La La Land is a 2016 American romantic comedy-drama musical film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It stars Ryan Gosling as a jazz pianist and Emma Stone as an aspiring actress, who meet and fall in love while pursuing their dreams in Los Angeles.
Having been fond of musicals during his time as a drummer, Chazelle first conceptualised the film alongside Justin Hurwitz while attending Harvard University together. Moving to Los Angeles in 2010, Chazelle wrote the screenplay but did not find a studio willing to finance the production without changes to his design. Following the success of his 2014 film Whiplash, the project was picked up by Summit Entertainment. Filming took place in Los Angeles from August to September 2015, with the film's score composed by Hurwitz and the dance choreography by Mandy Moore. La La Land premiered at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2016, and was released in the United States on December 9, 2016. It grossed $446 million worldwide against a production budget of $30 million.
La La Land was critically praised, particularly for Chazelle's screenplay and direction, Gosling and Stone's performances, musical score, musical numbers, cinematography, and production design. Both the American Film Institute and National Board of Review selected La La Land as one of the top ten films of 2016. It won a record-breaking seven awards from its seven nominations at the 74th Golden Globes and received eleven nominations at the 70th British Academy Film Awards, winning five awards, including Best Film. It also received a record-tying fourteen nominations at the 89th Academy Awards, including Best Picture; it won in six categories, including Best Director and Best Actress for Stone.
