Published Date: 03/01/2023

Damien Chazelle on his new film Babylon, starring Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt

A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, Babylon the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.

After Whiplash (2014), La La Land (2016) and First Man (2018) director Damien Chazelle returns with Babylon, a film that he has been dreaming about since he moved to Hollywood some 15 years ago.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, Chazelle explained that “the basic idea was just to do a big, epic, multi-character movie, set in these early days of Los Angeles and Hollywood, when both of these things were coming into what we now think of them as. I kept putting it off, because it was just a little too massive.”

Writing the screenplay finally began in earnest after the release of First Man (2018) and progressed to a go project when Chazelle cast Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) co-stars Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie as his stars. Pitt’s character, Jack Conrad, a rugged movie star, based on film legends Clark Gable and Douglas Fairbanks, who can see the days when he was the king of Hollywood are on the wane.

Nellie LaRoy, played by Margot Robbie, is an aspiring actress newly arrived in Hollywood and looking to make her mark.

Chazelle has brought together a supporting cast that includes Diego Calva, Tobey Maguire, Max Minghella, Jean Smart and Li Jun Li. To help recreate the Golden Era of Hollywood, Chazelle has reunited with the Oscar recognised La La Land team of cinematographer Linus Sandgram, editor Tom Cross, composer Justin Hurwitz, composer Mary Zophres and producer Marc Platt.
Chazelle explained, “I wanted to capture just how big and bold and brash and unapologetic that world was.”

Babylon looks big, bold, brash and beautiful, just how we like our big screen adventures. We cannot wait to welcome the new Damien Chazelle extravaganza to our big screens.

Babylon opens at Showcase Cinemas January 20. Book your tickets here

Watch the trailer