La La Land

La La Land
A man and a woman dancing at moonlight; a city view stretches out behind them. The woman is wearing a bright yellow dress; her partner is wearing a white colored shirt and tie with dark trousers.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDamien Chazelle
Written byDamien Chazelle
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyLinus Sandgren
Edited byTom Cross
Music byJustin Hurwitz
Production
companies
Distributed byLionsgate[1]
Release dates
  • August 31, 2016 (2016-08-31) (Venice)
  • December 9, 2016 (2016-12-09) (United States)
Running time
128 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million[3]
Box office$472 million[4]

La La Land is a 2016 American musical romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress who meet and fall in love while pursuing their dreams in Los Angeles. The supporting cast includes John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt, Finn Wittrock, and J. K. Simmons.

Having been fond of musicals during his time as a drummer, Chazelle first conceptualized the film alongside Justin Hurwitz while attending Harvard University together. After moving to Los Angeles in 2010, Chazelle penned the script but did not find a studio willing to finance the production without changes to his design. After the success of his film Whiplash (2014), the project was picked up by Summit Entertainment. Miles Teller and Emma Watson were originally in talks to star, but after both dropped out, Gosling and Stone were cast. Filming took place in Los Angeles between August and September 2015, with the film's score composed by Hurwitz, who also wrote the film's songs with lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and the dance choreography by Mandy Moore.

La La Land premiered at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2016, and was released theatrically in the United States on December 9, by Lionsgate. The film emerged as a major commercial success, grossing $472 million worldwide on a budget of $30 million, and received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for Chazelle's direction and screenplay, the performances of Gosling and Stone, the score, musical numbers, cinematography, visual style, costumes and production design. It went on to receive numerous accolades, including winning a record seven awards at the 74th Golden Globe Awards and received eleven nominations at the 70th British Academy Film Awards, winning five, including Best Film. The film also received a record-tying fourteen nominations at the 89th Academy Awards, winning in six categories including Best Director and Best Actress (Stone). In the former category, Chazelle became the youngest winner at age 32. It has since been regarded as one of the best films of the 2010s and the 21st century, and as one of the best musical and romantic films of all time.[a] A stage musical adaptation is in the works.[17]

  1. ^ a b c d e Gleiberman, Owen (August 31, 2016). "Film Review: 'La La Land'". Variety. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  2. ^ "La La Land (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. October 14, 2016. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  3. ^ Bart, Peter (November 17, 2016). "Peter Bart: 'La La Land' Adds Musical Backbeat To Wide-Open Awards Race". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  4. ^ "La La Land". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on May 21, 2024. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  5. ^ "La La Land is the Decade's Best Film". Archived from the original on June 18, 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  6. ^ "Here's Why 'La la Land' is the Best and Most Romantic Movie of the Year". December 8, 2016. Archived from the original on June 18, 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  7. ^ "From Casablanca to La La Land, the greatest romantic movies of all time | CBC Radio". June 18, 2023. Archived from the original on June 18, 2023. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  8. ^ "The 100 best films of the 21st century (So far)". February 6, 2022. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  9. ^ "Best Movie Musicals of the 21st Century, So Far". January 2, 2022. Archived from the original on June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  10. ^ ""Life is a cabaret." 30 Best Musicals of All Time, Ranked". Collider. May 11, 2023. Archived from the original on September 11, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  11. ^ "The 67 Best Movie Musicals of All Time, Ranked". October 6, 2023. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  12. ^ "The 35 Best Musicals of All Time". Screen Rant. February 3, 2020. Archived from the original on September 8, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  13. ^ "Show-Stopping Musical Movies for when You Just Want to Sing". January 10, 2023. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  14. ^ "15 Greatest Movies About Jazz". March 21, 2023. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  15. ^ "The 61 Best Movie Musicals of All Time, Ranked". December 12, 2023. Archived from the original on August 1, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  16. ^ Robinson, Tasha (December 7, 2016). "Writer-director Damien Chazelle explains how his movie La La Land subverts the things he loves most". The Verge. Archived from the original on January 12, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  17. ^ Major, Michael. "LA LA LAND Broadway Musical In the Works Directed By Bartlett Sher". BroadwayWorld.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.


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