Exclusive: Explore the fast-paced dialogue for the period piece starring Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, and Diego Calva.
Academy Award winner Damien Chazelle is back on the awards circuit with his ode to Old Hollywood, “Babylon.”
The star-studded ensemble film charts the chaos, glory, and mayhem of the City of Angels during the transition between silent films and talkies. Set in the 1920s, “Babylon” immortalizes the A-listers of today by placing them in the context of yesterday’s golden era. Brad Pitt stars as world-weary aging film icon Jack Conrad, who crosses paths with rising starlet Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie) as she does whatever it takes to reach stardom. The foray into fictionalized film history is told through the eyes of both “Babylon” and real-life Hollywood newcomer Diego Calva, who plays aspiring filmmaker Manny Torres. Outsider Manny’s true love is cinema, and he flirts with the elusive art form as the entire industry is turned on its head.
As an IndieWire exclusive, you can now read the full screenplay for Chazelle’s “Babylon” here.
The film also stars Samara Weaving, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, and Jean Smart, plus Katherine Waterston, Olivia Wilde, Spike Jonze, Lukas Haas, Jovan Adepo, Tobey Maguire (who additionally executive produces), and Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea. Max Minghella is playing the only true real-life figure included in the historical fiction feature, studio exec Irving Thalberg.
“Babylon” has already racked up a Golden Globes win for Best Original Score while garnering nominations at upcoming awards ceremonies. Critics Choice nominations for writer-director Chazelle and star Robbie are among the many nods, as well as Best Picture, Best Editing, Cinematography, and Score. The SAG Awards also recognized “Babylon” among the Outstanding Cast Performance for a Motion Picture nominees.
Writer-director Chazelle called “Babylon” an ode to the “wild West” of the Roaring Twenties that has been in the works for close to 15 years. Chazelle told IndieWire’s Anne Thompson that he had to “take a machete” to the extensive research and notes he compiled for over a decade to finally craft “Babylon.” The original script was a whopping 180 pages long, with Chazelle admitting he “cheated with the margins” and that the script was closer to 220 pages prior to formatting changes.
Its length led to multiple studios passing on the project despite “Whiplash” and “La La Land” director Chazelle’s Oscar wins. Paramount eventually came on board. Yet even star Pitt was surprised at how much of the lengthy script made it into the final cut, with Chazelle comparing the film’s pacing to a jazz score.
“You know Damien’s films; there’s a rhythm — a syncopation — to the scenes,” Pitt said in a recent interview. “The way he puts it together and doles out the information. There’s always this kind of movement that I think comes from his early days as a jazz drummer. I find that I’m looking for that in life, you know? We all need to find the music in the day.”
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
