However, our interviewee, Ryan Gosling, had what we deemed a valid excuse.

You see, that morning hed received a call from the States.

So, it’s possible for you to guess what the first question was about.

Congratulations on the Golden Globe nomination!

How does it feel being at the start of the awards season, withBlue Valentinegenerating such a buzz?

For a film like this, for a film so small, these things are really helpful.

They make up for a lack of printed advertising money that you dont have.

Theyre very helpful for the film, thats great.

A lot of people will go and see the film, because its getting acknowledged on that level.

Ad content continues below

That happened withHalf Nelson, for sure.

It gains an awareness for the film that you cant afford.

Were you worried that people might be shut out from seeing it?

Well, they would have been.

It was more exciting to find out that were not officially pornographers.

Could you understand at all why it got that rating initially?

I mean, its very confusing.

It feels like a real double standard.

You cant speak to them directly, so you cant find out exactly why.

But it seems like that ratings system needs to be revisited, I think.

We were happy that they rethought our rating, but the problem still remains.

Its a problem thats bigger than our film.

They just make these decisions and they decide for these parents whats acceptable and whats not acceptable.

They really control what happens to these films, if they get out or they dont get out.

Talking of promotion, the poster says Blue Valentine: A Love Story.

Would you call it a love story?

Would you take a date to see it?

I think its very romantic.

Back home, they call it an anti-love story.

So, I think that it is romantic to acknowledge the faults.

The film is structured around two timelines, at the beginning and end of the relationship.

Did you film it in two parts?

Did this help with the chemistry with Michelle Williams?

To shoot all the beautiful stuff first the falling in love was like a dream.

We built this castle, and we had to tear it down.

But while we were tearing it down, we knew what we were losing, because wed built it.

We wanted to show the effects of time, and we wanted to treat our characters like flags.

We wanted to show the erosion of time on our characters.

I left it all on the field on that film.

I cant imagine going back and doing another independent drama for a while.

I went and made a comedy, with Steve Carell, afterwards.

It was a completely different experience.

When I first moved to Los Angeles, I did a pilot when I was 17.

I had a small part, and so did Steve Carell.

I remember watching him shoot one day.

He was so funny that they couldnt make it through the takes.

The crew was laughing.

At one point the boom guy had to put down the boom and laugh.

And I made a promise to myself that I would work with Steve one day.

So, it came along at the right time, right after Id finishedBlue Valentine.

How was it working with Derek Cianfrance?

There are very few filmmakers who are willing to just dismantle the whole idea of the process in general.

He did so many things.

There was so much thought put into what would be the most fruitful environment to put us in.

Over the years that we were prepping our characters, Michelle and I never met.

Wed had one dinner.

So, when we showed up on set, we really met each other on camera, in character.

We didnt have many do-overs either.

Most of it was long, one take.

Did you know your characters trajectory all the time?

Had you seen a finished script?

No, he would give us pointers.

We knew what the scenes were.

You could draw a line between those two dots.

It could be a squiggly line.

It could be any colour you wanted to be.

But you had to get from those two points.

So, we never really knew what the other one was going to do.

So it had a life of its own.

The script was a traditional script.

He wrote about 75 drafts and a manifesto.

And then when we got on set, he said, This script is 12 years old.

Its dead to me.

If you say any of the lines, youll bore me.

No, I love those films.

I dont just want to make small movies that no one ever sees.

But every time Im sure that this is the one.

That would be my dream.

That they would be so good that that would be the special effect.

The authenticity would feel like youre watching it in 3D.

And then everyone would want to run and see it.

It was the best time in my life.

How was it putting on the weight for the latter parts ofBlue Valentine?

You know, if hed have just hit the treadmill, it would have been fine.

So, we didnt want it to be too extreme.

We had eating contests, basically.

Its always quite dangerous to do that, for your body.

How do you feel about that?

I did it forThe Lovely Bones.

I was 150 pounds and I got up to 210.

And I never even shot it!

How did that feel?

I was fat, bald and unemployed, walking around New York.

It was not a fun time.

And its not good for you.

I dont know how Christian Bale does it.

Its incredible what he does.

Im in awe of his commitment.

But its your job, though.

Every job has its downside.

Ryan Gosling, thank you very much.

Blue Valentine is released on January 14th.