Damien Chazelle facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Damien Chazelle
Chazelle in 2014
Born	Damien Sayre Chazelle (1985-01-19) January 19, 1985 (age 40) Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
Citizenship	France United States
Alma mater	Harvard University
Occupation	Film director screenwriter producer
Years active	2008–present
Spouse(s)	Jasmine McGlade ​ ​ (m. 2010; div. 2014)​ Olivia Hamilton ​ (m. 2018)​
Children	2
Parent(s)	Bernard Chazelle Celia Chazelle
Awards	Full list
Signature

Damien Sayre Chazelle (born January 19, 1985) is a filmmaker from France and the United States. He is known for directing popular movies like Whiplash (2014), La La Land (2016), First Man (2018), and Babylon (2022).

For his movie Whiplash, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. His movie La La Land was a huge success. It was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six. This included the award for Best Director, which made him the youngest person to win it at age 32. He has also directed two episodes of the Netflix series The Eddy (2020).

Early Life and Education

Damien Chazelle was born in Providence, Rhode Island. He grew up in Princeton, New Jersey. His father, Bernard Chazelle, teaches computer science at Princeton University. His mother, Celia, teaches history.

Damien first loved filmmaking. Later, he wanted to be a musician and tried to become a jazz drummer. He went to Princeton High School. He has said that his intense music teacher there inspired the character of Terence Fletcher in his movie Whiplash. After high school, he realized he wasn't a great drummer. So, he went back to filmmaking. He studied filmmaking at Harvard University and finished in 2007.

At Harvard, he lived with Justin Hurwitz, who often works with him on music for his films. They were part of an indie-pop band called Chester French.

Filmmaking Career

Early Movies and First Steps

Chazelle wrote and directed his first movie, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench. This was part of his final project at Harvard. The movie was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2009. It won several awards at different film festivals.

After college, Chazelle moved to Los Angeles. He hoped to find someone to produce his musical movie La La Land. He worked as a writer for other movies. He helped write The Last Exorcism Part II (2013) and Grand Piano (2013). He also worked on a script for 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016). But he chose to direct Whiplash instead.

Big Success with Whiplash and La La Land

Chazelle directing La La Land in 2015

Chazelle wrote Whiplash when he was stuck on another script. He said it felt very personal. At first, no one wanted to produce the movie. But his script was listed on The Black List in 2012. This list features the best movie scripts that haven't been made yet.

Producers suggested he make a short film from part of his script. This 18-minute short film was shown at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. It was very popular. This helped him get money to make the full movie. Whiplash was released in 2014 and got great reviews. It won many awards and was nominated for five Oscars, winning three. Chazelle was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Because Whiplash was so successful, Chazelle found people to fund La La Land. This musical movie opened the Venice International Film Festival in 2016. It was released in the United States in December 2016. The movie was highly praised and won many awards. Chazelle won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Director. This made him the youngest director to win both awards at age 32.

Recent Work: First Man and Babylon

Chazelle then directed First Man (2018). This movie tells the true story of Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon. Ryan Gosling played Neil Armstrong. The movie received good reviews. It was nominated for four Academy Awards and won one for Best Visual Effects.

In 2020, Chazelle directed the first two episodes of The Eddy. This is a musical drama series on Netflix. It is set in Paris.

His next movie was Babylon, released in 2022. It is set in Hollywood in the 1920s. The movie starred Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt. Babylon received mixed reviews from critics.

In 2022, Chazelle and his wife, Olivia Hamilton, signed a deal with Paramount Pictures. This means they will work with Paramount on future movies. In 2024, it was reported that Chazelle's next film might be about Evel Knievel, with Leonardo DiCaprio possibly starring.

Personal Life

Chazelle and Hamilton in 2018

Chazelle was married to producer Jasmine McGlade from 2010 to 2014. In 2017, he got engaged to actress Olivia Hamilton. They married on September 22, 2018. They have two children, a son born in 2019 and a second child born in 2022. Chazelle can speak French very well.

Filmography

Film

Short film

Television

Awards and Nominations

Damien Chazelle has won many awards for his movies. Here are some of the main awards his films have been nominated for and won:

See Also

• Youngest Winners for Best Director at the Academy Awards