Though it feels like an ice age has come and gone, it wasn’t so long ago that writer/director Damien Chazelle became Hollywood’s golden boy. After making a name for himself with 2014’s “Whiplash,” Chazelle solidified his reputation as Tinseltown’s favorite young filmmaker with the 2016 megahit musical “La La Land,” which earned nearly $450 million at the box office and a record-tying fourteen Oscar nominations. Now, at the ripe age of 37 years old, Chazelle has put the final touches on his most ambitious project yet.
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Chazelle’s fourth feature, “Babylon,” looks like the kind of elaborate period piece that major directors at the height of their powers traditionally can’t resist. The film is set in 1920s Hollywood, during the thick of the Jazz Age. Though virtually zero plot details have been revealed, the official synopsis indicates it will focus on “a mixture of historical and fictional characters” as it explores “the transition from silent films to talkies.”
The cast, of course, is star-studded. Though top billing will go to the relatively unknown Mexican actor Diego Calva (“Narcos: Mexico“), the most eye-catching names on the call sheet are probably Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, the latter of whom will portray the famous actress Clara Bow. Other prominent players include Max Minghella as super-producer Irving Thalberg and Tobey Maguire as the legendary Charlie Chaplin, not to mention Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, P.J. Byrne, Lukas Haas, Olivia Hamilton, Max Minghella, Rory Scovel, Katherine Waterston, Flea, Jeff Garlin, Eric Roberts, Ethan Suplee, Samara Weaving and Olivia Wilde.
Here’s the official synopsis:
From Damien Chazelle, BABYLON is an original epic set in 1920s Los Angeles led by Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Diego Calva, with an ensemble cast including Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li and Jean Smart. A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.
Aside from the buzzy arrival of Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” and Jordan Peele’s “Nope” earlier this summer, it’s been a relatively quiet year for splashy auteur projects from brand name directors. That’s due to change as awards season grows closer, with movies like Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” and James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” still on the way. For better or worse, Chazelle’s “Babylon” is firmly in that category as cinephiles salivate over what the wunderkind will do with his biggest budget yet (reportedly north of $100 million).
The film is scheduled for limited release on Christmas Day, December 25 and then goes wide January 6. In the meantime, watch the wild, debauched and new cocaine-fueled trailer below.