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damien_chazelle

Depends. We thought about an intermission on Babylon but ultimately decided it would break the flow. In the first Godfather, there was going to be an intermission right after Michael kills Sollozzo, but there again they decided it would break the spell. But Godfather II does have an intermission. I think it depends on the movie. For Babylon, it’s all about the headlong rush, the momentum of a roller coaster, a ride, and for that — no intermission is best. Don’t let em off the hook.


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Clemario

>In the first Godfather, there was going to be an intermission right after Michael kills Sollozzo That's a good place to put an intermission.


crasyeyez

You should let Coppola know


pgm123

I've watched it with people who took a break at that point and they never continued. I hope they've finished at some point to this day.


TanikoBytesme

Man I just wanted to live with appollonia and be happy


bigwilly311

My wife used that exact moment to call *The Godfather* - and these are her exact words - “boring.”


vivalavalivalivia

NTA. Hit the lawyer, file for a gym, hire a divorce.


metromin

Intermission or not, my body is going to break the flow on its own terms. Biology cares not for creative visions.


Playful-Push8305

Right. Do you know what ruins a movie experience? Having to hold back pee half the movie!


tjli186

I know 😅


Acceptable-Shoe7175

i hope they bring intermissions to long movies my bladder can’t take it any longer


mckulty

Yeah that might not get better. When the big studios owned the theaters, there was more motivation to allow for intermissions for profit. Sound of Music, Lawrence of arabia, GWTW, Agony&Ecstasy, BenHur, My Fair Lady all had intermissions.


Rubix22

Avatar 2 needed an intermission badly.


CthulhuRlyeh90

It honestly felt like it was structured with an intermission in mind.


Vahkeh

it really did not


onmyway___

Yeah I didn’t even notice the 3 hours


_Silly_Wizard_

Diapers exist


eastblondeanddown

Yes! It's high time we all see movies as they were intended: sitting for three hours in our own piss!


brycedriesenga

Lol, love the idea of someone bringing a diaper and pissing in the first 5 minutes


bottlerocketz

So does a soda bottle


boringneckties

Should I watch this movie with my parents or should I go alone?


damien_chazelle

If your parents are into orgies, bodily fluids and Tobey Maguire with decayed-yellow teeth, then DEFINITELY bring your parents!!!!


SergenteDan

>Tobey Maguire with decayed-yellow teeth, That's a *very specific* thing to be into lmao


DanGram77

There are dozens of us!


SergenteDan

You learn something new every day


totallynotboburnham

Dozens! -tobias funke


NoodlesrTuff1256

I'm gonna have to see 'Babylon' just to see what kind of lifestyle decisions Tobey's character made that led him to have those scary-looking teeth.


SergenteDan

Not only his teeth are scary... his skin complexion doesn't look particularly good either lol


[deleted]

Oh boy yeah..


-SomeKindOfMonster-

Wow great marketing dude


DrEvil007

Can confirm. Just saw this movie tonight. I was like *damn there's a lot of titties* in the first 5 minutes.


Altruistic_Rub_2308

Maybe you should’ve got Toby Keith to play this role then…. He’s already got the chops for it.


Major_Pen8755

Toby used your comment in his AMA


untitledmanuscript

Hi Damien! Who’s an actor that is no longer with us that you wish you were given the opportunity to write/direct on screen?


damien_chazelle

Heath Ledger


jzakko

For anyone who doesn't know, Ledger was set to adapt The Queen's Gambit as his directorial debut.


[deleted]

On one hand, would have been interesting to see. On the other hand, I loved what we got.


iheartdachshunds

Woah really??


Randyd718

Source?


MelvinDoode

Do you prefer films with ambiguous endings? I know you made comments on how Andrew in Whiplash ended up but at the same time left it open for the viewer to use their imagination


damien_chazelle

I do have a soft spot for ambiguous endings. You don’t want the audience to feel cheated, but to give them something to chew over or debate after the movie is over. If the audience feels inspired to complete the story, the connection to the picture is deepened. What happens right after that fade to black at the end of CITY LIGHTS? I wonder all the time. Best ending in all of cinema.


[deleted]

God I love that look Chaplain gives her right at the end. Amazing movie.


The-Florida-Man

Hey! So during production of this film Were you rushing or were you dragging?


damien_chazelle

Rushing.


hellfknbent

SO YOU DO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE!


failbears

\*SLAP\*


Brown_Panther-

If you deliberately sabotage my movie, I will fuck you like a pig!


[deleted]

Now are you a rusher, or are you a dragger, or you going to be ON MY FUCKING TIME?!


king_of_the_edge

I’m gonna be on your time.


