Damien Chazelle will helm a new musical drama series called The Eddy, following his overwhelming success and acclaim for La La Land. There are few filmmakers in the entertainment industry right now who have quite as much hype and acclaim surrounding them as Chazelle. After starting out writing scripts for low-budget horror flicks and making even lower budget student films, Chazelle broke out onto the scene with noticeable impact in 2014 with Whiplash, which went on to receive several Oscar nominations. As a result, Chazelle was given the opportunity to bring his passion project to the big screen with La La Land, one of the most successful and critically-acclaimed films of 2016, and which made Chazelle the youngest Best Director winner in Academy Award history.
So while a lot of noise was made about the Oscar Best Picture controversy surrounding La La Land and Moonlight, the hype surrounding Chazelle has yet to die down, with many moviegoers curious about what he might do next. It looks like, in an unexpected turn of events, Chazelle has officially set his sights on trying something he hasn't before - directing for the television medium.
THR is reporting that Chazelle has signed on to helm a brand new musical drama series called The Eddy. The series is set in contemporary multicultural Paris, focusing on a club, its owner, the house band, and the volatile city that surrounds them all. It will be written by Jack Thorne, following his work with J.K. Rowling on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Grammy-winning songwriter Glen Ballard (Alanis Morisette's "Jagged Little Pill," Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror") and Six Feet Under's Alan Poul are currently set to serve as executive producers on the series. It has not found an official platform or home as of yet, but is currently being shopped around to both cable and streaming outlets.
While this might have seemed like a weird move a couple years ago, for the youngest Best Director winner in Oscar history to follow that win up with a move to TV, it's becoming less and less of a rarity nowadays. As the format becomes more cinematic with each passing year and more open to experimental, creatively abstract projects, audiences are seeing an increasing number of movie stars and critically acclaimed filmmakers deciding to dip their toes in the TV water. Chazelle is only the latest one to do it.
However, that doesn't mean he doesn't also have another film project lined up. In fact, the filmmaker has already been announced to be directing First Man next, a biopic about Neil Armstrong written by Spotlight scribe, Josh Singer. The project will also reunite Chazelle with his La La Land star, Ryan Gosling, who will be playing the real-life subject of the film. So with First Man and The Eddy, Chazelle looks to follow up his Oscars-heavy year with another slate of projects that are not only noticeably different from each other but equally exciting new ventures for Chazelle to take, as he continues to cement his place as one of the best young filmmakers working today.
We'll keep you updated on The Eddy as more news becomes available.
Source: THR