Emma Stone Q&A: ‘La La Land’
“I was so excited by the fact it was an original musical because nobody had done it before,” proclaims Emma Stone about her new film “La La Land” opening this month nationwide. In our recent interview (watch above), she adds, “To know these characters were going to be creations of ours with Damien was really exciting to me. It’s not every day that you hear about an original musical that has that kind of nostalgia but is set in the modern day. I was drawn to it from the very beginning but had a zillion questions for Damien before I was able to go in whole hog.”
The Los Angeles-based movie directed by Damien Chazelle stars Stone as Mia, a constantly-auditioning actress. She meets Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a struggling jazz pianist, but it’s definitely not love at first sight. For their roles, both actors have been nominated at the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and Critics’ Choice Awards over the past few weeks.
Stone and Gosling were asked to improvise a lot during their prep time, and both had many hours of dance and song rehearsals. One of the highlights of the movie is her solo tune “Audition.” Of that moment, she says, “The lyrics to ‘Audition’ encompass the whole heart of the story, what it feels like to be a dreamer who feels almost deluded in their dreaming. The outside world isn’t necessarily saying, ‘OK great! Keep doing this,’ and can make you feel like a real fool. If that song is nominated at the Oscars, would she be willing to perform in front of the thousands in the theater as well as millions worldwide? Watch our interview as she dishes her in-depth answer (hint: she admits it “sends a cold chill up her spine”).
Stone is a previous Oscar, Globe, BAFTA and SAG nominee for her supporting role in “Birdman” (2014). She also had a Globe nomination for her comedy performance in “Easy A” (2010). She has two SAG film ensemble victories for “The Help” (2011) and “Birdman.” Other films in her career have included “Superbad” (2007), “Zombieland” (2009), “Crazy, Stupid, Love” (2011), “The Amazing Spider-Man” (2012), “Magic in the Moonlight” (2014), and the upcoming “Battles of the Sexes” as tennis champion Billie Jean King.
