Coming up on Saturday at the Described Movies: La La Land, and Moonlight.
From this Saturday at 12am Eastern, that’s 4pm Saturday in NZ, 2pm in Sydney and 5am in the UK, and repeated every four hours throughout the day, it’s the described movies La La Land from 2016, and Moonlight from 2016.
La La Land is a 2016 American musical romance film written and directed by Damien Chazelle.
It stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress, respectively, who meet and fall in love while pursuing their dreams in Los Angeles.
John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt, Finn Wittrock, and J. K. Simmons appear in supporting roles.
Having been fond of musicals during his time as a drummer, Chazelle first conceptualized the film alongside Justin Hurwitz while attending Harvard University together.
After moving to Los Angeles in 2010, Chazelle penned the script but did not find a studio willing to finance the production without changes to his design.
After the success of his film Whiplash (2014), the project was picked up by Summit Entertainment.
Miles Teller and Emma Watson were originally slated to star, but after both dropped out Gosling and Stone were cast.
Filming took place in Los Angeles between August and September 2015, with the film's score composed by Hurwitz and the dance choreography by Mandy Moore.
La La Land premiered at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival on 31 August 2016 and was theatrically released in the United States on 9 December 2016.
The film was a commercial success, grossing $448 million worldwide on a production budget of $30 million, and received widespread critical acclaim with praise directed at Chazelle's screenplay and direction, the performances of Gosling and Stone, score, musical numbers, cinematography, and production design.
It went on to receive numerous accolades.
It won a record-breaking seven awards from its seven nominations at the 74th Golden Globes and received eleven nominations at the 70th British Academy Film Awards, winning five, including Best Film.
The film also received a record-tying fourteen nominations at the 89th Academy Awards, winning in six categories, including Best Actress for Stone and Best Director for Chazelle.
In the latter category, Chazelle became the youngest winner at age 32.
Directed by: Damien Chazelle.
Written by: Damien Chazelle.
Produced by: Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz, Gary Gilbert, and Marc Platt.
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt, Finn Wittrock, and J. K. Simmons.
Cinematography: Linus Sandgren.
Edited by: Tom Cross.
Music by: Justin Hurwitz.
Production companies: Summit Entertainment, Gilbert Films, Marc Platt Productions, Impostor Pictures , and Black Label Media.
Distributed by: Lionsgate.
Release dates: 31 August 2016 ( Venice), and 9 December 2016 (United States).
File Length: 128 minutes.
Country: United States.
Language: English.
Budget: $30 million.
Box office: $448.9 million.
Moonlight is a 2016 American coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Barry Jenkins, based on Tarell Alvin McCraney's unpublished semi-autobiographical play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.
The film stars Trevante Rhodes, André Holland, Janelle Monáe, Ashton Sanders, Jharrel Jerome, Naomie Harris, and Mahershala Ali.
The film presents three stages in the life of the main character: his childhood, adolescence, and early adult life.
It explores the difficulties he faces with his sexuality and identity, including the physical and emotional abuse he endures growing up.
Filmed in Miami, Florida, beginning in 2015, Moonlight premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on 2 September 2016.
It was released in the United States on 21 October 2016, by A24, receiving universal acclaim and grossing over $65 million worldwide.
Moonlight has been cited as one of the best films of the 21st century.
The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, along with Best Supporting Actor for Ali and Best Adapted Screenplay for Jenkins and McCraney from a total of eight nominations, at the 89th Academy Awards.
It became the first LGBTQ film with an all-black cast and the second lowest-grossing film domestically (behind The Hurt Locker) to win the Oscar for Best Picture.
Joi McMillon became the first black woman to be nominated for an editing Oscar, and Ali became the first Muslim to win an acting Oscar.
Directed by: Barry Jenkins.
Screenplay by: Barry Jenkins.
Story by: Tarell Alvin McCraney.
Produced by: Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner, and Jeremy Kleiner.
Starring: Trevante Rhodes, André Holland, Janelle Monáe, Ashton Sanders, Jharrel Jerome, Naomie Harris, and Mahershala Ali.
Cinematography: James Laxton.
Edited by: Nat Sanders, and Joi McMillon.
Music by: Nicholas Britell.
Production Companies: A24, Plan B Entertainment, and Pastel Productions.
Distributed by: A24.
Release dates: 2 September 2016 ( Telluride) and 21 October 2016 (United States).
File Length: 106 minutes.
Country: United States.
Language: English.
Budget: $1.5 million.
Box office: $65.3 million.
Any questions, comments, or ideas for future described movies: e-mail me: anthony at mushroomfm dot com (e-mail address written that way to cut down on
spam)
Enjoy the movies,