50 Fun Facts About La La Land

Who wrote and directed La La Land?

He first dreamed the film up with composer Justin Hurwitz while both were students at Harvard.

What is the profession of Sebastian, Ryan Gosling's character?

Gosling had never played piano before and learned for the role; no hand doubles were used.

Which musician plays Keith, the bandleader who hires Sebastian for his jazz-pop group?

He also co-wrote the band's song 'Start a Fire', the only number not written by Pasek and Paul.

Which two actors were originally in talks to star before Gosling and Stone were cast?

Gosling, for his part, turned down the Beast in Beauty and the Beast to take the film.

Which earlier Chazelle film's success finally got La La Land financed?

That drama about a jazz drummer earned five Oscar nominations off a $3.3 million budget.

Who composed the score and songs of La La Land?

He and Chazelle were roommates in Currier House at Harvard.

Which songwriting duo wrote the lyrics for most of the film's songs?

They went on to write The Greatest Showman and Dear Evan Hansen; 'Start a Fire' was the exception, co-written by John Legend.

What is the title of the film's opening freeway number?

It was the first sequence shot, on a closed carpool ramp of the 105-110 interchange that arcs 100 feet in the air.

Chazelle compared the traffic-jam opening to which famous movie image?

He wanted the arcing interchange to give a sense of how vast the city is.

Which 1955 film do Seb and Mia go to see together at the Rialto?

When the projector fails they head to Griffith Observatory, a location from that very film, and share their first kiss.

Where in Los Angeles do Seb and Mia share their first kiss?

They waltz among the stars in the planetarium first, the film's most fantastical sequence.

Mia works as a barista on the lot of which studio?

Chazelle called studio backlots the 'monuments' of Hollywood.

Which 1980s song does Mia mockingly request when she spots Seb playing in a cover band?

It is payback for him shouldering past her outside the restaurant where he had just been fired.

After her one-woman play flops, Mia retreats to her hometown in which state?

Seb drives to Boulder City to tell her a casting director who saw the play wants her to audition.

In 'Audition (The Fools Who Dream)', whom does Mia sing about?

The aunt who leapt into the Seine inspired her to chase her dreams; the song earned an Oscar nomination.

How much time passes between Mia's audition and the film's epilogue?

By then she is a successful actress, married to someone else, and stumbles into Seb's club by chance.

How does Mia realise the jazz bar she has walked into belongs to Seb?

He then plays their love theme, launching the what-might-have-been fantasy sequence.

Which French director's musicals were the main inspiration for the film's style and tone?

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort were both on the Friday-night screening list Chazelle ran for the crew.

Which studio first took the script on a shoestring budget but demanded changes Chazelle refused?

They wanted the pianist turned into a rock musician and the bittersweet ending dropped.

What was the film's eventual production budget?

Lionsgate's Patrick Wachsberger pushed Chazelle to spend more, arguing good musicals could not be made cheaply.

La La Land was the third film to pair Gosling and Stone. Which was the first?

Gangster Squad followed in 2013.

Emma Stone met Chazelle in 2014 while making her Broadway debut in which show?

Chazelle and Hurwitz saw her perform on a night she had a cold; she credits the show with giving her confidence for the film.

Which real audition mishap from Ryan Gosling's past made it into the film?

Mia suffers the identical humiliation early in the film.

Who choreographed the film's dance numbers?

Not the singer, but the choreographer known from So You Think You Can Dance; she stressed emotion over technique.

The 'A Lovely Night' tap number had to be shot in what narrow window?

The six-minute scene of the pair searching for Mia's car was done in one take.

Which historic Los Angeles funicular, built in 1901, was reactivated for the film?

It reopened to the public in 2017, the year after the film came out.

In what aspect ratio was La La Land shot, to echo 1950s CinemaScope musicals?

It was shot on Super 35mm film with Panavision anamorphic lenses, not digitally.

At which festival did La La Land have its world premiere in August 2016?

It was the opening-night film, ahead of a slow autumn rollout that ended with a December 9 US release.

How many Golden Globes did La La Land win at the 74th ceremony, a record?

It converted every one of its seven nominations, including Best Actor and Actress in a comedy or musical.

With fourteen Oscar nominations, La La Land tied the record held by Titanic and which other film?

Arrival was next that year with eight.

How many Academy Awards did La La Land actually win?

They included Best Director, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score and Best Original Song for 'City of Stars'.

Which pair of presenters read out the wrong Best Picture winner at the 2017 Oscars?

They were marking the 50th anniversary of Bonnie and Clyde and had been handed a spare Best Actress envelope.

Which film actually won Best Picture after La La Land was wrongly announced?

That made La La Land the most-nominated film ever to lose Best Picture, a mark it held until 2026.

Which La La Land producer took the microphone, announced the mistake and held up the correct card?

He was widely praised for how he handled the moment; Fred Berger had just ended his speech with 'We lost, by the way'.

Which accounting firm was responsible for the envelopes at the 89th Academy Awards?

It keeps two full sets of envelopes on opposite sides of the stage, plus a third emergency set elsewhere.

How old was the director when he became the youngest Best Director winner in Oscar history?

He beat Norman Taurog's 1931 record by just 222 days.

Where does Sebastian first sing 'City of Stars' in the film?

The song won Best Original Song at both the Golden Globes and the Oscars.

Which drama did Chazelle direct after La La Land, in 2018?

The Neil Armstrong biopic reunited him with Ryan Gosling.

Chazelle and Hurwitz's Harvard thesis was a low-budget musical about a jazz musician in which city?

That film became Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009), a title later reused on a fake poster in La La Land.

In February 2023 it was announced La La Land would be adapted into what?

Producer Marc Platt and Lionsgate are behind the stage version.

What worldwide gross did La La Land reach across its full theatrical run?

For years it stood as Ryan Gosling's biggest hit until Barbie in 2023.

How many days did it take to shoot La La Land?

Filming wrapped in mid-September 2015; the freeway opening was the very first sequence shot.

Which editor spent nearly a year cutting La La Land with Chazelle to get the tone right?

Cross had also edited Whiplash, Chazelle's breakthrough.

What did Ryan Gosling have to learn from scratch for the role, with no hand doubles used?

He practised in one room of the Atwater Village production office while Stone rehearsed dance in another.

Where in New York did Emma Stone first meet Chazelle to hear his pitch for the film?

She was performing in Cabaret on Broadway at the time and nursing a cold.

Which prize did Emma Stone win at the Venice Film Festival for La La Land?

The film had opened the festival on 31 August 2016, months before her Oscar.

How many BAFTA nominations did La La Land receive at the 70th British Academy Film Awards?

It converted five of them, including Best Film.

What approval rating did La La Land hold on Rotten Tomatoes as of 2026?

Metacritic's weighted score of 94 out of 100 signalled 'universal acclaim'.

Which company picked up La La Land after the success of Whiplash?

Lionsgate handled the US release on 9 December 2016.

Who was the costume designer on La La Land?

She worked from her own corner of the Atwater Village rehearsal complex during pre-production.