Chazelle began developing Babylon in July 2019. Despite everything Damien Chazelle has accomplished at the young age of 37, it may seem unfair that he shot to prominence so swiftly. When Whiplash made its Sundance Film Festival debut in 2014, it was an undoubted hit. It received three wins and five Academy Award nominations, including Best Supporting Actor for J.K. Simmons.
The success of Chazelle’s second film, La La Land, which made $447.4 million worldwide off of a $30 million budget, launched him into the spotlight. The movie was a critical and commercial success. The movie received 14 nominations for the Oscars, which matched it with Titanic and All About Eve for the most nominations.
On the night of the ceremony, the movie took home six awards, including Best Director for Damien Chazelle and Best Actress for Emma Stone. For a brief period, the movie held the title of Best Picture, but Moonlight ultimately won.
Even five years after its initial release, La La Land has continued to be referenced in mainstream culture despite the error. First Man, a biopic on Neil Armstrong, directed by Damien Chazelle, earned positive reviews as well, but it didn’t perform as well at the box office and received just 4 nominations for the Academy Awards, none of which were for Best Picture or Best Director.
We’ve put together a handy guide to everything you need to know about the acclaimed director’s upcoming project to help you prepare for this Christmas when Chazelle returns to the director’s chair for the period drama Babylon, a movie with a huge cast that may very well follow in the footsteps of his first two films.
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Release Date
Babylon will now have a wide release on December 23, 2022, according to a Paramount announcement, so we won’t have to wait too long. Prior to its expansion on January 6, 2023, the movie was supposed to have a limited release on December 25, 2022. However, on October 18, it was revealed that the limited release would no longer happen.
The movie was originally scheduled for December 25, 2021, a limited release date before COVID-19 changed the entire Hollywood landscape. Instead, the film opened wide on January 7, 2022. It was perhaps for the best that Babylon waited another year given how competitive the awards film environment was this past year.
The Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody, the DreamWorks Animation fairy tale sequel Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, James Cameron’s eagerly anticipated Avatar: The Way of Water, and the limited release of the Tom Hanks-led dramedy A Man Called Otto are just a few of the notable movies that Babylon will open in close proximity to.
What’s the story behind Babylon?
Backstory of Babylon
Like Once Upon A Time in Hollywood and Licorice Pizza, Babylon will be set in 1920s Hollywood during the switch from silent to talkies and will combine fictional characters with real-life individuals. The story will centre on a variety of characters, some of whom succeed in the shift while others struggle to maintain their careers.
Star Cast
Many individuals. But to be more explicit, the movie will feature Academy Award winner Brad Pitt in a role called Jack Conrad. Pitt’s role is made up, although it is based on John Gilbert, a famous silent film actor in the 1920s who had trouble adjusting to talkies. Pitt recently starred in David Leitch’s action movie Bullet Train, which was produced by Sony. With his brief but unforgettable appearance in the action-romance film The Lost City, he also shared the screen with Sandra Bullock.
Margot Robbie, an Academy Award nominee, will co-star with Pitt as Nellie LaRoy, a character who is thought to be highly influenced by talkie period it-girl Clara Bow. Since Wall Street, Robbie has become a household name and received two Oscar nods for her performances in I, Tonya, and Bombshell.
In Suicide Squad, Birds Of Prey, and The Suicide Squad, she was notable for playing Harley Quinn, a legendary figure from DC Comics. Robbie recently appeared among an A-list cast in the historical mystery comedy Amsterdam as one of the stars. The Australian superstar’s upcoming projects include two star-studded movies from renowned auteurs, including Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. She will also play the lead in Jay Roach’s Ocean’s eleven prequels.
While his name might not be well-known right now, Babylon will obviously help him establish himself as one of the most popular names in town. Li Jun Li, who starred in Quantico, is Lady Fay Zhu on Babylon, among other celebrities. In addition to playing Sidney Palmer, Emmy nominee Jovan Adepo will also be seen in Watchmen, Fences, When They See Us, and Overlord.
Jean Smart, a five-time Emmy Award winner, has been cast as Elinor St. John. Smart has recently experienced a career resurgence after winning two Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Emmys for her performance as Deborah Vance in Hacks. Tobey Maguire, a former Spider-Man, also plays the title character.
