Written by Olivia Dedham
Musical Theater
Let’s be honest, we all went through a musical theater phase. If you’re like me you still blast Hamilton on repeat. As an avid musical theater lover knows these songs tend to stick in your head and stay with you like a good but distant memory. This brings me to La La Land. The record-breaking 2016 box office hit with the soundtrack I still listen to today. If perhaps you missed this bundle of catchy songs or simply can’t get past Ryan Gosling in The Notebook, this one is for you.
Casting
Harvard grad and director Damien Chazelle started out as a drummer before moving to LA (as all drummers do) and writing the screenplay for La La Land in 2010. His method was to “ take the old musical but ground it in real life where things don’t always work out”.Speaking of which, Miles Teller and Emma Watson were originally cast but dropped out. They’re definitely crying now. Thus, the final casting of Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. At 32 Chazelle became the youngest to win Best Director at the Academy Awards.
Envoking Emotions
This movie will make you cry. It will make you laugh. It will make you want to sell all your things and move to LA. Most importantly, it will make you fall in love with the rollercoaster that is life. You will leave feeling a new sensation stirring in your chest. Some will describe that as hope, others heartburn. It’s a must-see and a never forget. If anything, the soundtrack alone is enough to get you up and dancing right along with Ryan Gosling. And let’s be honest, we’re all still in that musical theater phase.
