Academy Award-nominated actor Ryan Gosling has probably had the best year of anybody in the movie industry this year. He kicked things off at the very end of 2010/start of 2011 with Blue Valentine, and then had a flawless final third of the year with Crazy, Stupid, Love., Drive, and The Ides of March all tremendously well received in the past few months.

Drive, in particular, found rapturous praise amongst critics and cinemagoers alike – and with very good reason – and Gosling is hotly tipped as an Oscar contender for his roles both in that and George Clooney’s The Ides of March.

Having had such a terrific end to 2011, things are already looking brilliant for 2012, and The Playlist report that the outlook may have got even better with the possibility emerging that Gosling might be joining the Bret Easton Ellis-penned The Golden Suicides.

The Golden Suicides is based on the true story of the suicides of Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake within a week of each other back in 2007, allegedly following harassment from Scientologists. Their story isn’t one that I was familiar with, but a bit of research on Wikipedia tells me that Blake was seen walking into the ocean off Rockaway Beach in New York a week after finding his partner, Duncan, having committed suicide in their apartment. Already, the cinematic image of Blake walking into the ocean is an incredibly haunting one conjured in my mind.

Ellis, of course best known as the author of American Psycho, has been working on the screenplay for a few years. Gus Van Sant has consulted on the project, but without intending to direct, and it now looks like Gasper Noé (Irreversible, Enter The Void) will be taking the helm, and he’s been meeting with Gosling, for what would presumably be the role of Blake.

According to Ellis’ Twitter,

“Ryan came to meet Gaspar Noe who is directing The Golden Suicides. The 25 year-old broke up with me when I said we couldn’t stay for dinner.”

By “The 25-year-old,” I think [with Chloé’s helpful information in the comments below] Ellis is referring to his partner, and it’s completely understandable – you’d no doubt hold it against someone who made you turn down the opportunity to have dinner with Gosling too. The man is a true king among men, and in my opinion, he’s by far one of the finest young actors we’ve seen in a long time.

Gosling already has two films, The Place Beyond The Pines and Gangster Squad, in post-production due out next year, and is set to return to work with his Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn on Only God Forgives, as well as joining Christian Bale, Rooney Mara, Cate Blanchett, and Haley Bennett on Terrence Malick’s Lawless. So needless to say, 2012 could well be another busy shooting year for the actor, and as such, his involvement with The Golden Suicides is probably still in the early stages, with nothing official to announce yet.

With a bit of luck, though, the project will come together nicely in the coming weeks and months, and if Gosling’s having dinner with the project’s director, I’ll take that as a good sign. I’m always eager to hear more about a new Gosling production, and seeing him working with Ellis and Noé on this sounds like something to get excited about already. Hopefully we’ll have something concrete to bring you soon. More news as we get it.