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Modern Film Classic: "La La Land" Starring Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone - (2016) PG-13 - 7 PM Show

La La Land is a 2016 American musical romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle, and starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a jazz pianist and an aspiring actress who meet and fall in love in Los Angeles. The film's title refers simultaneously to music, the city of Los Angeles, and to the idiom for being out of touch with reality.

Chazelle wrote the screenplay in 2010 but did not find a studio willing to finance the production without changes to his design. Following the success of his 2014 film Whiplash, the project was picked up by Summit Entertainment. Filming took place from August to September 2015 in Los Angeles. La La Land was premiered at the Venice Film Festival on August 31, 2016, and was released in the United States on December 9, 2016. It grossed $445 million worldwide on a production budget of $30 million.[a]

La La Land received critical acclaim. Critics praised Chazelle's screenplay and direction, Gosling and Stone's performances, Justin Hurwitz's score, and the film's musical numbers. It won in every category for which it was nominated at the 74th Golden Globe Awards, with a record-breaking seven wins, and received 11 nominations at the 70th British Academy Film Awards, winning five. It received 14 nominations at the 89th Academy Awards, tying the record for most nominations with Titanic (1997) and All About Eve (1950), and won six Academy Awards for Best DirectorBest Actress (Stone), Best CinematographyBest Original ScoreBest Original Song ("City of Stars"), and Best Production Design.