But thats nothing compared to the movies incredible first scene.
He had two basic ideas.
I wanted it to feel like a city bustling with music, like inMean StreetsorTaxi DriverorRear Window.
Youre hearing Italian opera coming from one apartment window and Frankie Vali from another and jazz from another.
But this is Los Angeles.
The cacophony of sounds is coming out of cars.
And I loved the idea of presenting the soundscape of the city that way.
I felt like I had seen the you-wanna-shoot-yourself version inFalling Down[1993].
That was thanks to watchingFalling Downin New Jersey.
So instead of Michael Douglas storming out of his car, its a dance number.
Oh, definitely, of course, Chazelle says about a lengthy camera move that starts his film.
The tracking shot itself is definitely inspired byWeekend.
And then there wasSeven Brides for Seven Brothers, which used the widescreen for the dance so incredibly.
And the athletic choreography.
Even though theyre stuck in traffic, these people are refusing to give up.
Theyre refusing to be stuck in life.
Thats why we have stuff like a parkour dancer and a BMX biker.
It bleeds between stunts and dance in a really cool way.
ForLa La Land, Foulkes employed matchbox cars to demonstrate to California officials how the sequence would work.
But how did it work?
We shut down an E-Z pass over-ramp, Chazelle says.
And that made a huge difference.
In retrospect, that day saved us, he says.
There were little things we hadnt even thought about.
The interstate ramp is slanted, its never flat.
Youre dealing with the heat, the sun burning down on the car tops.
And the crane, theres heavy winds that high up.
And without those months of prep and dress rehearsal, I dont think we would have been able to.
It tells the audience right off the bat what to expect two hours of blissful shoot-the-works exuberance.
On the face of it, the opening number its a very energetic thing, he says.
That was the dichotomy that Damien and I were going for.
That tone is I hope something that belongs in our movie.
Living in L.A. is all about navigating, he says.
Dealing with the driving, wondering, exploring, appreciating how many different looks there in the city.
Everything from the ocean to the mountains to some really cool urban areas.
Someone else, in fact, concurs with that point.
