In a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, actor Ryan Gosling talked about his debut film as a writer and director, The Lost River, which was shot in Detroit. A native Canadian, Gosling spoke about the appeal of the Motor City:
"It started by going to Detroit," said Gosling, 34, of the story's origins. "I think for a lot of Canadian kids, Detroit was like the pinup girl in your locker, the locker in your heart. I was just crushin' on the States pretty hard. And Detroit, because it was closest, but also because of what it was, sort of embodied America to me: Motown, the Model T, techno, Eminem, the refrigerator, really that whole iconic America."
Wait, the refrigerator? Out of Detroit's many contributions to the world, refrigeration isn't one of the first things that comes to our minds.
Indeed, the Detroit engineer Nathaniel Wales was one of the early pioneers in refrigeration technology, establishing the Electro-Automatic Refrigerating Company in 1914 with backing from a Buick Motor Car Company exec. The company later became Kelvinator.
So props to Gosling for appreciating Detroit's legacy of refrigeration. The Lost River, meanwhile, screened at SXSW this week, and is expected to get a theatrical and video on demand release next month. Audiences at last year's Cannes Festival apparently weren't too impressed by the film, though.
