The swooping, breath-taking, masterfully presented musical La La Land plays homage to many classic Hollywood films, but perhaps none more so than the black-and-white romantic drama Casablanca.
Damien Chazelle, 32, who wrote and directed “La La Land,” says he fell for the musical genre as a student of art film history at Harvard. Back then, he was studying and rewatching films like 1952's “Singin' in the Rain,” and classics from Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.
Throughout the film, I discovered moments inspired by musicals like “An American in Paris” and “Shall We Dance.” For example, Mia and her friends don vibrant, primary-hued dresses and sashay through the Hollywood streets in the number “Someone in the Crowd,” which was taken from the all-female number in the 1969 film ...
La La Land Explained | Classic Explained Episode 12
What was La La Land inspired by?
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
French new wave director Jacques Demy's bittersweet 1964 musical is a clear influence on La La Land, both in its kaleidoscopic colour palette and in its fusion of the realistic and the fairytale.
As the video demonstrates, “La La Land” pays homage to films like “Singin' in the Rain,” “The Young Girls of Rochefort,” “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” “West Side Story,” “Moulin Rouge!” and more. Watch the video below. This is Chazelle's third feature film.
Who was originally supposed to play Mia in La La Land?
Miles Teller and Emma Watson were originally slated to star in the leading roles. Watson dropped out due to her commitments to Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast remake (2017), while Teller exited via long contract negotiations.
Jazz fans see this as a false depiction of important debates within the jazz community. At Vulture, Seve Chambers accuses writer-director Damien Chazelle of “ideological snobbery”, noting that most real jazz fans actually agree with Keith that traditionalism is not the best way to revive the genre.
The actor always showed up ready to train, despite his packed production days. “He was doing dance lessons with the choreographer, piano lessons, training with me, and that was all before he was needed on set,” says Babaian.
Stone, 28, collected $26 million, mostly thanks to her Oscar-winning performance as Mia, a barista and aspiring actress, in the movie-musical juggernaut “La La Land.” Stone spoke out about gender parity earlier this year, revealing that her male co-stars have taken salary cuts so she could receive equal pay.
Summary. La La Land's ending subverts romantic expectations and emphasizes the importance of pursuing one's dreams, even if it comes at the expense of a relationship. Mia and Sebastian broke up because they both wanted to pursue their dreams, showing that sometimes sacrifices must be made for personal fulfillment.
La La Land stands out from other Hollywood romances because it is a realistic portrayal of love that many people can relate to. The work of cinematographer Linus Sandgren in “La La Land” is breathtaking. With its vibrant colors, creative camera work, and meticulous attention to detail, the movie is a visual feast.
This movie demonstrates the dilemma people face in pursuing their dreams while giving up what they love and making sacrifices. Achieving your dreams sometimes comes at a price. It hurts to see the characters fall in love, then split off into the world to perhaps never see each other again.
But it wasn't just Emma who was considered for a role in La La Land. Producers wanted Miles Teller to play Sebastian. One source said: “Miles was offered $4 million to star in La La Land, but he said he wanted $6 million." Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling were finally cast for the lead roles.
What movie won the best picture instead of La La Land?
'Moonlight,' you guys won best picture.” “This is not a joke,” he said, motioning to the “Moonlight” cast and producers to take the stage. “La La Land” producer Marc Platt added. “This is not a joke.
The movie was released to great acclaim, and it won three Oscars in 2015, including best supporting actor for Simmons. Its success gave Chazelle his pick of projects — and he chose "La La Land."
As the La La Land filmmakers took the stage to accept best picture, the accountant from PricewaterhouseCoopers jumped up and said, "He (Beatty) took the wrong envelope!" and went running onstage. Craziness breaks out. No one knows how Beatty got the best-actress envelope instead of the best-picture envelope.
In a 2017 interview, Emma Watson revealed the real reason why she turned the Oscar-winning movie La La Land, starring Ryan Gosling. The actress turned down the film due to scheduling issues.
Although the twosome were never romantically involved in real life, Gosling and Stone developed a fast friendship on set of the rom-com. “She's everything, all the time,” Gosling shared with MTV News at the Crazy, Stupid, Love premiere in July 2011. “There's no one like her.
Apparently, Watson, was not cast as Mia because of her 'crazy demands'. NEW YORK: Actress Emma Watson, who along with Miles Teller were originally being tipped for playing Sebastian and Mia in "La La Land", reportedly missed out on the role in the candy-colored love story because she demanded too much.
Did the actors do their own singing in La La Land?
Unlike almost every musical where the singing is done post filming and autotuned to hell, La La Land gives us the raw audio, them singing and acting at the same time.
“La La Land is a contemporary story about dreamers, but Damien wanted to tell it in the vein of an older Hollywood musical, inspired by old Hollywood filmmaking,” says Sandgren, explaining the reason why they chose to shoot it in CinemaScope.
