The Cannes market has landed its first sale before anyone has even arrived in the south of France as Ryan Gosling’s “How to Catch a Monster,” which is currently filming, has been acquired by Warner Bros. for domestic release.

The film stars Christina Hendricks as a single mother swept into a dark underworld while her teenage son discovers a road that leads him to a secret underwater town. It’s been described as a noirish modern day fairytale set in a dying city. I like how Gosling, in his first at-bat as director, is taking on high concept.

According to the Deadline report, Warner Bros. is paying a $3 million minimum guarantee for the film, which was financed and produced by Bold Films.

Gosling will also be in Cannes supporting Nicolas Winding Refn’s latest film, “Only God Forgives,” in which the “Drive” actor stars. And speaking of “Drive,” I guess Gosling clearly liked working with Hendricks enough to give her the lead in his directorial debut.

I imagine we’ll hear more about release dates on “How to Catch a Monster” in due time. In all likelihood, look for it in 2014.

KIND OF RELATED: I guess this is as good an opportunity as any to bring HitFix’s new comedy channel, RIOT, to your attention. And yes, we covered “Ryan Gosling won’t eat his cereal,” too. Check out the channel (headed up by editor Liana Maeby) here and the absurd new Gosling meme here.