KEITH offers him a deal and SEBASTIAN reluctantly accepts. TRACY breaks out into a song to persuade MIA, the other roommates join her singing and dancing. Previous episodes include: Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! SEBASTIAN takes this in and thinks about it. “For about three months, the movie didn’t have the opening,” said Chazelle. What stands out to you about it from a structural standpoint? MIA looking for props in a vintage shop and penciling out drawings for her play. MIA is nervous but she can do this. P. 79 SEBASTIAN arrives at his club and passes a movie poster with Mia’s face on it as he walks to his club, which is bustling. It says ‘Seb’s” but he wants to call it “Chicken on a stick” which MIA disapproves. He agrees but later he drifts off and starts playing something else, more freely; it’s the same melody MIA has heard outside and followed (from here on this song is called ‘Mia and Sebastian’s song’). KEITH, 35, approaches SEBASTIAN but he’s not happy to see him. When he has his own club Van Beek back, the musicians could play whatever they want. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. The band rehearses in their new place, KEITH sings and SEBASTIAN plays keys. They agree they have to do things to see each other and MIA wants to know when he’s done with the tour. The focus of this bi-weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. They say they are always going to love each other. First of all, half of the vision depicts their life before they broke up, but it’s still different. SEBASTIAN watches MIA perform at the night of her play, her roommates and LAURA and HARRY are there, too. P. 67–68 SEBASTIAN is at the engagement party of LAURA and HARRY. SEBASTIAN is disappointed, returns to his car which was across the party. She sees SEBASTIAN playing the keybord-guitar in the band and requests to play ‘I ran’. MIA haggles and shakes hands with the owner of a BLACK-BOX THEATER for her play. P. 43–45 MIA reads her play for SEBASTIAN and he loves it although MIA is not sure if people will like it. Then, she returns to reality realizing that it was foolish to expect Sebastian to only focus on her instead of her dream and that things were better this way. The idea of going to the movies with SEBASTIAN cheers her up a little bit. They break into a song — a lovely night- and sing about this while they obviously feel something brewing. For those folks who volunteer to write a scene-by-scene breakdown, beyond your name being noted here, my thanks, and your own personal dose of creative juju, you will learn something about story structure and further develop this important skill set. READ MORE: How ‘La La Land’ Cinematographer Linus Sandgren Taught His Cameras to Dance. Another thing which people are quick to assume is that the film has a sad ending. The best thing we can do is focusing on our dreams and believe in them. She realized that her relationship with Sebastian wasn’t going to work and that what she really needed to do was work hard to fulfill her dream. SEBASTIAN turns the offer down. MIA and DAVID leave after the song is finished. That is, some things we see in the vision wouldn’t have happened, them being together or not. ( Log Out /  P. 41 A series of glimpses follow with MIA and SEBASTIAN showing how they spend time with each other. Copyright © 2020 Penske Business Media, LLC. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. P. 6–8 MIA goes home exhausted. “‘La La Land’ is trying to straddle two different tones and find a happy medium,” said Chazelle. She ignores a call from her mom and leaves work early to audition for a CASTING DIRECTOR. SEBASTIAN is excited but MIA is not going because she doubts she’s good enough. ... P. 73–74 MIA shows up in the morning and drives back with SEBASTIAN to LA to the audition. P. 2 Morning rush hour on the 101 Freeway, cars are at a standstill. “Damien always talked about trying to accentuate those moments by having the editing style of the movie different in other scenes. Moreover, we don’t know anything about Sebastian’s new life. TRACY wants a role in it but it’s a one-woman show. However, some of the alternative scenes are irrelevant with that. This week: La La Land. P. 24–29 SEBASTIAN visits MIA at the coffee shop and after her shift they wander on the lot. P. 62 People are shuffling into the theater. Well it’s a really strong start in my opinion. After she leaves, he practices the same Thelonious Monk song we heard in his car that morning, over and over, till he gets it right. MIA visits a party where a 80s cover band plays. Suddenly, she hears hers and SEBASTIAN’S song and the tune stirs something deep within her, which she can’t deny any longer, and she runs out of the restaurant to the theater. “We didn’t really have that to fall back on with ‘La La Land. The Filmmaker Toolkit podcast is available on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and Google Play Music. She and SEBASTIAN look at one another for a moment. A scene-by-scene breakdown creates a foundation for even deeper analysis of the story. They leave for the GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY and sneak in. From an editing perspective, there