Los Angeles. New York City. Two places I love. I was born and raised in Los Angeles. That's where my fascination with Fred Astaire began -- when I was in elementary school. New York is where I lived and worked for 20 years. That's where my dreams of career and romance came true for a time.
The Oscar-winning 2016 movie musical, LA LA LAND, is being adapted into a Broadway show. It's an L.A. story about two young people -- an aspiring actress and a jazz musician -- who fall in and out of love while dreaming of successful show biz careers. LA LA LAND got 14 Oscar nominations. Emma Stone won for Best Actress. Ryan Gosling was nominated for Best Actor. It won the Oscar for Best Song. 32-year old director and screenwriter Damien Chazelle won for Best Director. LA LA LAND was nominated for Best Picture. The winner was LA LA LAND MOONLIGHT.
Here's Ryan Gosling as the young L.A. dreamer singing the Oscar winner for Best Song.
Later, the jazz singer and the aspiring actress are in L.A.'s Griffith Park at night. They dance.
1953's THE BAND WAGON starring Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray and Jack Buchanan. Astaire played a middle-aged Hollywood musical star whose career has been in a lull for about 3 years. Charisse plays a hot, new and slightly haughty ballet star. The movie star is coaxed to come to New York and consider starring in a new, modern Broadway musical. The movie showcased music by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz. They wrote this new song for THE BAND WAGON, directed by Vincente Minnelli. The faded Hollywood movie star is insecure because he's "just an entertainer" and his future co-star is an acclaimed ballet dancer. He gets a boost of confidence from the planned Broadway show's two married writers and its director.
The middle-aged movie song-and-dance man and young, new ballet star dislike each other at first. He calls for a truce. When they take a walk together in Central Park at night, they discover that they can dance together. They will fall in love. The music is "Dancing in the Dark" by Dietz and Schwartz.
Both artists will reinvent themselves in the jazzy, modern Broadway musical which is a big hit.
LA LA LAND got 14 Oscar nominations. THE BAND WAGON got 3 Oscar nominations: Best Music Scoring, Best Costume Design and Best Screenplay. It did not win any.
Which movie do you prefer? I still go with THE BAND WAGON.
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