After nearly a decade of Ryan Gosling joking that his pose in the La La Land poster “haunted” him, Lionsgate, the studio behind the movie, has updated the artwork.
An edit fixed Gosling’s hand placement, which originally faced downward while Emma Stone’s hand was raised toward the sky, bringing both hands into alignment.
Netizens, however, have expressed dissatisfaction with the correction, arguing it came at the cost of the original’s vibrancy.
“La La Hand, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were the backbone of the color here,” one X user said.
Fans are mourning the loss of the rich color saturation in the new La La Land poster
Image credits: Getty/Gareth Cattermole
Gosling explained why he chose to put his hand flat in a 2024 interview with The Wall Street Journal.
When asked if there was a role he would like to do over, the actor said, “Maybe La La Land.”
Image credits: Lionsgate
“There’s a moment that haunts me where we’re dancing, Emma and I, and I didn’t know this would become the poster for the movie. But I thought we were supposed to have our hands up, and I thought it’d be cool to put mine [flat],” he said.
“Even though everyone told me it wasn’t cool, I was sure it was cooler,” he continued. “Now when I look at it, and I have to see it all the time, you know what would’ve been cooler… [the correct pose]. It just killed the energy that way.”
“I call it La La Hand,” Gosling quipped.
Image credits: Lionsgate
While he is “happy” with the new poster and approves of it, according to Justin Manfredi, Lionsgate’s executive vice president of worldwide television marketing, fans made it clear that they preferred the original artwork.
They noted that the new artwork has subdued the signature violet hues of the Los Angeles skyline, the contrast of the mountains, and the vibrancy of Stone’s yellow dress.
Image credits: nightsgrow
“Why did fixing the hand require removing all the color?” one asked, lamenting that the new poster lacks “joy.”
“The hand was doing a shocking amount of composition work,” a second said.
“The hand was carrying the entire color palette on its back,” asserted a third. “RIP original version.”
La La Land is set to re-release in theaters on August 16 to mark its 10th anniversary.
The imperfect hand placement captured the emotional core of the movie, per some fans
Image credits: zzzynxbutbetter
“Dude, I’ve never cared about La La Hand because it honestly felt like it fit. They’re so in sync throughout that whole dance, but they break up in the end because they want different things. Can’t the difference here mean something?” one user wrote.
“I liked the flat hand quite a bit too. It was on brand with the vibe of the movie,” a second added.
“Gosling should have never doubted himself. His instinct was right,” said a third.
“Art is d**d,” remarked a fourth.
A fifth accused that the edit was done “just to create another promo story.”
Ryan Gosling also corrected his regretted hand placement in the poster for his latest film, Project Hail Mary
Image credits: projecthailmary
In a March 16 post shared on Project Hail Mary’s official social media accounts, Gosling recreated the iconic La La Land poster alongside Rocky, the robot from his new film, in a playful spoof.
The recreation mirrored the original poster’s background while replacing the tagline “Here’s to the fools who dream” with “Believe in the Hail Mary.”
@projecthailmary Ryan Gosling throws a Hail Mary to fix the La La Land poster in honor of the 10th anniversary, thanks to Rocky… and his jazz hands. #ProjectHailMary
Gosling sported an all-white outfit and black sunglasses for the shoot, with a behind-the-scenes video showing him being reassured that he “looked” great for the recreation.
“A city of stars shining just for them,” the caption read, referencing the Oscar-winning musical’s hit song City of Stars.
The sci-fi film, released on March 20, went on to earn $683 million worldwide.
La La Land dominated the 2017 Oscars alongside its commercial success
Image credits: Getty/Eddy Chen
Made on a modest $30 million budget, the 2016 film, which tells the story of Mia and Sebastian falling in love while chasing their Hollywood dreams, earned $447 million worldwide.
It was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six, including Best Director for Damien Chazelle, Best Actress for Emma Stone, Best Cinematography for Linus Sandgren, Best Original Score for Justin Hurwitz, and Best Original Song for City of Stars (Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul).
It was also handed the trophy for Best Picture before it was revealed that it had been announced by mistake and Moonlight was the real winner.
A La La Land musical is currently in development for Broadway.
Netizen kept comparing the new La La Land poster with the original
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