‘Babylon’ First Reactions: Damien Chazelle Has Either Made A “Disaster” Or An Oscar Contender

It’s rare that a sequel competes in the International Oscar category, especially when the first part didn’t get selected. It’s a measure of Erik Matti’s latest film that, though it follows on from 2013’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight title On the Job—or rather, starts in the aftermath—this second instalment stands alone. “The big difference between the two,” said Matti, “is that the first one was set in urban Manila, and the second one is set in the countryside of the Philippines, just to show two contrasts that exist within both worlds.”

During my time working in a cinema, we used to joke that we needed our reality show. From making popcorn, shifting candy, getting stocklists, making sure the projectors are set, climbing up on a marquee to make sure it is up to date, joking about the things that you find while ushing, and the pure rush of adrenaline when you’re selling out showtimes left and right, a unique bond is formed behind the concession stand at a movie theater.

The Best Picture field is narrowing. Well, to be honest, there have always been a bunch of unlikely players in the mix, but with the recent screenings of Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon” and Antoine Fuqua’s “Emancipation,” the list of ten likely nominees is getting a bit clearer.

UPDATED, 12:02 p.m.: Paramount has unveiled a new trailer for Babylon — the latest awards contender from filmmaker Damien Chazelle, which opens wide on December 23rd.

Coming into awards season, many people were buzzing about Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon.” And why wouldn’t they? The filmmaker’s previous films were all awards darlings. But when the first social media reactions were released, it was clear that “Babylon” isn’t as universally beloved as Chazelle’s previous efforts.

“Aftersun”“All Quiet on the Western Front” (international)“All That Breathes” (documentary)“All the Old Knives”“Amsterdam”“Argentina, 1985” (international)“Armageddon Time”“Athena”“The Automat” (documentary)“Bad Guys” (animated)“The Banshees of Inisherin”“The Batman”“Beba” (documentary)“Bitterbrush” (documentary)“Blonde”“Breaking”“Brian and Charles”“Bros”“Bruiser”“Call Jane”“Catherine Called Birdy”“Cha Cha Real Smooth”“Charlotte” (animated)“Close” (international)“The Corridors of Power” (documentary)“Corsage” (international)“DC League of Super Pets” (animated)“Descendant” (documentary)“Decision to Leave” (international)“Doctor Strange”“Dog”“Don’t Worry Darling”“Downton Abbey: A New Era”“Elvis”“Emergency”“Emily”“Emily the Criminal”“Everything Everywhere All at Once”“The Exiles” (documentary)“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”“Fire of Love” (documentary)“Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” (documentary)“Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down” (documentary)“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”“Good Night Oppy” (documentary)“The Good Nurse”“The Greatest Beer Run Ever”“Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song” (documentary)“Holy Spider” (international)“Hustle”“In-Uoh” (animated)“The Inspection”“Is That Black Enough for You?!?” (documentary)“Jacir”“The Janes” (documentary)“A Jazzman’s Blues”“Killing Me Softly With His Songs” (documentary)“Lady Chatterly’s Lover”“Last Flight Home” (documentary)“Lightyear” (animated)“Loren & Rose”“Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues” (documentary)“A Love Song”“Luck” (animated)“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” (animated)“Marry Me”“Master”“Mr. Malcolm’s List”“Mrs.

Hardly any other movie of the past decade is as big, bawdy, and debaucherous as Martin Scorsese‘s “The Wolf Of Wall Street.” And Margot Robbie would know. Scorsese’s bananas banking biopic was the Australian actress’ stateside breakout.

Hardly any other movie of the past decade is as big, bawdy, and debaucherous as Martin Scorsese‘s “The Wolf Of Wall Street.” And Margot Robbie would know. Scorsese’s bananas banking biopic was the Australian actress’ stateside breakout.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon’s Alex Cross series has found its opening director.

Drug-induced decadence is nothing new in Los Angeles, but director Damien Chazelle sought to capture it in its extreme in Babylon, his exploration of 1920s Hollywood during the advent of the “talkies era.”

Still counting! Joy-Anna Duggar and her husband, Austin Forsyth, are gearing up to welcome another baby boy.

Academy Award winner Damien Chazelle’s audacious new film “Babylon” is out in the world. Or rather, the highly-anticipated movie, the last major Oscar contender of the year (Unless “Avatar 2” surprises), has been seen by critics in New York and LA, and the responses to the wild film have been dividing.

“Babylon,” the new film by Academy Award winner Damien Chazelle (“La La Land,” “First Man”), premiered Wednesday night in New York. As you’ve probably heard already, the film—a tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, tracing the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of rampant depravity in early Hollywood— has been met with polarizing responses.

Writing and directing a short is a potential passageway to creating a full-length feature film.

Paramount Pictures has unveiled the first stills from its Tom Brady film 80 for Brady — also starring Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Sally Field and many more — which opens wide on February 3.

One of the most anticipated presumed Oscar contenders, and one of the very few remaining to debut before year-end, dropped last night with the first screening of Academy Award winning director Damien Chazelle’s Babylon. Paramount’s big Christmas release, and hopeful awards magnet chose the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theatre for the unveiling in front of entertainment pundits, industry members, and most importantly guild and Oscar voters, a perfect venue with both sides of the massive screen bookended by those imposing large Oscar statues. In addition to the screening there was a post Q&A with Chazelle and stars Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, and Tobey Maguire followed by a dessert reception in the lobby.

Disney’s Margot Robbie-led Pirates of the Caribbean spinoff has been killed by the studio, per the Oscar-nominated actress.

IDFA is going wild for Wildcat.