Babylon
Short description
Babylon is set in late-1920s Los Angeles during Hollywood's shift from silent films to sound. The story follows several people whose fortunes rise and fall as the industry changes around them: Manny Torres, a young Mexican-American who works his way from studio assistant to producer; Nellie LaRoy, an ambitious newcomer determined to become a star; and Jack Conrad, an established silent-film leading man whose position is threatened by talking pictures. Their paths cross at parties and on set as the old way of making movies gives way to the new.
Damien Chazelle wrote and directed the film, his fifth feature after Whiplash, La La Land and First Man. Diego Calva, Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt lead a large cast that also includes Jovan Adepo and Jean Smart, with 245 credited performers and 239 credited crew members. The production, backed by Paramount among others, had a budget of about 78 million dollars and took roughly 65 million dollars worldwide.
On IMDb it holds 7.1 out of 10 from around 205,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.3 out of 10 from a much smaller number of votes. A film critics' rating of 6.4 out of 10 from 363 reviews places it below both audience scores. The film runs 189 minutes.
What's left behind the scenes
- In the summer of 2019, Damien Chazelle presented the script to major film studios. They immediately noted the quality of the script and the potential of the future film, but according to some sources, studio executives were concerned about the project’s projected budget – around $80-100 million. Chazelle spent some time rewriting the script to reduce the budget.
- Director Damien Chazelle mentioned that there is a version of the film shot entirely on a phone in his backyard, in which he, his wife, and Diego Calva play all the roles. This was filmed during a break in shooting caused by Covid restrictions.
- According to Damien Chazelle, it took two years to find (Diego Calva) for the role of Manny, during which he reviewed thousands of photos of candidates.
- Emma Stone was initially cast in the lead role, and her character was based on actress Clara Bow, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, delays occurred in the film’s production, and Stone had to leave the project due to her busy schedule. She was replaced by Margot Robbie, and the role was rewritten to become a composite character.
- According to Damien Chazelle, he first proposed this project to a certain producer in 2009, but that producer decided it would be too ambitious for Chazelle at that time. However, they liked how the musical accompaniment was used in the film and suggested Chazelle try his hand at the musical genre. This is how “La La Land” came about.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
