"La La Land" could have ended up into a cinematic bizarre, thanks to film's same old style theme embellished into some new characters, that finally saved it from getting drowned. "La La Land" is now seen as one of the films in the race to Oscars.
Directed by Damien Chazelle, who also wrote and directed the phenomenal musical "Whiplash" in 2014, the film creates absolute magic onto the silver screen. We could see the same old Hollywood charm with the 1950s CinemaScope techniques creating spell. This modern day musical revolves around the lives of two dreamers who have aspirations of making it to Los Angeles. Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is a struggling jazz pianist, who dreams of opening his own club, and Mia (Emma Stone) is an aspiring actress who decides to pen down her own role.
With dramatization just like in Indian movies and music like the days of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, the movie could have been a bad disaster, however, it is now one of the most beautiful movies of the year. What's so great about a musical is - when it works - the genre has the potential for emotion that's unmatched by any other," Chazelle, 31, says. "But when it doesn't, there is nothing as embarrassing."
It took almost six years since the idea for "La La Land" broke. Finances for the film were never too strong even after "Whiplash" won three Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for J.K. Simmons, and put Chazelle on the map as an aspiring and talented new director.
The entire film proved to be just like a good exercise in perseverance. It has also been revealed that before the Emma Stone signed the film, she bothered Chazelle with too many questions about her role in the film and its storyline. "He had to keep describing it up until we were shooting. It was months.... I was so annoying", reveals Stone. The film is now towards winning an Oscar, in some musical categories for sure and may be for the best film.