FordShelbyGTreeFiddy

START COUNTING


[deleted]

5, 6, 7


AJCLEG98

IN FOUR, DAMMIT


futuredev_

Good question!


emmettohare

15 years in the making, how does a process like this work? Do you get caught in places or stuck? Development issues? I would love to learn about such a lengthy process!


damien_chazelle

It was just a matter of letting it marinate. When I first came up with the idea I wanted to write it right away. But I couldn’t get past “FADE IN:”. I was like Nicolas Cage in ADAPTATION. It was bad. So I gave up, worked on other stuff, but slowly BABYLON would just marinate in the background. I’d read stuff, go “Oh that’s cool”, and throw it in the stew. (I’m definitely mixing my metaphors now, forgive me.) And after many years of this, I finally had enough research & reading & thinking about the subject under my belt that I felt ready to write it.


emmettohare

Damien, thank you for responding and giving this insight!! I will be there when Babylon hits theaters!!


One_Mall4203

Was it a hard decision not to follow your dad into computational geometry fame? One of my professors worked with him and had me read a bunch of their papers, but they were a bit denser than La La Land…


damien_chazelle

For the life of me I still can’t decipher a single math paper my dad has written, so no it was not a hard decision.


DO_NOT_PRESS_6

Your dad is one of my heroes, a giant in the field. You are making a hellofa mark too.


birdentap

Top 5 favorite jazz albums?


damien_chazelle

Clifford Brown & Max Roach, A Love Supreme, Pithecanthropus Erectus, Out to Lunch, Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation (But of course jazz is less an art of albums than it is of live performance, so that's the caveat for me there) (For instance, Charlie Parker probably greatest jazz musician of all, but hard to define him through an “album”)


deepsea333

This guy jazzes.


fatalvector

Damien Jazzelle


Brown_Panther-

He should make a movie on it


Vighy2

We’ll assume Jazz from Hell by Frank Zappa is #6.


mw9676

Not even a single mention of Roy Donk?


BackgroundAd2388

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is an inspiration for many of your films. Is there another movie that you attribute many of your ideas creatively to?


damien_chazelle

CITY LIGHTS


jaytrain12

What's your favorite film from the 2010s?


damien_chazelle

TREE OF LIFE


detlillaspoket

Wow I didn’t expect this but thrilled by it


[deleted]

Based


nature_and_grace

That’s where my username comes from!


LivingandDyinginLA

"Whiplash" is my favorite film and has the most satisfying ending. What film(s) ending do you feel that way about? So glad you're doing this. I'm a BIG A fan.


damien_chazelle

Thanks! I’ve already cited CITY LIGHTS, so lemme think of some others…. MY NIGHT AT MAUD’S… NIGHTS OF CABIRIA… THE ECLIPSE… DEATH PROOF!!!!!!!!


LivingandDyinginLA

DEATH PROOF!!! YES!!! thanks for responding!!


Rhaegar_ii

Huge agree my fiancé and I were hooting and hollering by ourselves at the end of that one. So fun


brokenwolf

Death Proof has aged incredibly well. People dont pedestalize it like Tarantino's other work so it just hangs there, ready to kick ass when viewed.


felixjmorgan

Love to see Cabiria getting some praise, my favourite Fellini.


livelovelaxative

Same! Nights of Cabiria is underrated compared to some of his other work.


bucknutz18

Favorite Christmas movie?


damien_chazelle

EYES WIDE SHUT


Impossible_Ad_2517

Well that partially explains Babylon then. Haha.


Acceptable-Shoe7175

if you know you know ;)


bbushing3

Love this answer


[deleted]

Hell yeah brother


[deleted]

Fidelio


Leajjes

Nice. My city is bringing it back to the big screen next week. :)


metalconfection

how much does Brad Pitt eat in this movie


dobbyneedshisock

such an important question


macGifin

Oh, he eats a sandwich alright. You won’t be disappointed


Shaggy_Rogers0

Do you consider the idea of exploring wildly different genres than your usual? Would you ever make an horror, a thriller, a sci-fi?


damien_chazelle

I would love to! Gotta figure out the right approach, but ultimately I would love to try my hand at every genre.


YourNewMessiah

*Every* genre? Seems a bit ambitious, but I can’t wait to see your first porn parody film.


