The Hollywood Redux Podcast gets off the 101 South at Highland for Damien Chazelle's movie musical, La La Land.

Hosts enjoyed a special screening at historic Grauman's Chinese Theater in the heart of Hollywood that included a q and a following the screening with Chazelle. It was a very pleasant evening - the audience was enthusiastic and clapped after the musical numbers, which was definitely a plus for the overall experience. The opening number was a colorful crowd pleaser, as was the song Emma Stone's character sings later in the film, Audition (The Fools Who Dream). We found the movie a fantasy LA musical adventure, a tour of an imaginary version of the town with charming hosts. Ex: we laughed for a long a time at Ryan Gosling's reluctant 80's keytar player during a party sequence.

In the q and a with the director following the film, Chazelle revealed that he wrote the screenplay some years ago but could not find a studio willing to finance the project. After his 2014 film Whiplash garnered awards and acclaim, La La Land found a studio in Summit Entertainment. Other behind the scenes tidbits included the information that Gosling learned to essentially play professional jazz piano for the movie (it's all him in picture!) and some of the bad audition scenes were based on Emma Stone's real life experiences.

La La Land is regarded mostly by the internet as one of the best films of 2016. Awards outlets have zeroed in on Chazelle's screenplay and direction, Gosling and Stone's performances, Justin Hurwitz's musical score, and the film's musical numbers. Critics have argued the story isn't perfect - aspects of both characters' stories could be improved, and certainly the movie's portrayal of the city of stars itself, Los Angeles, does not look like our current era, but perhaps that is the point - it's all a dream.