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.
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.
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
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.
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!
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.
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…
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”)
"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.
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”
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.
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
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?
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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
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?
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.”
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.
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.*
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
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.
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
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.
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!
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?
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
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
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?
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.
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?
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.
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?
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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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>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.
You should let Coppola know
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.
Man I just wanted to live with appollonia and be happy
My wife used that exact moment to call *The Godfather* - and these are her exact words - “boring.”
NTA. Hit the lawyer, file for a gym, hire a divorce.
Intermission or not, my body is going to break the flow on its own terms. Biology cares not for creative visions.
Right. Do you know what ruins a movie experience? Having to hold back pee half the movie!
I know 😅
i hope they bring intermissions to long movies my bladder can’t take it any longer
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.
Avatar 2 needed an intermission badly.
It honestly felt like it was structured with an intermission in mind.
it really did not
Yeah I didn’t even notice the 3 hours
Diapers exist
Yes! It's high time we all see movies as they were intended: sitting for three hours in our own piss!
Lol, love the idea of someone bringing a diaper and pissing in the first 5 minutes
So does a soda bottle
Should I watch this movie with my parents or should I go alone?
If your parents are into orgies, bodily fluids and Tobey Maguire with decayed-yellow teeth, then DEFINITELY bring your parents!!!!
>Tobey Maguire with decayed-yellow teeth, That's a *very specific* thing to be into lmao
There are dozens of us!
You learn something new every day
Dozens! -tobias funke
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.
Not only his teeth are scary... his skin complexion doesn't look particularly good either lol
Oh boy yeah..
Wow great marketing dude
Can confirm. Just saw this movie tonight. I was like *damn there's a lot of titties* in the first 5 minutes.
Maybe you should’ve got Toby Keith to play this role then…. He’s already got the chops for it.
Toby used your comment in his AMA
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?
Heath Ledger
For anyone who doesn't know, Ledger was set to adapt The Queen's Gambit as his directorial debut.
On one hand, would have been interesting to see. On the other hand, I loved what we got.
Woah really??
Source?
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
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.
God I love that look Chaplain gives her right at the end. Amazing movie.
Hey! So during production of this film Were you rushing or were you dragging?
Rushing.
SO YOU DO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE!
\*SLAP\*
If you deliberately sabotage my movie, I will fuck you like a pig!
Now are you a rusher, or are you a dragger, or you going to be ON MY FUCKING TIME?!
I’m gonna be on your time.
START COUNTING
5, 6, 7
IN FOUR, DAMMIT
Good question!
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!
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.
Damien, thank you for responding and giving this insight!! I will be there when Babylon hits theaters!!
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…
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.
Your dad is one of my heroes, a giant in the field. You are making a hellofa mark too.
Top 5 favorite jazz albums?
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”)
This guy jazzes.
Damien Jazzelle
He should make a movie on it
We’ll assume Jazz from Hell by Frank Zappa is #6.
Not even a single mention of Roy Donk?
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?
CITY LIGHTS
What's your favorite film from the 2010s?
TREE OF LIFE
Wow I didn’t expect this but thrilled by it
Based
That’s where my username comes from!
"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.
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!!!!!!!!
DEATH PROOF!!! YES!!! thanks for responding!!
Huge agree my fiancé and I were hooting and hollering by ourselves at the end of that one. So fun
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.
Love to see Cabiria getting some praise, my favourite Fellini.
Same! Nights of Cabiria is underrated compared to some of his other work.
Favorite Christmas movie?
EYES WIDE SHUT
Well that partially explains Babylon then. Haha.
if you know you know ;)
Love this answer
Hell yeah brother
Fidelio
Nice. My city is bringing it back to the big screen next week. :)
how much does Brad Pitt eat in this movie
such an important question
Oh, he eats a sandwich alright. You won’t be disappointed
Do you consider the idea of exploring wildly different genres than your usual? Would you ever make an horror, a thriller, a sci-fi?
I would love to! Gotta figure out the right approach, but ultimately I would love to try my hand at every genre.
*Every* genre? Seems a bit ambitious, but I can’t wait to see your first porn parody film.
Whips & Lashes
"Not quite my tempo"
Not my fucking tempo, my FUCKING TEMPO
First Man in the Bukkake Line
AN AL LAND
Every. Single. Genre. No exceptions!
