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Director Damien Chazelle hopes to capture the magic of the Golden Age musicals with La La Land
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Emma Stone as Mia and Ryan Gosling as Sebastian in "La La Land," which will be released in Utah on Dec. 16, 2016. - photo by Adam Droge
Adam Droge
Deseret News
Published: Dec 9, 2016, 7:00 AM


Aspiring filmmaker and recent Harvard graduate Damien Chazelle moved to Los Angeles in 2010 to follow his dream of making movies only to find the initial journey to be a difficult one. Six years later, his dream has been realized and his journey will be reflected in his upcoming musical La La Land, which will be released nationwide on Dec. 16.

Chazelle broke onto the scene two years ago with the movie Whiplash (R), which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2014, winning the U.S. Grand Jury Prize, the most prestigious award at the the festival. It would go on to be nominated for five Academy Awards a year later, including one for best picture, winning for best supporting actor (J.K. Simmons), best film editing and best sound mixing.

Chazelle said in a phone interview with the Deseret News that La La Land was a movie he wrote before Whiplash, but he wasnt able to get funding or support for the project until after the success of Whiplash.

Seeing La La Land come to life was a dream come true for Chazelle that he said still has him in a bit of a daze.

I remember the first day the camera started rolling, I felt like, Wow. OK, they havent pulled the plug yet. Its actually happening. It was a magical moment that I dont think Ill ever forget, Chazelle said.

The story in the movie follows two dreamers in Los Angeles. Emma Stone plays a aspiring actress named Mia while Ryan Gosling plays an aspiring jazz musician named Sebastian. The two characters cross paths and start a relationship where together they learn about following their dreams and the positive and negative consequences that can come with that journey.

In writing the movie, Chazelle said that he wanted to make a musical that would capture the magic of the Golden Age musicals from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s that he enjoyed as a kid with the various colors, sets, costumes and energy present in those movies while incorporating modern, updated themes that can resonate with audiences today.

Stone and Gosling perform their own singing and dancing and didn't have professional voice-overs and stand-ins. Chazelle also said that there is no piano double for Gosling as Gosling trained for four months to be able perform all the piano pieces that his character plays in the film.

La La Land is rated PG-13 for some language. It had its worldwide premier at the Venice Film Festival on Aug. 31 and has gone onto screens at various film festivals, including the Telluride Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival. It is scheduled for a limited release on Dec. 9, expanding nationwide the following weekend on Dec. 16.

The movie has received high praise from critics so far, currently holding a 95 percent "certified fresh" approval on movie review aggregator site RottenTomatoes.com as of Tuesday afternoon. It is seen by many, including writers from IndieWire.com and AwardsCircuit.com, as one of the front-runners to win best picture at the upcoming Academy Awards.
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Have You Seen This? Street musician slays with clarinet
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Better than almost every face-melting guitar or drum solo. - photo by Facebook video screenshot
Martha Ostergar
KSL.com
Updated: Dec 30, 2018, 5:00 PM
Published: Dec 29, 2018, 1:57 PM

THE BIG EASY — Yeah, yeah, we all know that New Orleans is stuffed to the gills will incredible musicians.

But knowing that fact and then hearing that fact are two different things. You can step into any number of jazz clubs on any given night on Bourbon Street, and you’ll probably be impressed with virtually every act. Or you can sit at home on your comfy couch and watch this featured video.

In the video, you’ll see a woman who is in the groove. She is swinging hard, and wailing on her clarinet with a practiced expertise that makes it sounds so easy.

From note one you’ll be drawn in; your appreciation will grow with every second, and then your face will melt off when you realize how incredible she really is.

If you’ve never played a woodwind or a brass, you may not know everything that comes with a performance like this. Lung capacity and breath control are huge factors in keeping your notes clear and loud, and hitting those high notes is especially difficult.

So when this woman hits that high note and holds it for several seconds, you know you’re dealing with an exceptional musician. It means she has worked hard for years to develop skill on top of her natural talent, and we get to benefit.

It kinda makes you wonder how we let people get away with mumble rap and autotune when talent like this exists in the world.

I wish this video were longer, and I wish I had more information about this woman, but as it is, we’ll just have to appreciate the little flavor of New Orleans jazz posted by the Facebook group Clarinet Life.

Street musician killing it on clarinet

She must have lungs of iron! Its inspiring hearing the upper registers being played so well.

Posted by Clarinet Life on Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Martha Ostergar is a writer who delights in the ridiculous that internet serves up, which means she's more than grateful that she gets to cruise the web for amazing videos to highlight for your viewing pleasure.
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