award shows, celebrity interviews, Damien Chazelle, Emma Stone, Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe interviews, Golden Globes, La La Land, movies, Ryan Gosling
January 9, 2017
by Carla Hay
The 74th annual Golden Globe Awards took place on January 8, 2017, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.
Golden Globe wins:
- Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical
- Best Director (Damien Chazelle)
- Best Screenplay (Damien Chazelle)
- Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical (Ryan Gosling)
- Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical (Emma Stone)
- Best Original Score (Justin Hurwitz)
- Best Original Song (“City of Stars,” written by Justin Hurwitz, Justin Paul and Benj Pasek)
Here is what these Golden Globe winners said backstage in the Golden Globe Awards press room.
BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW
Damien, how many “no’s” did you hear before you knew “La La Land” was actually going to happen?
Damien Chazelle (writer/director): Many, but enough to fill six years. That’s how long it took to actually get the movie going. I actually have to remind myself of that. All of this is so surreal, but the biggest dream come true I had was the first day literally standing there with the cameras rolling and being surrounded by people like Emma [Stone], Ryan [Gosling] and John [Legend] and my crew. It was the biggest gift. All of this is even more surreal because of that.
Why do you think “La La Land” has become such a critical and popular success?
Ryan Gosling (co-star): I think Emma spoke to that so beautifully in her speech. The thing that moved me so much about the film is the importance of pursuing your dream, despite the obstacles. It’s such a beautiful message for Damien to put out into the world. It seemed like a very appropriate time for that.
Emma Stone (co-star): Thanks. Yeah, I think that’s maybe the key to what’s inspiring about it now. I also think that something about these two characters and what they’re going through that feels very realistic and very human, even in these fantastical circumstances where they’re singing and dancing and everything is so beautifully colorful. I think two people struggling that way and falling in love and how it ultimately unfolds is something that everybody can relate to in what could have been.
How has the modern era shaped our fantasies about love?
Gosling: I’ve had too much champagne to answer that question. Emma?
Stone: I don’t know if I can speak to the entirety of the modern era right now. But by next week, I will have a solid answer for you—with footnotes and references.
Chazelle: I don’t know if this answers the question, but it was important for us to make a love story that was for the modern era, that was a contemporary love story but use older movies and older love stories to comment on the modern era. And look at the ways the time we live in how matches the old movies in some ways and doesn’t match them in other ways.
And also this idea that one does need to move forward, that nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake is not a place to live in. You should honor the past but actually find a way to push that forward, whether it’s in how you love or how you make movies or how you make any art.
Damien, can you comment on “La La Land” setting a Golden Globes record for the most Golden Globe Awards (seven) won by a single movie or TV show? And you’re also the youngest person to ever win a Golden Globe for Best Director. How does that feel?
Chazelle: Now that you say that, it feels incredible. I’m still processing it. This is my first time ever at the Golden Globes. I assume it doesn’t always go this way. I’m not going to get used to this. I was just so honored to be here at all, so to be on the stage with the people I made this movie with. I think what I was most excited about was to see [“La La Land” composer/songwriter] Justin [Hurwitz], who I went to college with and met in a college band, and we talked about movies when we were 17 and 18, to see him on that stage [accepting his Golden Globe Award] was actually the single greatest moment for me.