'How To Catch A Monster,' Ryan Gosling's Film, Approved For $1.75 Million In Michigan Tax Incentives

Ryan Gosling, as well as his Metro Detroit fans, received some good news Monday. The actor's directorial debut, "How to Catch a Monster," was approved for $1.75 million in incentives from the Michigan Film Office.

Gosling has been spotted around Detroit lately, possibly scouting filming sites, or perhaps just in town to celebrate a friend and local bartender's birthday. Larry Mongo, owner of Cafe d'Mongo's Speakeasy, told MLive the Hollywood heartthrob offered him a role in the film.

Written by Gosling, "How to Catch a Monster" will also star some whose fame reaches beyond the Detroit bar scene. Christina Hendricks, Eva Mendes, Saoirse Ronan, Matt Smith and Ben Mendelsohn are set to appear in the dark, modern-day fairytale.

Hendricks plays Billy, a single mother who works at a fetish club and is "swept into a macabre and dark fantasy underworld while her teenage son discovers a secret road leading to an underwater town," according to a release.

Gosling has experience filming in Michigan, as parts of "Ides of March" were filmed in Ann Arbor in 2011.

His appearances in Detroit has caused some fan craziness on Twitter. While Mendes, his girlfriend, will be working alongside him, there's already a "Hey Girl Detroit" meme for those who'd like to pretend otherwise.

The film is expected to have over $6 million of in-state expenditures and plans to hire 104 Michigan workers with a full time equivalent of 30 jobs. According to the Film Office, 14 projects have been awarded a total of $32.7 million on $126.4 million of approved production expenditures in the fiscal year.

Governor Rick Snyder drastically reduced the state's popular film incentive program in 2011, among other budget cuts. The total annual amount of incentives was capped at $25 million for 2012, but last year, the cap was raised to $50 million for fiscal year 2013.