Ryan Gosling to make directorial debut

Ryan Gosling is staffing up his directorial debut, "How To Catch A Monster."

Variety reports that "Doctor Who" actor Matt Smith has landed a role in the fantasy noir, which also stars Christina Hendricks and Gosling's reported girlfriend, Eva Mendes. Smith, 30, is taking the lead male role.

According to a casting website, "How To Catch A Monster" combines "fantasy noir, horror and suspense into a modern day fairytale." The script, which Gosling also wrote, centers on Billy (played by Hendricks), a single mom of two sons.

The "Mad Men" star previously described her character as "supporting two children and trying to provide a home for them and a place of comfort in a continuously harder place to be."

Eventually, so says the film's synopsis, Billy's "swept into a macabre and dark fantasy underworld while Bones, her 18-yr-old son, discovers a secret road leading to an underwater town. Both Billy and Bones must dive deep into the myster, if their family is to survive."