Debunking the La La Land myth: movie musicals are not a risk

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La La Land’s actors, producers, and songwriters, plus director / screenwriter Damien Chazelle, all had plenty of time to talk about their movie at the Golden Globes last night. They were on stage to accept awards for the film seven times, a ceremony record. Emma Stone, receiving the award for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical, called the nostalgic classic Hollywood musical extravaganza a movie “for dreamers.” Damien Chazelle, accepting the award for Best Screenplay, thanked his producers for “not blanching at what must have seemed like an utterly insane proposition.” Later, when the producers accepted the award for Best Picture: Comedy or Musical, they called the idea of an original musical “an utter fantasy,” and thanked Lionsgate for “ignoring and dismissing all conventional wisdom” by financing it.

The overarching narrative of La La Land, as parroted at last night’s awards (and only slightly less potently throughout its press tour), is that it’s a wonder the film was ever made. Yes, original movie musicals are rare. It’s not often that a director as young as Chazelle is given such creative freedom. La La Land is a technical feat and a pretty good movie. But describing the miraculousness of its birth with reverence usually reserved for the Immaculate Conception is little more than awards-season mythologizing.

Musicals are not a risk, and Lionsgate financing La La Land doesn’t make the studio generous, optimistic, or an ally to creatives. It was a smart choice.

2016, you could argue, was the safest year in decades to release a movie musical. The year came off the heels of the not-unprecedented billion-dollar Hamilton phenomenon (how quickly did we all forget about Wicked?) and the steady return of the musical format on television (Glee, then Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Galavant, American Horror Story, and The Get Down).