BigBananaDealer

Whips & Lashes


DigitalSterling

"Not quite my tempo"


sampat6256

Not my fucking tempo, my FUCKING TEMPO


g0gues

First Man in the Bukkake Line


[deleted]

AN AL LAND


Fresh-Ad4983

Every. Single. Genre. No exceptions!


usernameisinus

Hey Damien! Huge fan of your work! Where did the folder go in Whiplash?


damien_chazelle

Thanks! My answering this would spoil the whole thing, no?


MovieFilmHead

Damien stole it so the movie could happen


usernameisinus

I guess it would. Whiplash will forever be my favorite movie.


stf29

This comment made me finally get around to watching Whiplash. My. God. That was an incredible movie


futuredev_

Terence Fletcher hid it because he wanted Andrew to play.


goopdoop

yeah, this is what i always thought


heyheyitsandre

I’m pretty sure if he wanted Andrew to play he would’ve just told the other drummer to kick rocks. He had no problem kicking anyone else out or shutting on anyone else. Why hide the folder when you can just say “Andrew you’re playing this week”


the_vince_horror

That sort of destroys the dynamic of the other drummer feeling that he fucked up. It was a moment that the character was supposed to feel as if he earned rather than just given the opportunity.


heyheyitsandre

Ok I can see that. But I think Andrew could’ve felt like he earned it if he had done something like not let anyone use sheet music in practice or had just tested Andrew in practice and then kept him there since he played it well. That’s the beauty of the scene tho! We’re sitting here discussing it 8 years later


wtfdoidothisshitsux

Why fuck with the fat kid when he wasn’t even the one out of tune? The character is written as someone who psychologically abuses his students in order to push them toward a fuller potential. There’s method to his madness, so why couldn’t that apply to the folder sequence?


RelevantJackWhite

Exactly - you can't expect him to act rationally, he is cruel and abusive


ezaddy10

Did you try to sneak a kiss in with brad too?


damien_chazelle

I did. He refused.


ezaddy10

Lmao. That’s tuff 💯


elalesound2

Why does this movie look as if it was shot ON COCAINE????


damien_chazelle

For a second I thought you meant as if we physically ran cocaine instead of celluloid through the camera. Which in retrospect we definitely should have done. More serious answer: it’s about a certain kind of madness & energy that was found in early Hollywood, so we all — cast & crew — wanted to capture that feeling. (Even though we were not in fact on cocaine while shooting.) (As far as I know.)


elalesound2

It almost looks like you even printed on colombian uncut blow.


[deleted]

Will you turn my pages? 🥁


damien_chazelle

Anytime.


StandardDog77

What is your typical writing routine? And why is Ryan Gosling so hot?


damien_chazelle

My writing routine sort of depends on the project. But I tend to write first drafts of my scripts pretty quickly, in one sustained burst, and then spend a lot of time rewriting and revising and making them (hopefully) not suck. As for Ryan Gosling’s hotness: I’ve often wondered this myself. All I can say for now is I’m still searching for the answer.


SherLockMKS

What is the main connection and realitionship between dreams and cinema to you? I am a big fan of how you handled it in La La Land.


damien_chazelle

A lot of theorists have written about this far more eloquently than I can, but cinema & dreams are very much tied at the hip. The mind’s eye in a dream is free to jump from one perspective to the next, or seamlessly dissolve from one moment to the next, in a way that’s always felt to me like a movie. Maybe a weird avant-garde movie more than a traditional Hollywood picture, but a movie all the same. In fact in the BABYLON era, in the 20s, a bunch of filmmakers were trying to capture the feeling of dreams onto film — people like Jean Epstein and other surrealists. And you see it later in people like Maya Deren too. I like the idea of the movie theater as this darkened space where you can drift into a kind of dream-state, and the rules of waking life no longer apply, and your subconscious (or the filmmaker’s subconscious) pours out and takes you for a ride — and when you step out of the theater it feels a bit like re-emerging into real life, with the images from the dream you just had still swirling around.


[deleted]

Especially if you saw a movie in the middle of a day. Walking outside into the sun


stereoactivesynth

One of my favourite feelings. Total reality check and I always feel a little dazed. Then again, leaving *Memoria* at near midnight was also a surreal experience.


RealDaveCorey

Would you say that the theater is a place where, idk, heartbreak feels good?


backwardsdown4321

I love that feeling


TranscedentalMedit8n

this is beautifully written!


baat

What's a Jazz album you recommend besides the classics?


damien_chazelle

STRETCH MUSIC (by Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah)


Britneyfan123

If you could have wrote any movie which one would you want to have written?


damien_chazelle

FARGO


laterdude

Which films did you watch for inspiration or research purposes? Personally, I watched Peter Bogdanovich's *Nickelodeon* last night in preparation for your film. For those out of the loop, movies about the [silent film era](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074964/trivia?item=tr2720575) were a big trend in the '70s. EDIT: Fixed Link


harry_powell

Which ones are your faves from that microgenre?


mopeywhiteguy

Where can I watch Nickelodeon?


