'La La Land' by Damien Chazelle to open the 73rd Venice Film Festival
Damien Chazelle's "La La Land" will be the opening film at this year's 73rd Venice International Film Festival.
A modern take on the classic Hollywood romance, "La La Land" will tell the story of two dreamers as they struggle to make ends meet whille still pursuing their passions.
The film stars Emma Stone as Mia, an aspiring actress who earns a living serving coffee to movie stars in between auditions, and Ryan Gosling as Sebastian, a jazz musician who survives by playing cocktail piano gigs in dingy bars.
As they begin to find success they find that the dreams they worked so hard to make come true are the very thing threatening to tear them apart.
The movie also stars John Legend and J.K. Simmons, who won an Oscar for his role in Chazelle's 2014 film "Whiplash."
Chazelle commented on the news saying, "On behalf of the cast and crew of La La Land, I am both thrilled and honored by the festival's invitation. It is deeply humbling for us to join the company of their previous opening night films, and we could not be more excited to share our movie with the audience in Venice".
The film will have its world premiere screening on August 31 in the Sala Grande at the Palazzo del Cinema on the Lido di Venezia.
The 73rd Venice International Film Festival will run from August 31 to September 10, 2016.
