Damien Chazelle

Damien Chazelle Headshot

Director • Producer • Writer

Birth Date: January 19, 1985

Age: 39 years old

Birth Place: Providence, Rhode Island

The backbone and inspiration of many of Damien Chazelle's films was always his love of music, first seen in his black and white musical "Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench." Music then became the subject of his award-winning short--and then later feature--″Whiplash.

Born in Rhode Island in 1985, Chazelle grew up in both France and America; his comfort with two cultures strongly informed his film work. He began his first film, a short entitled ″Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench″ (2009), as his thesis for his Masters at Harvard in Visual and Environmental Studies. Over the next two years, he developed it into a full length feature, utilizing friends and a 16mm camera to tell the story of a woman and a jazz musician.

After graduation he moved out to Los Angeles with a plan to connect with the film studios through his work as a screenplay writer for hire. By 2009 he had taken ″Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench″ to festivals where it gained some notice and several awards including recognition as an emerging artist at the Denver International Film Festival and a Jury Special Prize at the Torino International Film Festival. He continued to hone his writing skills as a screenwriter in Hollywood and began to write his next feature, ″Whiplash″ (2013).

This film was much more personal, an insider's dark look at the powerful emotions and obsessions that drive music students. As a former student at musical academies, it was a subject he knew quite well. When he found the script a tough sell, he listened to advice and took a scene from it to develop as a short film. The short created buzz across the 2013 film festival circuit and won numerous awards including the Short Film Jury Prize at Sundance.

New interest in the original led to the feature-length script being included on the coveted ″Black List″ of unproduced films considered by studios. With this help, funding was secured and the feature-length film ″Whiplash″ was produced, winning awards and acclaim from Sundance to Cannes.

Chazelle's next project moved even further into his love of music: "La La Land" (2016) was a full-fledged musical, with elaborate song and dance numbers throughout. Stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling did all their own singing and dancing as a struggling actress and idealistic jazz pianist.

The critically acclaimed box office hit scored 14 Oscar nominations, tying the record set by "All About Eve" (1951) and "Titanic" (1997), and won six, including Best Original Score, Best Original Song (for the film's love theme "City of Stars"), Best Director and Best Actress.

In one of the most shocking moments in Oscar history, presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announced that "La La Land" had won Best Picture and producer Jordan Horowitz was most of the way through his acceptance speech before it was revealed that a mistake had been made: the true winner of the Best Picture award was indie drama "Moonlight" (2016).

Credits

BabylonStream

Director
Movie
2022
57%

BabylonStream

Screenwriter
Movie
2022
57%

Sergio Leone: L'italiano che inventò l'America

Self
Movie
2022

This Cultural Life

Guest
Show
2021

Fellini degli spiriti

Self
Show
2021

The EddyStream

Writer (Scenario)
Series
2020
69%

First ManStream

Director
Movie
2018
87%

First ManStream

Producer
Movie
2018
87%

Friedkin UncutStream

Self
Movie
2018

Prvi čovjek

Director
Movie
2018

Tchi Tcha

Guest
Show
2017

La La LandStream

Director
Movie
2016
91%

La La LandStream

Screenwriter
Movie
2016
91%

10 Cloverfield LaneStream

Screenwriter
Movie
2016
90%

Close Up With The Hollywood Reporter

Guest
Show
2015

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonStream

Guest
Talk
2014

WhiplashStream

Director
Movie
2014
94%

WhiplashStream

Screenwriter
Movie
2014
94%

Grand PianoStream

Screenwriter
Movie
2013
79%

Whiplash

Director
Movie
2013

Whiplash

Screenwriter
Movie
2013

The Last Exorcism Part II

Screenwriter
Movie
2013

Entertainment Studios.TV

Guest
Show
2012

CBS This Morning

Guest
Show
2012

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench

Cinematography
Movie
2009

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench

Director
Movie
2009

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench

Film Editing
Movie
2009

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench

Producer
Movie
2009

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench

Screenwriter
Movie
2009

Tavis Smiley

Guest
Talk
2004

Last Call With Carson Daly

Guest
Talk
2002

Charlie RoseStream

Guest
Talk
1991

Good Morning America

Guest
News
1975

News aboutDamien Chazelle