You are viewing this article in the AnnArbor.com archives. For the latest breaking news and updates in Ann Arbor and the surrounding area, see MLive.com/ann-arbor
Posted on Thu, Sep 27, 2012 : 12:58 p.m.

Ryan Gosling in Ann Arbor? Probably not

By Bob Needham

Gosling-Ides-March.jpg

Ryan Gosling in "The Ides of March"

Twitter came alive Wednesday with reports that actor Ryan Gosling was in Ann Arbor on the University of Michigan campus. Except that they weren’t exactly reports.

Nobody seems to have actually seen the popular, good-looking actor in town. But an awful lot of people were convinced he was here.

A couple of tweets about him being here cropped up over the weekend. But things really blew up Wednesday: “So I just heard Ryan Gosling is somewhere here in Ann Arbor apparently to film a movie!” was a typical tweet … but there were plenty that were more, um, enthusiastic, like “OMG RYAN GOSLING IS IN ANN ARBOR CANT BREATHE CALL 911 I SEE A LIGHT... SHOULD I GO TOWARDS IT?”

On and on it went, with person after person passing on the “news.” Some of the tweets said George Clooney was here too. It was all still rolling along Thursday morning, with some of the tweets insisting the excitement was happening RIGHT NOW.

Only problem is, it’s almost certainly not true. Gosling has been filming a Terrence Malick movie with Rooney Mara in Austin, Texas, this week. A quick Google search turns up photos from filming Monday, Tuesday, and even Wednesday as well. (And Clooney is busy shooting in Oklahoma.) Never having met the guy, I can’t say definitively that he wasn’t here—or isn’t here RIGHT NOW—but it sure does seem unlikely. (And if anyone has any evidence that I’m wrong, please share it.)

So how did the rumor start?

It probably has roots in a couple things. First, of course, Gosling actually was in Ann Arbor for a few days in March 2011, with Clooney, shooting “The Ides of March.” Somebody even snapped photos of him walking his dog on the U-M campus at that time (several of Wednesday’s tweets mentioned dog walking).

Then, a few weeks ago, Gosling actually was in the Detroit area scouting locations, and a couple news outlets reported “Twitter sightings” of the actor in various places, one of which was Chelsea. However, anyone who bothered to check out the author of that particular tweet would have realized it was referring to the neighborhood in Manhattan, not the small city in Michigan.

It’s easy to picture someone hearing about these things, or finding something online and not paying attention to the date, and telling a friend—and before you know it, boom goes the Twitter.

You’ve probably heard the old saying, attributed to Mark Twain, that “A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” In the Twitter Age, a rumor can make it to all the far corners of the earth before the truth even gets out of bed in the morning.

Bob Needham is director of entertainment content for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at bobneedham@annarbor.com or 734-623-2541, and follow him on Twitter @bobneedham.

Comments

Jojo B

Fri, Sep 28, 2012 : 2:04 a.m.

HEY GIRL. I've been dying to split this Zingerman's reuben sandwich with you! I just love how this old world pickle reflects off your hair in the Ann Arbor sun.

Kyle Mattson

Fri, Sep 28, 2012 : 8:36 p.m.

Well played Jojo

javajolt1

Thu, Sep 27, 2012 : 10:22 p.m.

.....and aa.com is there to write a TEN paragraph story about.....nothing. Clearly rewarding any future bogus Twitter poster with the notoriety they truly seek Stop already!

Craig Lounsbury

Thu, Sep 27, 2012 : 7:24 p.m.

In other "probably not" news Jimmy Hoffa is probably not buried under a driveway slab in Roseville.

Unusual Suspect

Thu, Sep 27, 2012 : 7:21 p.m.

Never heard of him. He must be a really important person. By the way, you should have had Nathan Bomey check on what Jennifer Granholm was tweeting before publishing this story.

smokeblwr

Thu, Sep 27, 2012 : 7:03 p.m.

Isn't Ryan Gosling married to Kate Gosling?

gblugchi

Thu, Sep 27, 2012 : 7:01 p.m.

For so long I have resisted creating an account on AnnArbor.com but this story has forced me to. I completely agree with Macabre Sunset. This story is a joke and I'm shocked it didn't get caught before it was published. Actually, reading the garbage that this website publishes, I'm not that shocked. I should know better by know. "No daily meetings" "My boss thought it made sense"!?!? What made sense about this. Hmmm.... let's publish a story about a bogus twitter posting. Ya that makes sense to me also. As a former student journalist I'm disgusted. I'm glad I decided not to pursue journalism as a career. This story is a great example of what so much journalism has become. Absolute garbage.

Kyle Mattson

Fri, Sep 28, 2012 : 8:36 p.m.

Welcome to commenting on the site gbluechi!

Molly Jean

Fri, Sep 28, 2012 : 8:21 p.m.

If you are so offended, why did you read the article?

eagleman

Thu, Sep 27, 2012 : 7:57 p.m.

Why are you so outraged by this? As a person who has a Journalism degree I can say that newspapers are designed to contain more than hard news. Gossip columns, sports, entertainment pieces, etc. All this article does is refute a local rumor. There is value in that. You may not think so, but for others it may be interesting.

Soulful Adrenaline

Thu, Sep 27, 2012 : 6:13 p.m.

Oh boy, another Terrence Malick flick. I have my fingers crossed that this one will have a plot. ;-)

Homeland Conspiracy

Thu, Sep 27, 2012 : 5:43 p.m.

Ryan Gosling...who?