Ryan Gosling’s poster hand pose reworked for anniversary re-release
Developed over time first seen 3 months ago
Lionsgate has released a revised poster for "La La Land" to mark the film's tenth anniversary, correcting the position of Ryan Gosling's hand in the famous dancing scene that had bothered the actor for years. Gosling told The Wall Street Journal in 2024 that the image "haunts" him, revealing he had flattened his hand during filming rather than keeping it raised as choreographed, wrongly believing at the time that this looked "cooler". He nicknamed the mistake his "La La Hand" and said it "killed the energy" of the shot, so the new artwork effectively restores the pose he now wishes had been used all along.
The updated poster accompanies a theatrical re-release of the Damien Chazelle-directed musical on Sunday 16 August, screening in Dolby Cinema at AMC Theatres, alongside a new trailer released by Lionsgate. "La La Land" starred Gosling and Emma Stone as a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress falling in love in Los Angeles, with support from John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt, Finn Wittrock and J.K. Simmons; the film won six Oscars, including Best Director for Chazelle and Best Cinematography.
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In short
- Lionsgate fixed Ryan Gosling's disliked hand pose on the poster
- Change marks "La La Land"'s 10th-anniversary theatrical re-release
- Film returns to Dolby Cinema/AMC screens on 16 August 2026
How this story developed
- 3 months ago Further reporting reaffirmed that the trailer accompanies the poster relaunch and reiterated the film's legacy, noting its six Academy Award wins, including Best Director for Damien Chazelle and Best Cinematography, as the strand of coverage settled into recapping the cast and awards pedigree alongside the confirmed 16 August screening date.
- 3 months ago Coverage sharpened to note the redesigned poster does not merely tweak the image but fully restores the raised-hand pose from the original choreography, with reports confirming Lionsgate paired the release with a brand new trailer for the anniversary run.
- 3 months ago New detail emerged that Gosling had told The Wall Street Journal back in 2024 the original poster "haunts" him, revealing he flattened his raised hand because he thought it looked "cooler," a moment he now calls his "La La Hand" and blames for draining the shot's energy, with the re-release confirmed for Sunday 16 August in Dolby Cinema at AMC Theatres.
- 3 months ago Lionsgate marked the tenth anniversary of "La La Land" by unveiling a redesigned poster that fixes the hand position Ryan Gosling deliberately changed on set, believing his own take on the choreography would look better than the original routine, a decision he has since regretted.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The choreography was designed with the hand raised, and Gosling has acknowledged he deviated from this unintentionally during filming. Updating the poster for a theatrical re-release reflects the true artistic vision of the director and performer, which was compromised by a mistake the actor himself regrets. A poster is marketing material rather than historical documentation, so refreshing it for a new release is unremarkable practice.
The case against
This represents problematic retroactive revision of what became an iconic cultural image, setting a concerning precedent where artists can continuously 'correct' past work based on personal regret rather than accepting it as created. The original poster reflects what audiences actually saw and responded to for a decade. Preserving artistic work as released, even when imperfect, maintains integrity and historical authenticity rather than indulging perfectionism decades later.
Explained simply
La La Land was released in 2016, a musical romance directed by Damien Chazelle starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a jazz pianist and an aspiring actress in Los Angeles. The film was a major awards success, winning six Oscars including Best Director, and its poster art featuring Gosling and Stone dancing became one of the most recognisable images from the film.
Gosling has since said he regrets a detail in that dancing scene, that he flattened his hand rather than keeping it raised as originally choreographed, thinking it would look better at the time. He has spoken about this repeatedly in interviews since 2024, calling it his "La La Hand" and saying it undermined the shot's energy, which is why the pose has become a recognisable talking point around the film separate from its plot or awards history.
Lionsgate, the studio behind the film, is now marking its tenth anniversary with a cinema re-release, screening at Dolby Cinema venues via AMC Theatres from 16 August. This anniversary release is the context for any new poster or promotional material referencing that dance scene.
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Originally published by Deadline as “‘La La Land’s 10th Anniversary Poster Fixes Ryan Gosling’s Hand That Haunted Him”.