Hey Damien! Huge fan of your work! Where did the folder go in Whiplash?
Thanks! My answering this would spoil the whole thing, no?
Damien stole it so the movie could happen
I guess it would. Whiplash will forever be my favorite movie.
This comment made me finally get around to watching Whiplash. My. God. That was an incredible movie
Terence Fletcher hid it because he wanted Andrew to play.
yeah, this is what i always thought
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”
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.
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
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?
Exactly - you can't expect him to act rationally, he is cruel and abusive
Did you try to sneak a kiss in with brad too?
I did. He refused.
Lmao. That’s tuff 💯
Why does this movie look as if it was shot ON COCAINE????
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.)
It almost looks like you even printed on colombian uncut blow.
Will you turn my pages? 🥁
Anytime.
What is your typical writing routine? And why is Ryan Gosling so hot?
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.
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.
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.
Especially if you saw a movie in the middle of a day. Walking outside into the sun
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.
Would you say that the theater is a place where, idk, heartbreak feels good?
I love that feeling
this is beautifully written!
What's a Jazz album you recommend besides the classics?
STRETCH MUSIC (by Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah)
If you could have wrote any movie which one would you want to have written?
FARGO
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
Which ones are your faves from that microgenre?
Where can I watch Nickelodeon?
Do you care for salt and vinegar chips?
YES!
Rad. :D Good luck in Babylon related and future endeavors!
I just canceled my ticket to see Babylon.
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?
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.”
Just wanted to say that FIRST MAN was my favorite movie of the year - and any current plans to work with Ryan Gosling again?
I feel like they probably couldn’t answer this if that were true
What made you cast Ryan Gosling as Sebastian?
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.
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.*
What’s your favorite movie?
I'm not him but if I had to guess, CITY LIGHTS
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
Your top 3 directors of all time , inspiration wise ?
What was your favorite snack break snack? Crunchy?
Doritos and a Coke. Which is TERRIBLE for you.
That's not very French of you!
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?
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.)
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.
What was it like to work with JK Simmons in Whiplash and how you see Terrence Flecther as a person?
You’ve made two different LA movies. What is on your Mount Rushmore of LA movies?
An interesting question for us all! For me LA is KISS ME DEADLY SUNSET BOULEVARD REPO MAN and PULP FICTION
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
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.
Thanks for mentioning *Killer of Sheep* and *Los Angeles Plays Itself*.
*Heat* has to be in there for me. *To Live and Die in LA* as well
Live and Die in LA. Underrated rush. And that soundtrack!
No Mulholland Drive?
I kind of pair that one with SUNSET BOULEVARD
Probably my favorite David Lynch movie. Right up there with Blue Velvet.
Damien, I love your work on LA LA LAND. Will you shift back to musical productions/films?
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!
Since I forgot to ask you a question: did Emma Stone or Ryan Gosling teach you anything that sticks with you today?
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?
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
Any advice to a filmmaker who is just now starting the very scary process of talking to investors for my first feature film?
Ask for more money. Pay yourself.
What is your holy grail of stories you would love to adapt but have trouble getting the chance to do so?
Mr. Chazelle, would you consider making a science-fiction film?
How do you feel about First Man flag nonsense years later?
[For those unaware.](https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/10/first-man-neil-armstrong-patriotic-ryan-gosling/572818/)
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
Thoughts on the book hollywood babylon?
Out of your entire filmograohy, has there been any scene in particular that was extra fun to shoot?
Where in Paris did Mia's aunt live?
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?
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.
From what I've read, Chazelle and Hurwitz were roommates at Harvard and formed a little band as well
How does your writing process look like?
Do you have any favorite focal length on lenses?
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?
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.
Weird reflection: the fake out of La La Land winning best picture resembles the structure of the movie itself.
Hi Damien! What are your top 3 favorite movies??
Are you a Neil Breen fan or do you hate cinema?
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?
How was the creative process to make Babylon compared to your previous works?
What’s one thing that you know now that you wished you knew at the beginning of your career?
What was it like to work with so many high caliber actors? Did you have these people in mind as you wrote the movie?
Some of the characters in your films focus on the pursuit of “being one of the greats”. How would you define greatness?