered, so let's shine a bit of light on one of the co-stars in the movie, Vithaya Pansringarm.

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Ryan Gosling Rumbles In New Pics From 'Only God Forgives'; Refn Acknowledges Similarities To 'Valhalla Rising' & 'Drive'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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May 7, 2013 10:31 AM
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0 Comments

News

Wanna fight? Ryan Gosling is putting up his dukes very soon in "Only God Forgives," his second collaboration with Nicolas Winding Refn, and with a Cannes Film Festival premiere just over a week away, a batch of new photos has arrived along with a full director's statement about the movie and much more.

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Full Details For Cliff Martinez's 'Only God Forgives' Soundtrack

By Kevin Jagernauth
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May 6, 2013 4:20 PM
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14 Comments

News

In less than two weeks, Ryan Gosling will once again walk mutely on screen in a Nicolas Winding Refn film, and probably beat the shit out of someone. We can't wait, but until then, the countdown to the Cannes Film Festival continues and today brings with it the full soundtrack details for the movie.

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Watch: Ryan Gosling & Nicolas Winding Refn Bro Out In Clip From 'Only God Forgives'; US Debut Set For LA Film Festival

By Kevin Jagernauth
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May 2, 2013 8:57 AM
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1 Comment

News

Making movies isn't easy. Long hours, lots of down time, egos, creative differences and more can make the experience an arduous, stressful task, creating enemies for life and anecdotes galore to fill future pages of Vanity Fair (hello, "World War Z"). But it doesn't always have to be that way, and when it comes to Nicolas Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling, the pair are total bros for life.

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Watch: 3 Stylish & Violent Clips From Nicolas Winding Refn's 'Only God Forgives'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 27, 2013 10:41 PM
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40 Comments

News

While the story behind "Only God Forgives" will be the reunion between "Drive" director and star, Nicolas Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling, is it too early to declare that Kristin Scott Thomas might steal the show? Possibly, but in these three new clips from the movie she stands tall above the whiskey glass smashing and chase sequences.

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