Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone in “Whiplash” Director’s “La La Land” Musical Jumps into Oscar Race

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Reviews are in this morning from the Venice press screening for Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land.” And they are terrific across the board.

Chazelle’s first film was “Whiplash,” at age 28 and now two years later, he’s apparently outdone himself.

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone soar in this dreamy, romantic musical that The Guardian likened to Woody Allen’s “Everyone Says I Love You.” J.K. Simmons, who won an Oscar for “Whiplash,” is featured, along with actual singer John Legend.

“La La Land” becomes the first real Oscar race entry, although there are some others floating out there. The Oscar season has begun.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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