For those of you who have been followingDamien Chazelle’s career for awhile, you’ll likely notice a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment inLa La Landthat suggests that the film is as much an insular fantasia as a classically inclined throwback. WhileEmma Stone’s waitress-cum-actress is running around the Warner Bros. lot where much of the film is set, two men are pushing around a marquee billboard for a melodrama calledGuy & Madeline, a reference to Chazelle’s excellent debut,Guy & Madeline on a Park Bench.
In that moment, it becomes clear thatLa La Landis a personal exploration first and foremost, even if it’s totems are the colorful, ravishing, and wildly romantic musicals of the 1940s and 50s. The new international trailer forLa La Land, naturally, doesn’t include this quick moment but there’s a great sense of the tremendous humor and gorgeous compositions and long takes in what we see here. There’s also plenty of new footage of Stone,Ryan Gosling, and Chazelle’sWhiplashheavyweightJ.K. Simmonsfrom the movie and the trailer, like the domestic ones before it, does give off the dreamy feeling that is the movie’s most remarkable effect, but far from Chazelle’s latest movie’s only noteworthy element.
La La Landwill be released in theaters nationwide on December 15th.
Here’s the international trailer forLa La Land:
Here’s the official synopsis forLa La Land:
Written and directed by Academy Award® nominee Damien Chazelle, LA LA LAND tells the story of Mia [Emma Stone], an aspiring actress, and Sebastian [Ryan Gosling], a dedicated jazz musician, who are struggling to make ends meet in a city known for crushing hopes and breaking hearts. Set in modern day Los Angeles, this original musical about everyday life explores the joy and pain of pursuing your dreams.
