The Playlist

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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13 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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Watch: New Red Band Trailer For 'Only God Forgives' Will Knock Your Teeth Out

By Drew Taylor
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April 3, 2013 7:22 PM
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32 Comments

News

One of the most hotly anticipated movies of the year, at least around these parts, is Nicolas Winding Refn's epic reteam with his "Drive" costar Ryan Gosling, "Only God Forgives." And our anticipatory glee just shot through the roof with the release of a brand new red-band trailer for the movie over at Yahoo, which, after a couple of brief snippets, is the most anybody's seen of the movie so far. Thankfully, it looks very, very awesome.

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Ryan Gosling Calls Upcoming Project 'Only God Forgives' The "Strangest Thing" He’s Ever Read

By Jeff Otto
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September 26, 2011 10:40 AM
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19 Comments

Says Director Ruben Fleischer Holds His Own Amongst the Massive Ensemble of 'Gangster Squad'

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The Road To 'Drive': The Films Of Nicolas Winding Refn

By Erik McClanahan
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September 20, 2011 4:56 AM
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13 Comments

After months of build-up, moviegoers finally got a look at "Drive," the much-acclaimed crime thriller by Nicolas Winding Refn, this weekend. With a C- Cinemascore (whatever that's worth), it's clearly a divisive picture, but there's been enough passion spent on the film, here and elsewhere, to suggest that plenty of discerning cinephiles have fallen for it in the way that several Playlist staffers have in recent weeks. And if you were one of them, Refn might have been a new face for you; the director has been active for fifteen years now, but only really started to come to attention of U.S. film fans in the last few years (or arguably, months), thanks to a pair of English-language pictures.

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Nicolas Winding Refn Says 'Dying Of The Light' Fell Apart Because Harrison Ford Didn't Want To Die

By Cory Everett
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September 17, 2011 4:16 AM
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3 Comments

We realize that you may be suffering from a little Nicolas Winding Refn fatigue from all the coverage we've been doing on the director and his fantastic new film, "Drive," but the filmmaker and star Ryan Gosling have been on a major press tour for the film pretty much since its Cannes debut. One of the hopefully final stops for the Danish director was at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) a few nights ago for a sneak preview of his latest, and we were on hand for the Q&A. Refn kept the Brooklyn audience rapt in attention as he told a few now-familiar tales about how the film came together and his first prescription drug-fueled meeting with Gosling. He also shared a little more info on a now-dead project called "The Dying of the Light" by "Taxi Driver" scribe Paul Schrader. The film centered on a C.I.A. agent who starts to become afflicted with blindness and Harrison Ford was attached to the lead.

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Albert Brooks Says He Knows His 'Drive' Character's Entire Backstory

By Christopher Bell
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September 16, 2011 7:54 AM
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6 Comments

Filmmaker/Actor Says His Next Directorial Effort Will Be "Odd And Different"You should already know about Nicolas Winding Refn's "Drive." We haven't been the only ones pumping the picture, and for good reason -- it's one of the slickest, coolest pictures of the year; a tight genre picture with substance and style. Following an unnamed Hollywood stunt actor simply referred to in the credits as 'The Driver' (Ryan Gosling), the story is a minimalistic fairy-tale/noir mash-up involving Jewish gangsters and a family in danger. The attractive cast also includes Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Ron Perlman, Albert Brooks, and Christina Hendricks.

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Nicolas Winding Refn Says He Didn't Know About 'Die Hard 5' Shortlist, But Likely Would Have Said No

By Gabe Toro
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September 16, 2011 4:48 AM
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3 Comments

'Drive' Filmmaker Talks 'Wonder Woman,' 'Logan's Run' And Turning Down BlockbustersYes, it's practically "Drive" week at The Playlist this week, sue us. The film opens in wide release this weekend (2,886 screens) and we sat down with most of the cast including star Ryan Gosling (he wants to direct), comedian-turned-villain Albert Brooks (he wants to be in "Logan's Run") and the director, Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn (he might make a horror film with Carey Mulligan) -- what are we supposed to do, bury our content? Sorry, guys.

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Desire & Chromatics Producer Johnny Jewel Working On Music For Nicolas Winding Refn's 'Logan's Run'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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September 14, 2011 5:00 AM
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9 Comments

Of all the many pleasures of Nicolas Winding Refn's very imminent "Drive," one of the deepest is its ice-cool soundtrack. Combining a fantastic 80s-tinged synth score from Cliff Martinez with a selection of Italodisco cuts from artists like Kavinsky and College, it's worth a download even if you have no intention of seeing the film. And it looks like the soundscape of the film is something that Winding Refn is intending on continuing in the near future; Portland electronica artist Johnny Jewel, best known for his band Glass Candy (whose music was featured in Refn's "Bronson"), but who has two song on the film through side-projects Desire and Chromatics, has revealed that the director's asked him to work on his big blockbuster debut.

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Nicolas Winding Refn May Make A Horror Film With Carey Mulligan

By Oliver Lyttelton
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September 12, 2011 11:55 AM
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6 Comments

'Drive' Director Also Talks Action Flick 'Only God Forgives,' An Abandoned Heist Pic & An Albert Brooks-Penned ComedyIf you've read any kind of movie blog in the last six months you're likely to see that almost everyone is enamored with Nicolas Winding Refn's beautiful, thrilling crime picture "Drive," which will undoubtedly nestle near the top of many year-end lists (including ours), when the time comes. It might feel like you've been hearing about the film for years now, seeing as the reviews have been piling in since it bowed at Cannes way back in May, but the film finally hits theaters on Friday, and you'll be able to check out all the fuss for yourself.

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'Drive' Star Ryan Gosling Sets His Sights On The Director's Chair

By Leah Zak
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September 9, 2011 5:55 AM
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3 Comments

Talks Developing ‘Logan’s Run;’ Remains Suspiciously Coy On Malick ProjectIt seems somewhat unnecessary to provide an introduction for Ryan Gosling. America’s Canadian Sweetheart has cultivated a resume over the years that makes him nearly impossible to avoid. In 2010 and 2011 alone he’s had leading turns in the independent drama “Blue Valentine,” the summer comedy “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” this fall’s neo-noir/fairy tale, “Drive,” and premiering soon at TIFF, political drama “The Ides of March.” But during press rounds for “Drive,” the actor, whose slate of upcoming projects appears to grow on a daily basis, revealed that there is in fact a method to his madness, “There’s a lot of filmmakers that I want to work with before I make my own films,” he said, “and I’m getting a chance to work with them.”

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