Lionsgate has updated the promotional artwork for La La Land to fix a hand gesture Ryan Gosling has disliked for a decade. The change accompanies the film's 10th anniversary re-release on August 16.
Ryan Gosling's 2016 decision to ignore the choreographer
The infamous "La La Hand" was the result of a specific creative choice made by Ryan Gosling during a dance sequence in the 2016 film.. According to the report, Gosling, now 45,explained in a WSJ. Magazine interview that he opted for a relaxed, flat-handed gesture because he believed it looked "cooler" than the raised-hand choreography requested by the production team.
Despite warnings from the crew on set that the move was not actually cool, Gosling persisted. Over the following ten years, however, the actor began to view the pose as "lazy," claiming that it effectively killed the energy of the scene.. This personal regret eventually turned the pose into a well-known anecdote among the film's followers.
The August 16 re-release and the 'night and day' shift
To mark the 10th anniversary of La La Land, Lionsgate has officially retouched the main poster to align Ryan Gosling's hand with the pose struck by Emma Stone.. In the updated version, Gosling's finger now points upward, correcting the visual discrepancy that had defined the film's marketing for a decade.
Justin Manfredi, the EVP and Head of Worldwide TV Marketing at Lionsgate, stated that the two versions of the artwork are "vastly different... like night and day." As reported by the source, Manfredi confirmed that Lionsgate consulted Ryan Gosling on the change and received his full approval before deploying the corrected art across all global platforms.
A $504.6 million legacy and the cost of a 'lazy' hand
The decision to alter such iconic imagery is a rare move for a studio, especially for a film with the presttige of La La Land. Directed by Damien Chazelle, the movie was a monumental financial and critical success, grossing $504.6 million worldwide against a modest $30 million budget and winning six Academy Awards.
This correction reflects a broader trend in the digital era where "definitive" promotional materials are no longer permanent. In an age of instant global updates, stuios can now retroactively edit the visual history of a film to satisfy the perfectionism of its stars, treating a decade-old poster as a living document rather than a historical artifact.
Tattoos and the silence from Gosling's representatives
The update has triggered a polarized reaction on social media, particularly on Instagram. While some fans celebrated the death of the "La La Hand," others expressed dismay; one user, @chloverj82, noted that they had the original, incorrect pose tattooed on their body, rendering the studio's correction a point of personal conflict.
Beyond the fan outcry, some specific details remain unconfirmed. The report notes that the Daily Mail reached out to representatives for Ryan Gosling for further comment but had not received a response at the time of publication. It remains unclear whether Lionsgate intends to completely erase the original artwork from digital archives or if the "lazy hand" will persist in physical legacy prints.
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