Top 5 Facts about La La Land

Gosling and Stone previously starred opposite each other in the romantic comedy “Crazy, Stupid, Love” and the action thriller “Gangster Squad,” and “La La Land” will mark their third. In an Entertainment Weekly interview, director Damien Chazelle described the two as “the closest thing that we have right now to an old Hollywood couple.” Gosling and Stone weren’t the only possibilities, however. Miles Teller and Emma Watson were originally set to star. After Teller was dropped from the project, Gosling became Chazelle’s new leading man. Meanwhile, Watson had to step down in order to play Belle in the live-action “Beauty and the Beast.” Chazelle met Stone while she was starring in the 2014 revival of “Cabaret,” and cast Stone partly based on her Broadway experience.

This modern musical takes place against the fantastic backdrop of Los Angeles, which is also known as La La Land. The movie’s title isn’t just a reference to LA’s nickname, though. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “la-la land” as “a euphoric dreamlike mental state detached from the harsher realities of life.” This makes the title especially fitting, as the film encompasses both the magic of movies and the brutal nature of show business. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chazelle stated, “The idea was to take the old musical but ground it in real life where things don’t always exactly work out.” At the same time, Chazelle wanted to pay tribute to the ones who dream, as foolish as they may seem.

“La La Land” is a love letter to “Singin' in the Rain,” “The Band Wagon,” and 1950s movie musicals. In order to give his picture a genuine old-fashioned look and feel, Chazelle decided to film in glorious CinemaScope. For those that don’t know, this lens system was primarily utilized for filming widescreen movies from 1953 to 1967. Chazelle additionally strived to shoot many scenes in single takes, paying homage to the works of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The ambitious director was also influenced by the 1964 French/German musical “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” and especially the jazzy 1967 “The Young Girls of Rochefort.” The result is a film with very contemporary characters and themes, but with the atmosphere of a musical from Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are two of the most versatile performers in the business right now, but even they needed to learn a few new skills for “La La Land.” Stone previously studied ballet and pom dancing during her youth, although she had to pick up ballroom and tap dancing for this role. Gosling not only learned how to tap dance, but also mastered playing the piano. Ironically, co-star John Legend is a professionally trained pianist. Since Gosling’s character mainly plays the piano, however, Legend had to familiarize himself with the guitar. By the end of the film’s production, Legend was actually a little jealous of Gosling’s newfound piano playing skills. Coming from a Grammy and Oscar winning songwriter, that’s high praise.

One of the major themes in “La La Land” is that nobody’s dreams come true overnight. This film’s bumpy start is a testament to that. Chazelle actually conceived the script in 2010, but no studio was willing to invest in an original movie musical. With assistance from producers Fred Berger and Jordan Horowitz, the script eventually made it to Focus Features with a $1 million budget. The studio insisted on several changes, compromising Chazelle’s vision. Putting “La La Land” on the shelf, Chazelle wrote and directed the indie hit “Whiplash,” which went on to win three Academy Awards. Now that Chazelle had the industry’s attention, Summit Entertainment decided to take a chance on his longtime passion project. Talk about a true Hollywood success story.

So do you think we might have a Best Picture winner on our hands? What “La La Land” fact do you find the most surprising? For more dreamy Top 10s and toe-tapping Top 5s published every day, be sure to subscribe to MsMojo.