The film La La Land tells the story of Mia, an aspiring actress played by Emma Stone, and Sebastian, a jazz pianist played by Ryan Gosling, both of them struggling artists in Los Angeles. The musical was written and directed by Damien Chazelle in collaboration with composer Justin Hurwitz. It’s the third film they’ve made together, and the follow-up to the Oscar-winning film Whiplash. In this episode, Justin Hurwitz breaks down a song from the film sung by Emma Stone; it’s called “Audition (The Fools Who Dream).” Plus, some thoughts from Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who wrote the lyrics.
This episode is part of a series I’m doing over the next few months, highlighting awards-worthy film music. These awards episodes are presented in partnership with New York Magazine’s site Vulture. For more, go to vulture.com/awards.
Buy “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” or the entire official soundtrack on iTunes.
La La Land trailer
For a transcript of this episode, click here.
