Welcome back to A History of Film Festivals in 100 Movies - This is Episode 11.
Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench - by Damien Chazelle, and the Tribeca Film Festival (Now called Tribeca Film) - which took place this past June.
After this film had its World Premiere, along with its numerous accolades, Chazelle was on his way to a future indie smash at Sundance, box office success, and Oscar glory.
Tribeca Film was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in 2002 to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of Lower Manhattan following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Until 2020, the festival was known as the Tribeca Film Festival.
The Early Years
Damien Chazelle was born in Providence, Rhode Island to a Catholic family. His French-American father, Bernard Chazelle, is the Eugene Higgins Professor of computer science at Princeton University. His mother, Celia,is from an English-Canadian family based in Calgary, Alberta, and teaches medieval history at The College of New Jersey.
Chazelle was raised in Princeton, New Jersey, where, although a Catholic, he attended a Hebrew school for four years due to his parents' dissatisfaction with his religious education at a church Sunday school.
Chazelle has a sister, Anna Chazelle, who is an actress. Their English-born maternal grandfather, John Martin, is the son of stage actress Eileen Earle.
Filmmaking was Chazelle's first love, but he wanted to be a musician. He struggled to make it as a jazz drummer at Princeton High School. He has said that he had an intense music teacher in the Princeton High School Studio Band, who was the inspiration for the character of Terence Fletcher in Chazelle's breakout film Whiplash. Unlike the film's protagonist Andrew Neiman, Chazelle said that he knew instinctively that he never had the talent to be a great drummer and after high school, pursued filmmaking again. He studied filmmaking in the Visual and Environmental Studies department at Harvard University and graduated in 2007.
At Harvard, he lived in Currier House as roommates with composer and frequent collaborator Justin Hurwitz. The two were among the original members of the indie-pop group Chester French, formed during their freshman year.
Founding of Tribeca
The inaugural Tribeca Film Festival launched after 120 days of planning with the help of more than 1,300 volunteers. It was attended by more than 150,000 people
Each year, the festival hosts over 600 screenings with approximately 150,000 attendees, and awards independent artists in 23 juried competitive categories,
Co-founders Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal rally the troops at the first Tribeca Film Festival, founded in the shadow of September 11.
The Festival included juried narrative, documentary and short film competitions; a restored classics series; a best of New York series curated by Martin Scorsese; 13 major panel discussions; an all-day family festival; and the premieres of independent and studio films Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones - made independently,About A Boy,
The 2003 festival brought more than 300,000 people. The Festival showcased an expanded group of independent features, documentaries and short films from around the world, coupled with studio premieres, panel discussions, music and comedy concerts, a family festival, sports activities, and outdoor movie screenings along the Hudson River.
In an effort to serve its mission of bringing independent film to the widest possible audience, in 2006, the Festival expanded its reach in New York City and internationally. In New York City, Tribeca hosted screenings throughout Manhattan as the festival's 1,000-plus screening schedule outgrew the capacity downtown. Internationally, the Festival brought films to the Rome Film Festival. As part of the celebrations in Rome, Tribeca was awarded the first-ever "Steps and Stars" award, presented on the Spanish Steps. A total of 169 feature films and 99 shorts were selected from 4,100 film submissions, including 1,950 feature submissions, three times the total submissions from the first festival in 2002. The festival featured 90 world premieres, nine international premieres, 31 North American premieres, 6 U.S. premieres, and 28 New York City premieres.
The documentary Jesus Camp, which won a Special Jury Prize at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival, was later nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary.
The documentary Taxi to the Dark Side, which won Best Documentary Feature at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival won the Academy Award for Best Documentary.
Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench
That same year, Chazelle wrote and directed his debut feature, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, as part of his senior thesis project with classmate Justin Hurwitz at Harvard.
The film is an independent film shot in black-and-white in which the MGM musical tradition is reimagined in a gritty, vérité style. It stars Jason Palmer, Desiree Garcia and Sandha Khin. The film features a unique mixture of live jazz performances and choreographed tap dancing, as well as several more traditional musical numbers.
The film features a cast of non-professional actors, though several are accomplished in other fields. Jason Palmer, who plays Guy, is a noted jazz trumpeter who was named one of the Top 25 Trumpeters of the Future by Downbeat magazine in 2007, and was the first trumpet player to be hired by acclaimed guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel to perform with his quintet.
The film features all original music, composed by Justin Hurwitz with lyrics by Chazelle. The orchestral score was performed by the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, while the jazz numbers contained in the film were performed by the cast, often live. The soundtrack for the film Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released through digital download on March 24, 2017, by Milan Records.
The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 23, 2009. It went on to screen at the AFI Fest on October 30, 2009. It also screened at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Mar del Plata International Film Festival, Torino Film Festival (where it won the Special Jury Prize), Mill Valley Film Festival, Starz Denver Film Festival, Viennale, Sarajevo Film Festival, Calgary International Film Festival and many more. In March 2010, Variance Films acquired distribution rights to the film. The film was released in a limited release on November 5, 2010. The film was released on DVD by Cinema Guild on May 3, 2011.
Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench received positive reviews from film critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 23 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Bursting with scrappy energy and shot with preternatural skill, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench is an auspicious debut for director Damien Chazelle." On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 83 out of 100, based on eleven critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
The film premiered to a strong critical reception during its festival run. The Village Voice called the film "the kind of movie a young Cassavetes might have made were he working for MGM's Freed Unit". The Boston Globe called it "the most buzzed-about movie at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival". Time Out New York called it "blissful, brilliant", and noted "one sequence involving a tap dancer, a jam session, and a house party is arguably the most joyous five minutes you're likely to experience in a theater".
The Festival Comes of Age
The Tribeca Festival would continue to grow over the next few years. In 2009, Rosenthal, Hatkoff and De Niro were named number 14 on Barron's list of the world's top 25 philanthropists for their role in regenerating TriBeCa's economy after September 11.
Highlights include:
When We Leave, directed by Feo Aladag in 2010
She Monkeys, directed by Lisa Aschan in 2011
In 2011, L.A. Noire became the first video game to be recognized by the Tribeca Film Festival.
In 2012, The Canadian war drama War Witch, which won Best Narrative Feature and Best Actress in a Narrative Feature for nonprofessional actress Rachel Mwanza at the Festival, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Whiplash - From Short Winner to Feature Smash
Meanwhile, Chazelle had been working on a new script, drawing upon his experiences in a "very competitive" jazz band in high school. He completed the script in 2013. Soon after, Blumhouse helped Chazelle turn fifteen pages of the script into an eighteen-minute short film, also titled Whiplash. The short film received acclaim after debuting at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, winning the Jury prize in the Fiction category. The short would attract investors to produce the complete version of the script. Here is the link to the original short film on YouTube.
The feature version of Whiplash, based on his successful short, was released in 2014. The American psychological drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle, starring Miles Teller, J. K. Simmons, Paul Reiser, and Melissa Benoist. It focuses on an ambitious music student and aspiring jazz drummer (Teller), who is pushed to his limit by his abusive instructor (Simmons) at the fictional Shaffer Conservatory in New York City. The feature-length film was financed for $3.3 million by Bold Films.
Principal photography began in September 2013, with filming taking place throughout Los Angeles, including the Hotel Barclay, Palace Theater, and the Orpheum Theatre. The film was shot in nineteen days, with a schedule of fourteen hours of filming per day. Chazelle was involved in a serious car accident in the third week of filming and was hospitalized with a possible concussion, but he returned to set the following day to wrap the shoot on time.
Having taught himself to play drums at age fifteen, Teller performed much of the drumming seen in the film. Supporting actor and jazz drummer Nate Lang, who plays Teller's rival Carl in the film, trained Teller in the specifics of jazz drumming; this included changing his grip from "matched" to "traditional". For certain scenes, professional drummer Kyle Crane served as Teller's drum double.
The film was produced by Bold Films, Blumhouse Productions, and Right of Way Films. Sony Pictures acquired distribution rights for most of the world, releasing the film under Sony Pictures Classics in North America, Germany, and Australia, and Stage 6 Films in select international territories.
Whiplash premiered in competition at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 16, as the festival's opening film; it won the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize for drama. The film opened in limited release domestically in the United States and Canada on October 10, 2014, gradually expanding to over 500 screens and finally closing on March 26, 2015. Whiplash received acclaim for its screenplay, direction, editing, sound mixing, and performances. It grossed $49 million on a $3.3 million budget.
The film received multiple accolades, winning Academy Awards for Best Film Editing and Best Sound Mixing, and was nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. Simmons's performance won the Academy, BAFTA, Critics' Choice, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild awards for Best Supporting Actor. It has since been assessed as one of the best films of the 2010s, the 21st century and of all time.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film scored 94% based on 307 reviews, with an average rating of 8.6/10. The site's critical consensus states, "Intense, inspiring, and well-acted, Whiplash is a brilliant sophomore effort from director Damien Chazelle and a riveting vehicle for stars J. K. Simmons and Miles Teller." On Metacritic the film has a score of 89 out of 100, based on reviews from 49 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".Simmons received wide praise for his performance and won the 2015 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
La La Land
Thanks to the success of Whiplash, Chazelle was able to attract financiers for his musical romantic drama La La Land. It stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress who meet and fall in love while pursuing their dreams in Los Angeles. The supporting cast includes John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt, Finn Wittrock, and J. K. Simmons.
The film opened the Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2016, and began a limited release in the United States on December 9, 2016, with a wider release on December 16, 2016. It received universal acclaim and numerous awards. The film emerged as a major commercial success, grossing $472 million worldwide on a budget of $30 million, and received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for Chazelle's direction and screenplay, the performances of Gosling and Stone, the score, musical numbers, cinematography, visual style, costumes and production design.