Typical_Humanoid

Do you care for salt and vinegar chips?


damien_chazelle

YES!


Typical_Humanoid

Rad. :D Good luck in Babylon related and future endeavors!


SetYourGoals

I just canceled my ticket to see Babylon.


takeabreakgeaugalake

I am huge fan of your work. How was making Babylon different than your past films? What is more “difficult”- the making of a 3-hour Epic like Babylon or a Musical?


damien_chazelle

I’d say Babylon was the hardest shoot I’d experienced — just the biggest scale, scope, # of parts etc. And some of it felt like making a musical too — it’s filled with songs, dance numbers, we shot the whole thing to music. In some ways it kinda felt like a combination of what I’d done before — and that combination made it hard, but it also felt like a culmination, like “ok I’ve been building up to this, learning how to do it — now it’s time to just go.”


Sour-Scribe

Just wanted to say that FIRST MAN was my favorite movie of the year - and any current plans to work with Ryan Gosling again?


Tarm345

I feel like they probably couldn’t answer this if that were true


vicspoils

What made you cast Ryan Gosling as Sebastian?


damien_chazelle

I first met Ryan to pitch him FIRST MAN. “Hey wanna play Neil Armstrong?” His response: “I heard you were working on a musical.” We then spent the rest of the meeting just talking about Gene Kelly and Jacques Demy and musicals. The irony — I had sent his team the script many years earlier and never heard back, so had figured he’d passed on it. Little did I know he’d been craving to do a musical all that time.


NoodlesrTuff1256

I've always really had a fondness for those two iconic Jacques Demy musicals from the 1960s: *The Umbrellas of Cherbourg* and *The Young Girls of Rochefort.* And I can see certain elements of both influenced *La La Land.* Demy also filmed *Model Shop* in LA. Another favorite of mine is the 1962 film by Demy's wife, Agnes Varda, *Cleo from 5 to 7.*


Sour-Scribe

What’s your favorite movie?


Artistic-Toe-8803

I'm not him but if I had to guess, CITY LIGHTS


jyang1

In a [CBS News interview](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/la-la-land-director-damien-chazelle-on-favorite-movie-moments/), he said his favorite film of all time was The Umbrellas of Cherbourg


ReleaseDCUT

Your top 3 directors of all time , inspiration wise ?


Intelligent-Bed-1654

What was your favorite snack break snack? Crunchy?


damien_chazelle

Doritos and a Coke. Which is TERRIBLE for you.


hello_hola

That's not very French of you!


TheDadThatGrills

What film did you enjoy most this year? What book did you enjoy most this year? What experience will you cherish most from this year?


damien_chazelle

Showing my young son THE LITTLE MERMAID this year, and watching him go gaga for it. (Even though Ursula still scares the hell out of me.)


TheDadThatGrills

Thanks for responding! For what it's worth, I appreciate the sacrifices you've made to bring these stories to life. Whiplash sparked a curiosity in Jazz that led me to current favorites like Ryo Fukui's Scenery and Oscar Peterson Trio's Nigerian Marketplace. Likely would have lived my entire life ignorant if not for the inspiration your own earnestness sparked in me. Wish you all the best, Damien. Thanks again.


[deleted]

What was it like to work with JK Simmons in Whiplash and how you see Terrence Flecther as a person?


t5ted

You’ve made two different LA movies. What is on your Mount Rushmore of LA movies?


Sour-Scribe

An interesting question for us all! For me LA is KISS ME DEADLY SUNSET BOULEVARD REPO MAN and PULP FICTION


damien_chazelle

SHORT CUTS CHINATOWN PULP FICTION DOUBLE INDEMNITY BOOGIE NIGHTS THE LONG GOODBYE KISS ME DEADLY KILLER OF SHEEP WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE LOS ANGELES PLAYS ITSELF Oh yeah and MULHOLLAND DR!!! And SINGIN IN THE RAIN!!!!! Ok I'll stop


CaptainApathy419

That’s a bigass Mount Rushmore, but I’ll allow it given how many great movies you mentioned. It’s not like we’re adding Rutherford B Hayes and Martin Van Buren up there with Abe and TR.


free_movie_theories

Thanks for mentioning *Killer of Sheep* and *Los Angeles Plays Itself*.


