Two years ago, director Damien Chazelle had moviegoers glued firmly to their edge of their seats with Whiplash, an aggressive nail-biting white knuckle ride that not only revealed a star in the making in Miles Teller, but also bagged Chazelle three Oscars nominations.
Emulating such success would be a tall order for any filmmaker, but Chazelle is poised to circle back to the genre later this year with La La Land, a totally original musical that places Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in leading roles as two lovestruck dancers. If the pair displayed a piping hot chemistry in Crazy, Stupid, Love., Chazelle’s awards-friendly feature looks primed to showcase the twosome in a more intimate light, and today’s elegant first trailer is evidence of that.
Also starring J.K. not-quite-my-tempo Simmons, Finn Wittrock, John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt and Meagen Fay, La La Land heralds a reunion between Chazelle and accomplished composer Justin Hurwitz, who penned many of the original songs found in Whiplash two years ago.Â
With a kick and snazzy heel turn, La La Land will dance all the way into theaters on December 16. There, it’ll open opposite Gareth Edwards’ hotly-anticipated Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. How Damien Chazelle’s musical fares against such a blockbuster heavyweight is up for question, but whatever the case, you can have a gander at the stylish first poster, below.