couldn’t be two films more different than Damien Chazelle’s “Whiplash” and his “La La Land.” While both feature musical performances, “La La Land” is anchored by gliding, well-choreographed musical numbers, while “Whiplash” is driven by hard-pounding percussive cutting, for which editor Tom Cross won the Oscar for Best Editing. So, they both live their dreams and Mia at least seems to have found the man of her life. If you’re not convinced, remember that the last part of the vision, where the couple gets out of the traffic jam and walks to the club, exists only in Mia’s memory so it can’t be that Sebastian is imagining an alternative version of it when he never experienced the original one in the first place. She goes home humiliated. Change ). P. 46–48 SEBASTIAN visit KEITH and his combo in their rehearsal space. The theater was less than a quarter full and SEBASTIAN’s seat was empty. La-La Land is an idiom for a place that is out of touch with reality. In order to become the actress she dreamt of, several things had to happen first; hard work for her first role, commercial and critical success of the movie, interest from other studios/filmmakers, etc. SEBASTIAN plays jazz at a club in Paris while MIA is shooting her movie. MIA is hurt. It’s possible that he has a new girlfriend too. P. 37–39 SEBASTIAN is thrilled to see MIA. He has worked there before. MIA is struck by the song. The combo plays modern jazz with an electronic feel. SEBASTIAN does as told but his thoughts are elsewhere and he watches his watch. P. 69–72 SEBASTIAN shows up at MIA home with news from the casting director. MIA works on her play in a cafe. SEBASTIAN thougt that MIA wanted him to be doing what he does but MIA wanted him to have a steady job so that he could support himself and start his own club. I have read and discussed about several interpretations of it during the last few days and finally I believe I understand what the meaning is. Everyone joins in, circling the pool, singing and dancing. Now is YOUR chance to contribute to this most worthy cause and provide an additional resource for the online screenwriting community. The place is filled with people and MIA is also there, proud of him. She tells herself she can do this. Part of the unique challenge was that Chazelle shot all of the musical numbers in well-choreographed, long takes. It isn’t his style but at least the guys can play. P. 46 SEBASTIAN overhears snatches of MIA’s voice in the other room, she’s talking to her mom and tells about her one-woman play which is going to pay for herself and that SEBASTIAN is going to open a jazz club but he has to get the money together first. Finally, they lock lips. The audience loves it. MIA shares how long she has been dating GREG, how she got into acting and that’s the only thing she really wants, how she wrote her own plays when she was young and how she’s still doing auditions. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. She looks around and at SEBASTIAN and doesn’t recognize him. I’ve only had discussions with friends about such things before. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-By-Scene BreakdownTuesday: PlotWednesday: CharactersThursday: ThemesFriday: DialogueSaturday: Takeaways. ‘Soul’ Aims for Oscar Glory as Disney Shifts to Streaming, but Not All Films Deserve the Same Release, How Closed Theaters, Drive-In Movies, and Netflix Supremacy Are Shaping Oscar Season, ‘Chicago 7’ Vs. the World: How Aaron Sorkin’s Awards-Friendly Epic Jolted a Strange Awards Season, Introducing ‘Deep Dive’: Damon Lindelof and His Team Go Behind the Scenes of ‘Watchmen’, ‘Succession’: How Editing Helps Every Dinner Scene Come to Life — Deep Dive, Becoming Hooded Justice: The ‘Watchmen’ Craft Team Analyzes the Emotional, Pivotal Scene – Deep Dive, 40 Must-See New Movies to See This Fall Season, The Best Movies Eligible for the 2021 Oscars Right Now, Jessie Buckley Won’t Explain ‘Ending Things,’ but She Will Reveal What Terrified Her Most. SEBASTIAN tries to talk her over and says he’ll wait for her when he’s going back tomorrow. When they are about to kiss, the screen goes blank. ( Log Out /  They dance at nighttime Paris. His boss reminds him to stick to the set list. “La La Land,” on the other hand, was a much longer edit that required a great deal of experimenting. A lot of those people are told by people around them that they’re crazy, or that they’re living in la la land. Her mother doesn’t really understand the idea of a call-back and thinks she’s going to be on TV. This song, specifically, explores just … “The first version of the movie that Emma Stone saw, the first version we test screened publicly didn’t have that opening.”. Perhaps he’s falling in love but there is also uncertainty if his dream will sustain. MIA leaves. Remember that her life with Sebastian was relatively easy and they had plenty of time for each other. This is actually the general meaning of the film and it also applies to the case where the vision is Mia’s. It’s a kiss to remember. I wanted to make a movie that saluted them a little bit, and that kind of unrealistic state of mind.” Chazelle wrote La La Land in 2010, after having made the jazz musical …