Watch: Damien Chazelle Rehearses 'La La Land' Opening Number on His iPhone, Plus Gosling Piano Solos
Yes, that's really Ryan Gosling playing those piano solos.
Damien Chazelle, director of La La Land, has released two new videos that show the intricate processes and talent that fueled the 14-time Oscar-nominated film.
The spectacular first video features never-before-seen footage of the rehearsal for “Another Day of Sun,” La La Land's six-minute opening number, which takes place on a highway gridlocked with cars. Chazelle filmed the rehearsal on his iPhone, telling USA Today that it became his "bible" for the scene's complex choreography.
"The dance and the camera work—it was sort of a chicken-and-egg problem," said Chazelle. "They had to be formulated at the same time." Chazelle convinced the city of Los Angeles to shut down the highway ramp in order to film the number.
The second video confirms that Ryan Gosling did, in fact, master the piano for his Oscar-nominated role in La La Land. Variety's behind-the-scenes supercut shows the Best Actor hopeful playing and rehearsing his multiple piano solos, including the spectacular “Start a Fire” with John Legend.
According to Chazelle, Gosling spent three months undergoing intensive piano lessons to train for the role. Even though there was a professionally-trained piano player hand double on set as a backup, Gosling successfully performed all of his piano solos on set.
Watch more behind-the-scenes footage of La La Land here.
