Damien Chazelle and Babylon | The hidden side of La La Land

(Toronto) Dreaming of babylon For 15 years, Damien Chazelle has been preparing to offer the world his most ambitious feature film, built around a decadent trip to old Hollywood, then in full mutation. Meeting with a filmmaker who has “let go loose”.

One day, Damien Chazelle became interested in the history of cinema, particularly when Hollywood was in its first decades of existence. The more he learned about it, the more he realized that the general vision that remains does not correspond at all to reality. Hence the idea of ​​setting the record straight a little through a fresco where fictitious characters evolve, many of whom are nevertheless inspired by real craftsmen of the time.

“The reality is very different from what we have always been told,” explains the filmmaker during an interview with The Press. It’s a bit like everything has been cleaned up in favor of an official story. The vision we have of old Hollywood is strongly colored by what happened in the late 1920s, with the establishment of a moral code of production [surnommé le code Hays] and the arrival of a certain respectability towards an art form which, until then, had not yet been taken seriously. »

Poisonous ink…

In a way, the one who, four years ago, became the youngest winner of the Oscar for best director at 32, offers the dark side of La La Landthe feature film that earned him all the honours.

“Yes, absolutely! This thought crossed my mind, even though I started thinking about this film long before. La La Land was a form of love letter to Hollywood as babylon looks more like a missive written in poisonous ink! The story illustrates the outrageous behavior of the time, with which one can have fun, but also the incredible darkness that underlies it. Because of the arrival of sound and talking pictures, many craftsmen were seized with despair and had the feeling that the carpet was slipping away from under their feet, hence the madness that animated silent cinema in those years. -the. »

Beginning in 1926 with a completely delirious party scene set in a party to which the apprentice actress Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie) goes to get noticed, the story, which unfolds over a little more than three hours, mainly follows the course of the latter. Nellie will also meet a young actor of Cuban origin (Diego Calva), as well as Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), a silent film actor at the height of his glory. Around these three pivotal characters gravitates an imposing cast which includes Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, Lukas Haas, Toby Maguire and Eric Roberts, among others.

In the way of the times

With a budget far exceeding those allocated to the filmmaker’s previous feature films (the budget would fluctuate between 80 and 100 million dollars according to certain specialized media), babylon also echoes the way of making cinema of almost 100 years ago.

” babylon is the biggest film I’ve ever made, but at the same time it is, paradoxically, the most indie of mind”, indicates the one to whom we owe in particular whiplash and first-man. “The screenplay was very fun to write, but then you had to find a way to materialize it logistically, when you want to tell the story of the making of a production that includes hundreds of extras. Epic silent movies like Intolerance, wings Where Napoleon were of a magnitude that could never be matched thereafter. We can obviously create the illusion today with synthetic images, but I tried to use this technique as little as possible because I wanted to approach the way of doing things at the time. »

The history of cinema has always inspired filmmakers. In recent years, at least two other Hollywood stars have got down to it by offering their vision of a specific chapter in this story: Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and David Fincher (mank).

“The fact that it is intrinsically linked to technological development also has a lot to do with it, I believe. When the mute gave way to talking, it was because it was forced to do so because of technological progress. All of this happens so quickly that it inevitably creates drama. Maybe that’s what inspires us. »

The first love

Having made his first feature film, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, at the age of 23, Damien Chazelle never doubted his vocation. The cinema entered his life at a very young age and never let him go.

“I never wanted to do anything else,” he says. Cinema was my very first love, even before I had the slightest idea of ​​what directing is. I consider myself lucky to have found my calling so early, even if, sometimes, I wonder if, by having this interest alone, I might not have missed something along the way. The unfailing feeling that I feel towards the cinema makes my task easier, but also sometimes harder, because it is intimately intertwined with my life. And that may not always be a good thing! »

babylon (Babylon in French version) will be released on December 23.

Travel expenses were paid for by Paramount Pictures.