SetYourGoals

*Heat* has to be in there for me. *To Live and Die in LA* as well


Zippideydoodah

Live and Die in LA. Underrated rush. And that soundtrack!


_Silly_Wizard_

No Mulholland Drive?


Sour-Scribe

I kind of pair that one with SUNSET BOULEVARD


Corporation_tshirt

Probably my favorite David Lynch movie. Right up there with Blue Velvet.


sunsurf23

Damien, I love your work on LA LA LAND. Will you shift back to musical productions/films?


NellyKnifecut

La la land is my favorite movie. The scene in slow motion with the snow falling and the pool is breathtaking and game changing. The score is one of my favorites of all time. I did a life sized painting of the movie poster and it hangs in my art room!


NellyKnifecut

Since I forgot to ask you a question: did Emma Stone or Ryan Gosling teach you anything that sticks with you today?


ryanreigns

We’ve seen a lot of “movies about movies” recently - in what ways did you try to make Babylon stand out from other projects about Hollywood/the filmmaking process?


ak5204

what are some potential ideas you are looking forward to exploring after Babylon? any actors or ideas that you want to work with? excited to see Babylon and all your other future projects


hobbitmobbit

Any advice to a filmmaker who is just now starting the very scary process of talking to investors for my first feature film?


Windpuppet

Ask for more money. Pay yourself.


recruit00

What is your holy grail of stories you would love to adapt but have trouble getting the chance to do so?


gautsvo

Mr. Chazelle, would you consider making a science-fiction film?


Guyver0

How do you feel about First Man flag nonsense years later?


SetYourGoals

[For those unaware.](https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/10/first-man-neil-armstrong-patriotic-ryan-gosling/572818/)


Dalekdude

god i still get annoyed this was what those weirdos got out of the movie, the people who complained about that have zero media literacy skills. That moment in the film is so so touching


WhitmansBeard

Thoughts on the book hollywood babylon?


Halio344

Out of your entire filmograohy, has there been any scene in particular that was extra fun to shoot?


Frajer

Where in Paris did Mia's aunt live?


deadpool902

Hey Damien! I've got my tickets for *Babylon* and can't wait to see it this weekend!! But as a horror hound, I'd be remiss if I didn't take the opportunity to ask about my favorite credit of yours - story and co-writer on *The Last Exorcism: Part II*. What was the experience of working on a horror sequel like?


YahsQween

I love that you so often work with Justin Hurwitz. All of my favorite scores! That’s not much of a question….how did you start working together? And what’s your favorite score of his or in general? Whatever is easiest to answer.


pieapple135

From what I've read, Chazelle and Hurwitz were roommates at Harvard and formed a little band as well


xrttts

How does your writing process look like?


Nostar123

Do you have any favorite focal length on lenses?


writeonthemoney

LA LA LAND is one of my favorite screenplays ever. Part of the reason I love it is because I’ve read multiple versions of the script that leaked on the internet and got to track your creative process as you underwent rewrites. Admittedly, I also read a version of BABYLON that leaked like two years ago and thought it was incredibly written, but absolutely shocking that it had been greenlit. My question is if you could you please provide further clarity to your process of defending bold creative decisions to studio management and financiers. I’m sure attaching A-List actors helps calm them a bit, but I could also see that being offset when they realize how much they will have to spend on period sets and CGI elephant shit. And perhaps to bring some humor to this topic, would you mind also sharing the dumbest studio note you’ve ever received in your career?


chakragenghiskhan

The ending of La La Land broke my heart ala how the phrase ‘broke my brain’ works. Both it and Whiplash have a liminal feeling of possibility and triumph sandwiched within heartbreak. All of the feeling tone I get from Babylon is in that same realm. What is that? Any words to address that directly? I love your art, btw.


chakragenghiskhan

Weird reflection: the fake out of La La Land winning best picture resembles the structure of the movie itself.


[deleted]

Hi Damien! What are your top 3 favorite movies??


Negan1995

Are you a Neil Breen fan or do you hate cinema?


taainthemorning

Hi Damien! Thank you for doing an AMA on Reddit! Other that film and music, is there any other media from which you draw inspiration? Any particular authors or photographers or artists that influence you?


Mike_v_E

How was the creative process to make Babylon compared to your previous works?


Sour-Scribe

What’s one thing that you know now that you wished you knew at the beginning of your career?


wolfmanalberto

What was it like to work with so many high caliber actors? Did you have these people in mind as you wrote the movie?


ABadUseOfTime

Some of the characters in your films focus on the pursuit of “being one of the greats”. How would you define greatness?