A popular director and screenwriter, Damien Sayre Chazelle rose to fame with his debut directorial venture Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench in 2009. The director became an internationally acclaimed star with his second film, Whiplash, which was written and directed by him. For his outstanding work, Chazelle won a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards.
Early Life
Born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island, Damien Chazelle is the son the Celia Chazelle and Bernard Chazelle. His mother was a writer and professor of History at The College of New Jersey and his father who has French ancestry was a professor of Computer Science at Princeton University. The actor has one sister, Anna Chazelle who is also an actress. Chazelle was very passionate about filmmaking from a very early age but later he wanted to be a musician. While studying at Princeton High School, he was a jazz drummer but he struggled and make matters worse for him, his music teacher was a tough taskmaster. Eventually, Chazelle realized that he did not have the talent to be a great musician and he focused on filmmaking. After completing his high school, he went to Harvard University to study filmmaking in the Visual and Environmental Studies department and graduated in 2007.
Personal Life
Damien Chazelle is married to producer and writer, Jasmine McGlade. The two tied the knot in 2010.
Movie Career
As a Director
Damien Chazelle started his career in the film industry as in 2009 as a writer and director. He shot to fame with his maiden directorial venture, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench. The film starring Jason Palmer, Desiree Garcia, and Sandha Khin was known for featuring a unique mixture of live jazz performance and choreographed tap dancing. Upon release in theaters, it received strong positive critical reception; The Boston Globe called it “the most buzzed-about movie at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival.” The film had its global premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2009 and eventually went on to play at various global film festival including AFI Los Angeles, Thessaloniki International Film Festival, and Torino Film Festival where it won the Special Jury Prize.
Following the huge success of his debut film, Chazelle next directed the critically acclaimed, Whiplash in 2014. The film, which was based on a short film of the same name showcased the relationship between an ambitious jazz student and his abusive and ruthless mentor who uses intimidation to train his students to perfection. The film starring Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons and Paul Reiser in the lead roles received wide critical appreciation and it also won several awards including an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards. His 2016 directorial venture includes La La Land, an American romantic musical starring Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend and Rosemarie DeWitt.
As a Writer
After writing for his debut film, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, Chazelle collaborated with Ed Gass-Donnelly and co-wrote The Last Exorcism Part II, an American supernatural drama horror film. Although the film received mostly negative reviews, it fared pretty well at the box office; it grossed 15.1 million. In the same year, he wrote Grand Piano, an English-Spanish thriller directed by Eugenio Mira. The film starring Elijah Wood and John Cusack in the lead roles premiered at the Fantastic Fest where it was received with mostly positive reviews. In 2016, Chazelle collaborated with director Dan Trachtenberg and co-wrote the 10 Cloverfield Lane along with Mattew Stuecken.
As a Producer
Apart from working as a director and writer, Chazelle has also produced a film. He donned the producer's hat for his directorial debut, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench in 2009.