What is La La Land about, did Ryan Gosling play the piano and how many awards and Oscars 2017 did it win?
LA LA Land has won seven Golden Globe awards and eight Critics’ Choice awards.
It was a strong Oscars 2017 contender too after being nominated for 14 Academy Awards when the list was announced in January and walked away from the ceremony with with six statues. But what is the film all about, who’s in the cast and did Ryan Gosling REALLY play that piano? Here’s what we know.
What is La La Land all about?
La La Land is a romantic musical comedy drama about jazz musician Sebastian, and aspiring actress Mia, who meet in Los Angeles and fall in love.
But it’s not long before their dreams and aspirations threaten to tear them apart.
The name of the film is a reference to the nickname for the city and also a euphemism for being out of touch with reality.
When was La La land released in cinemas in the UK?
The hotly-anticipated film was released in the UK on January 13 2017.
It’s now being shown on Sky Movies, Netflix and Amazon.
Who’s in the cast?
Ryan Gosling (Sebastian)
The award-winning Canadian actor stars as the struggling jazz pianist, for which he won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.
He was also nominated for a Best Actor Oscar and a Critics’ Choice Award but lost out on both to Casey Affleck.
Ryan is best known for his roles in The Notebook and Drive.
Emma Stone (Mia)
Emma stars as the aspiring actress and waitress Mia, for which she won the Best Actress Oscar as well as the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.
Emma is best known for her roles in The Help, which shot her to fame, playing Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man and the sequel, and Birdman.
La La Land is the third film in which Stone and Gosling have starred as lovers, following Crazy, Stupid Love and Gangster Squad.
John Legend (Keith)
John Legend stars as Sebastian’s high school friend who gives him a job as the pianist in his band The Messengers.
John is known as an award-winning , critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter but also starred in the 2008 movie Soul Men which starred Samuel L. Jackson and the late Bernie Mac.
JK Simmons (Bill)
The Oscar-winning actor stars as Bill, the owner of the restaurant where Sebastian plays.
Simmons is best known for his role as music instructor Terence Fletcher in the 2014 movie Whiplash for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Can Ryan Gosling actually play the piano?
Yes. Ryan Gosling does in fact play the piano in every scene.
At a press event for the movie, Director Damien Chazelle explained more: “There’s not a single close-up shot of [the character] Sebastian’s hands in the entire movie that’s a piano double.
“It’s all Ryan.”
Even John Legend was impressed, he added: “I was jealous, man.
“Watching him play, I was like, ‘Wow, this guy is really good and he just learned this in the last few months.’ It’s pretty amazing.”
What awards did the film receive?
The film has been nominated 182 times cleaned up.
It was a big winner at the 2017 Golden Globes – scooping seven gongs including Best Actor for Ryan Gosling and Best Director for Damien Chazelle.
The movie has also won eight Critics’ Choice Awards and won seven BAFTAs.
It’s didn’t quite sweep the board at the Oscars after a staggering 14 nominations – it won six statues;
- Best Production Design
- Cinematography
- Original Score
- Best Song
- Directing – Damien Chazelle
- Best Actress – Emma Stone