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 jazz pianist and an aspiring actress who fall in love while pursuing their dreams in Los Angeles.
The film premiered at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2016, and was released by Lionsgate in the United States on December 9.
When the film premiered in Venice, Emma Stone was 27 years old. She was born on November 6, 1988, and celebrated her 28th birthday on November 6, 2016. On the other hand, Ryan Gosling was 35 years old, having been born on November 12, 1980.
Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling won numerous awards for their performances in the 2016 musical romantic comedy-drama film La La Land (Credit: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock)
La La Land was a commercial success, grossing over $448 million worldwide on a budget of $30 million.
It also received critical acclaim, with particular praise given to Chazelle’s screenplay and direction, the performances of Gosling and Stone, the score, musical numbers, cinematography, and production design.
The memorable audition scene in “La La Land,” where the casting director interrupts Mia’s emotional performance to answer a phone call, was inspired by a real-life experience of Ryan Gosling.
Emma Stone won the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, BAFTA Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress for her performance as Mia Dolan, an aspiring actress (Credit: Lionsgate)
The film went on to receive numerous accolades, including a record-breaking seven awards from its seven nominations at the 74th Golden Globe Awards, eleven nominations at the 70th British Academy Film Awards, and a record-tying fourteen nominations at the 89th Academy Awards, winning six categories including Best Actress for Stone and Best Director for Chazelle.
According to composer Justin Hurwitz, the piano performances in “La La Land” were initially recorded by pianist Randy Kerber during the pre-production phase.
However, to ensure authenticity, Ryan Gosling dedicated significant time and effort to mastering the music on the piano.
Gosling committed to two hours of piano lessons daily, six days a week, diligently learning the music by heart.
Gosling attained the skill to perform all the piano sequences seen in the film without needing a hand double or computer-generated imagery (CGI). His dedication and hard work allowed him to bring a genuine musicality to his character’s piano-playing scenes in the movie.
Ryan Gosling won the Golden Globe Award and Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actor for his performance as Sebastian Wilder, a jazz pianist (Credit: Lionsgate)
“La La Land” won a total of 6 Academy Awards and 7 Golden Globe Awards. Damien Chazelle won the Academy Award for Best Director for La La Land.
He was 32 years old, making him the youngest director to win the award. Chazelle is also the first director to win the award for a musical film since Bob Fosse for Cabaret in 1972.
He is also the first director to win the award for an original musical film since Vincente Minnelli for Gigi in 1958. Here is the breakdown of the awards La La Land received:
Academy Awards:
- Best Director (Damien Chazelle)
- Best Actress (Emma Stone)
- Best Original Score (Justin Hurwitz)
- Best Original Song (“City of Stars”)
- Best Cinematography (Linus Sandgren)
- Best Production Design (David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco)
At the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2017, “La La Land” made history by breaking multiple records. The film won a total of seven Golden Globe Awards, surpassing the previous records set by “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975) and “Midnight Express” (1978).
Actor Ryan Gosling (L) and actress Emma Stone pose with their awards in the press room during the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 8, 2017, in Beverly Hills, California (Credit: Sara De Boer / Startraksphoto)
“La La Land” achieved the most wins in Golden Globe history up to that point. Additionally, the film received seven nominations in various categories and won all seven, setting a new record for the most wins in every category for which it was nominated.
This achievement also surpassed the record previously held by “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
Golden Globe Awards:
- Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
- Best Director – Motion Picture (Damien Chazelle)
- Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Ryan Gosling)
- Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Emma Stone)
- Best Original Score – Motion Picture (Justin Hurwitz)
- Best Original Song – Motion Picture (“City of Stars”)
- Best Screenplay – Motion Picture (Damien Chazelle)
La La Land is considered one of the best films of the 2010s and 21st century. It has been praised for its revival of the musical genre, its depiction of Los Angeles, and its exploration of love, loss, and the pursuit of dreams.
Emma Stone Stuns in Chanel at La La Land Paris Premiere
In January 2017, Emma Stone was back to work promoting “La La Land” after sweeping the floor at the recent Golden Globes with her work in the movie.
Emma Stone, fresh off her Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy win at the 2017 Golden Globes, graced another red carpet with her undeniable charm and style (Credit: WENN)
After the award show, Emma and the rest of the cast quickly flew out to Paris to start the European leg of the movie tour.
The then-28-year-old American actress wasted no time getting glammed up and showing up at Cinema UGC Normandie in Paris for the film’s French premiere.
Emma Stone turned heads in a short-sleeved burgundy Chanel top with a floral bodice, teamed with a gold skirt done in the brand’s signature tweed (Credit: WENN)
Emma wore a gorgeous embroidered Chanel dress from the brand’s Pre-Fall 2017 collection that reminded us of autumn.
The dress had floral embroidery on a burnt orange bodice, contrasted by embellished metallic fringes at the skirt.
Emma Stone complemented her autumn look with velvet Jimmy Choo “Minny” sandals (Credit: WENN)
The Easy A actress finished her look with the white linear “Baguette” earrings from Graziela and a pair of Jimmy Choo “Minny” sandals in velvet.
Emma Stone poses with her hunky co-star Ryan Gosling at the “La La Land” premiere at the Cinema UGC Normandie in Paris on January 10, 2017 (Credit: WENN)
Emma put on one of our favorite beauty looks on her to date: Orange eyeshadow. It sounds weird, but she coupled it with a dark orange lip and pulled the look off. The actress put up her hair in a messy ponytail.
The actress was joined by her gorgeous “La La Land” co-stars Ryan Gosling and Damien Chazelle on the red carpet.
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