Damien Chazelle: Difference between revisions
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'''Damien Chazelle''' (born January 19, 1985) is an American screenwriter and film director. His second film as a director, ''[[Whiplash (2014 film)|Whiplash]]'', was released in 2014 to wide acclaim.<ref name="'Metacritic Reviews of Whiplash">{{cite news|title='Metacritic Reviews of "Whiplash"|url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/whiplash/critic-reviews}}</ref> |
'''Damien Chazelle''' (born January 19, 1985) is an French-American screenwriter and film director. His second film as a director, ''[[Whiplash (2014 film)|Whiplash]]'', was released in 2014 to wide acclaim.<ref name="'Metacritic Reviews of Whiplash">{{cite news|title='Metacritic Reviews of "Whiplash"|url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/whiplash/critic-reviews}}</ref> |
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==Personal life== |
==Personal life== |
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Revision as of 15:44, 5 January 2015
Damien Chazelle | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 19, 1985 |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter |
| Spouse | Jasmine McGlade (m. 2010 - present) |
| Parent(s) | Bernard Chazelle Celia Chazelle |
Damien Chazelle (born January 19, 1985) is an French-American screenwriter and film director. His second film as a director, Whiplash, was released in 2014 to wide acclaim.[1]
Personal life
Chazelle was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on January 19, 1985. He is the son of Celia (Martin), a writer, and French-born computer scientist Bernard Chazelle. Filmmaking was his earliest ambition, but he subsequently wanted to be a musician, and struggled to make it as a jazz drummer in high school. Chazelle has said he had an intense music teacher, who was the inspiration for the character of Terence Fletcher in Chazelle's breakout film, Whiplash. Unlike the film's protagonist Andrew Neyman, however, Chazelle stated that he knew instinctively he never had the talent to be a great musician, and after high school, pursued filmmaking again, describing it as his first love.[2] He attended Harvard University, where he met and married Jasmine McGlade, also a screenwriter, director and producer, in 2010.[3]
Film career
Chazelle's debut as a writer and director was the film Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench. He shared screenplay credit with director Ed Gass-Donnelly on The Last Exorcism Part II, 2013. He is also credited as the screenwriter on 2013's Grand Piano, a thriller that has an anxious pianist dealing with a death threat during a concert. Chazelle has stated in interviews that he was working as a 'writer for hire' but had the ambition to direct his own script. Chazelle described Whiplash as a writing reaction to being stuck on another script. 'I just thought, that's not working, let me put it away and write this thing about being a jazz drummer in high school.' He stated he initially did not want to show the script around, as it felt too personal, and "I put it in a drawer."[2]
Whiplash gained interest from producers, but nobody initially wanted to make the film.[4] Chazelle's 85 page script was featured on Black List in 2012 as one of the best unmade films of that year; it was eventually picked up by producers, including Helen Estabrook, who suggested J.K. Simmons for the role of the antagonist, Terence Fletcher. A short film, made as proof of concept, was accepted at the Sundance Film Festival 2013; financing was raised for the film, and in 2014 it was released to an overwhelmingly positive critical reaction.[1]
Whiplash won the Sundance Film Festival Short Prize in 2013 as a short[5] and in 2014 the top audience and grand jury awards in the U.S. dramatic competition as a full-length feature film.[6] The film also took the grand prize and the audience award for favorite film at the 40th Deauville American Film Festival.[7]
References
- ^ a b "'Metacritic Reviews of "Whiplash"".
- ^ a b "Damien Chazelle interview, Blacklist".
- ^ "Damien Chazelle at IMDB".
- ^ "'Whiplash' Is Sundance's Hottest Film, A Music-Themed Drama Starring Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons".
- ^ Bahr, Lindsey (May 14, 2013). "'Whiplash': Sundance-winning short to become full-length feature -- BREAKING". Entertainment Weekly. CNN. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
- ^ Zeitchik, Steven; Mark Olsen (January 25, 2014). "Sundance 2014 winners: 'Whiplash' wins big". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
- ^ Richford, Rhonda. "'Whiplash' Takes Top Prize in Deauville". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 13, 2014.