Warner Bros. consider dropping Ryan Gosling’s Cannes punch-line ‘Lost River’

Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut Lost River opened to boos (and even some jeers) at the Cannes Film Festival, and now distributor Warner Bros is reportedly looking for an indie studio to dump the flick on.

According to Deadline, WB has reached out to some speciality distributors about having them acquire and release the David Lynch-inspired drama.

Warner Bros. paid $3 million for the distribution rights to Lost River – then titled How to Catch a Monster – at last year’s Cannes on the back of Gosling’s name alone.

Gosling doesn’t actually star in the flick though; he leaves the acting duties to Christina Hendricks, Eva Mendes, Ben Mendelsohn, and Matt Smith.

Hendricks plays a single mother who gets tangled up in a dark underworld while trying to make ends meet in a desolate Detroit.

WB were bullish buying the rights so early, and they might similarly be moving too fast in ditching Lost River too.

Cannes audiences are notoriously prickly, and movies that receive polarised notices out of the fest usually entice enough viewers to catch it in general release.

That said, Gosling’s last Cannes debacle – Only God Forgives ­ – couldn’t even manage a million dollars at the U.S. box office. Maybe WB looking to get a return on their $3 million investment this early in the game is a smart move.