It went on to receive numerous accolades, including winning a record seven awards at the 74th Golden Globe Awards and received eleven nominations at the 70th British Academy Film Awards, winning five, including Best Film. The film also received a record-tying fourteen nominations at the 89th Academy Awards, winning in six categories including Best Director and Best Actress (Stone). In the former category, Chazelle became the youngest winner at age 32. It has since been regarded as one of the best films of the 2010s, the 21st century, and one of the best musical and romantic films of all time. A stage musical adaptation is in the works.
First Man
Chazelle next directed the biographical drama First Man (2018) for Universal Pictures. The project was originally announced in 2003, with Clint Eastwood slated to direct. But he dropped out, and Chazelle signed on. With a screenplay by Josh Singer, the biopic is based on author James R. Hansen's First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong, written about the astronaut.[31][32] The film starred Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong and Claire Foy as Janet Armstrong. The film received positive reviews
First Man had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 29, 2018, and was released in the United States on October 12, by Universal Pictures. The film received critical acclaim, particularly regarding the direction, Gosling and Foy's performances, musical score, and the Moon landing sequence. Before the film's release, the filmmakers' choice not to depict the planting of the U.S. flag on the lunar surface led some commentators to criticize the film for a lack of patriotism.
Despite the rave reviews from critics, notable cast and crew, and $59 million production budget, the film underperformed at the box office, grossing $105.7 million worldwide.
Tribeca and the Pandemic
The 19th Tribeca Film Festival, originally scheduled for April 15–26, 2020, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the weeks and months that followed, Tribeca launched several digital offerings to highlight filmmakers and creators who had hoped to premiere their latest works at the spring gathering. It provided a secure digital platform for 2020 Festival films seeking distribution to be viewed by press and industry and hosted a virtual gathering space for Tribeca N.O.W. Creators Market.
In response to the global pandemic, Tribeca organized We Are One in partnership with YouTube, a free 10-day digital festival that provided entertainment and connection for audiences at home and raised international COVID-19 relief funds. The program was co-curated by 21 of the top international film festivals including Cannes, Sundance, TIFF, and Venice and showcased over 100 hours of shorts, features, talks, and music to an audience of 1.9 million people in 179 countries.
In July 2020, Tribeca launched one of the first large scale pop-up drive-in series across the country to provide audiences with entertainment in a safe, socially-distanced environment. Screenings took place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, Dallas Cowboys AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Orchard Beach in the Bronx neighborhood of New York and Nickerson Beach in Nassau County, New York.
Babylon
Babylon is a 2022 American epic historical black comedy drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It features an ensemble cast that includes Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, P. J. Byrne, Lukas Haas, Olivia Hamilton, Max Minghella, Rory Scovel, Katherine Waterston, and Tobey Maguire. It chronicles the rise and fall of multiple characters during Hollywood's transition from silent to sound films in the late 1920s.
Filming was originally set to take place in California in mid-2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It began on July 1, 2021 and wrapped on October 21, 2021.Shea's Castle was used for the exterior shots of the mansion in the opening party scene, and interiors were shot inside the Ace Hotel Los Angeles. The movie ranch, Blue Sky Ranch, served as Kinescope Studios.
Babylon premiered at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Los Angeles on November 14, 2022, and was released in the United States on December 23, 2022. It was met with a polarized response from critics and was a box-office bomb, grossing $63 million against a production budget of $78–80 million and losing Paramount $87 million. It received five nominations at the 80th Golden Globe Awards (including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, winning Best Original Score), three nominations at the 76th British Academy Film Awards, and three nominations at the 95th Academy Awards.
2024 Tribeca Festival
A whopping 13,016 films were submitted for consideration this year, with 103 features selected for inclusion. Among Tribeca’s 2024 lineup are 30 films from first-time filmmakers. Half of the films in competition were directed by women.
One of the highlights this year had to be Denirocon - to honor the 80th Birthday of Tribeca cofounder, Robert Dinero.
A career-spanning exhibit celebrating 80 years of Robert De Niro with over 300 items primarily sourced from his personal archive including rare images and video, annotated scripts, costumes, research materials, and storyboards. Plus, a first-of-its-kind short film De Niro, New York produced by Little Cinema and showcased within the Hexadome, a cutting-edge structure and format crafted by Berlin's Institute for Sound and Music.
Life after Babylon
And next up for Damian, well he’s working on a script, but knows, after Babylon, he will be on a tighter leash. As he said on the Talking Pictures podcast, with Ben Mankiewicz
“I’ve been head in the sand. I’ve been sort of busy writing. So I’ll get a real taste of how it’s changed or not [since ‘Babylon’] once I get to finish this script and try to actually get it made…I’m in a sort of trepidatious state of mind, but I have no illusions. I won’t get a budget of ‘Babylon’ size any time soon, or at least not on this next one.”
I’m sure he’ll be back with a better movie. He’s too smart, and too creative to too strong a filmmaker not to rise above the Babalon debacle.
And that’s a wrap for this edition of A History of Film Festivals in 100 Movies,
Episode 11 Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench - by Damien Chazelle, and the Tribeca Film Festival
Resources
Episode 11: Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench - Damien Chazelle