“La La Land” has sparked intense debate ever since it was first released in December, but it’s hard to deny its appeal among critics and moviegoers alike. Now, after sweeping the Golden Globes, the modern-day musical is up for a record-tying 14 Oscar nominations, a record previously set by “Titanic” and “All About Eve.”
Producers have composer Justin Hurwitz to thank for much of this film’s success. Hurwitz scored two of the five nominations for Best Original Song – the composer’s “City of Stars” and “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” are both up for nominations.
At the Telluride Film Festival last September, Hurwitz discussed his music from “La La Land” and his creative process when it comes to composing themes with The Frame. In addition to talking about what it was like to work with director Damien Chazelle, the composer revealed his favorite song from the musical.
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“That song, ‘Audition (The Fools Who Dream),’ is the most special song to me because I feel like I composed it from a very pure place. I was just sitting at the piano composing, I wasn’t really listening to a lot at the time — I really had no preconceived models or notions about the song, I was just sitting down at the piano to compose. I knew from [director] Damien [Chazelle] what the song was supposed to be about and what the emotion and the scene were supposed to be, and from that point on I was just composing,” Hurwitz said.
“It came out really quickly, and in fact I think it was basically the first idea. I feel like ‘Audition’ as a song, compositionally, is the most who I am. If I had to pick one song in the movie that just feels like my voice as a composer and an orchestrator, it would be that song,” he added.
For a bonus conversation, check out Hurwitz’s conversation with writer Jon Burlingame for Soundworks Collection where he goes into more detail about the collaborative process behind “La La Land,” and how he got his start writing music in college.