10 Screenwriting Tips from Damien Chazelle on how he wrote Whiplash and La La Land

Oscar winning director Damien Chazelle Interview about the screenplay writing process and lessons from the screenplay on his favorite movies and films: Whiplash, La La Land and First Man. His regular collaborators include J.K. Simmons, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for La La Land and Best Adapted Screenplay Whiplash (2014) which was adapted from his short film of the same name Whiplash Short (2013) film about drumming. Both short and feature film won at Sundance Film Festival in consecutive years. Damien was a drummer himself which was the inspiration for Whiplash. La La Land was inspired from umbrellas of cherbourg. He won at Golden Globes for directing. Chazelle directed a short film “The Stunt Double,” Shot on iPhone 11 Pro. We can’t wait for his new movie Babylon starring Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie.
Click here for a PDF TRANSCRIPT of this video: / outstandingscreenplays
Click here for 5 EXTRA TIPS from Damien Chazelle: / outstandingscreenplays
0:00 - Intro
1:11 - TIP-01 - If you want to get your first screenplay made, write something small and focused and lean and mean. Let it be a simple clear-cut story with two characters going against each other.
2:46 - TIP-02 - Most of the greatest love stories in history don’t end with happily ever after. If you’re telling a story about love, love has to be bigger than the characters.
3:15 - TIP-03 - At the start of every project know roughly where you are headed in terms of the final scene. Know what kind of story you want to tell and make sure your ending is HONEST but still UNPREDICTABLE.
5:20 - TIP-04 - Always have an intimate personal connection to the story you’re writing. It doesn’t have to be a literal connection, you can find a personal angle in every project even if it’s about space for example.
6:11 - TIP-05 - As a screenwriter when you get notes, always try to identify the person behind the notes and then ask them to be SPECIFIC, direct and HONEST as possible.
8:46 - TIP-06 - The best way to get your first feature film off the ground is to make a short proof-of-concept film. If you then also win awards with the short film, this will get investors extra interested.
11:18 - TIP-07 - Take relevant concepts from the past and try to reinvest them with a certain kind of modern energy and put them in a modern context and subvert them and add on to them.
12:00 - TIP-08 - The greatest skill you have to develop as a screenwriter is THICK SKIN. Keep your faith, keep being persistent, don’t be overly sensitive to rejections. All it takes is one yes.
13:31 - TIP-09 - When you have scenes with music, make the storyboard to the tempo of those songs. Plan as thoroughly as possible as those scenes need perfect timing, emotion and pacing.
17:00 - TIP-10 - Don't overstuff the ending with dialogue. You’ve done your mechanical storytelling to get you to this point so at the end try to just let it flow, let it be pure cinema.
19:12 - Outro
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#damienchazelle #whiplash #lalaland

[@tuckermathews9625]

I love how Damien is no bs and straight to the point, not only when talking about his techniques concerning the development of his films but also how his storylines themselves are no nonsense as well.

[@OutstandingScreenplays]

Exactly, well said! 💯✅🙌

[@akirafella]

I love his movies

[@claduke]

I think I requested this a couple months ago, so thanks for that! Lol I’ll try my luck again. Would be cool to see one of these about Nicolas Winding Refn.

[@regentneo]

This is gold. Thanks for doing this!

[@jothishprabu8]

Just watched First Man a few days Back. Incredible Movie!

[@princem77]

thank you for this

[@MrSotabox]

Thanks a lot for yours videos! I work on a screenplay and it's help so much, it's give me a good energy! If one day, you do the same for Lars von Trier, it could be great. 😊

[@Lotsolov4u]

Amazing!

[@m.mishra9133]

It's shocking that he is just 35 years old.

[@VincentStevenStudio]

Most famous directors usually start in their late 20s to early 30s. I think it's because that's normally the age they reach a point of maturity in their life where they are experienced enough to write their first feature or handle the responsibilities of making a film.

[@m.mishra9133]

@@VincentStevenStudio I 100% agree. But still there are only a few that come to mind who have achieved as much as he has for his age.

[@VincentStevenStudio]

@@m.mishra9133 may be a few but usually all the greats. Tarantino Reservoir Dogs at 30. PT Anderson Hard Eight at 24-25. Ryan Coogler Frutvaille Station 28, Spielberg 23 Jaws, Lucas Star Wars 30 and the list goes on.

[@JacobMcAllister]

@@VincentStevenStudio Spielberg was 27 when he made Jaws

[@KEVIN_GABOR]

@@JacobMcAllister haha yeah. Like what 23.... XD

[@annharding9634]

Reminds of Tarantino in the best way. Love his emotional intelligence about his impetuses and craft!!!

[@OutstandingScreenplays]

Yes, he is incredibly smart and articulate, he explains concepts so well

[@cyberpunkchloe9]

Whiplash, La La Land, Babylon, Masterpiece!!! Hands down sensie Damien.

[@d.gowtham5326]

do a video about denis villenue

[@OutstandingScreenplays]

Coming next week

[@abdulshayon8686]

Most Talented❤️❤️Director 👌

[@diamonddogs4776]

How about a video on Robert town or Paddy chayefsky or even paul shrader

[@ScullyPopASMR]

This is really cool content. I've written three screenplays that I shelved.

[@OutstandingScreenplays]

Unshelve them

[@milodsouza5713]

I just started writing . However I wrote my first scene and showed to my friends . They liking it gave me motivation to write more and write better

[@cbnakuma]

Rooting for you

[@yasinalsajjad856]

He is a nice actor

[@AlexRider589]

NOAH BAUMBACH!! please!

[@venkatemadabathuni7670]

How about George rr martin 🤔

[@bennozoid1]

A very influential Jazz musician I know REALLY didn’t like the portrayal of his culture in WHIPLASH and said it had no connection to the culture that he belonged to. He said it was too aggressive and abusive to be a true portrait of jazz people or the spirit of Jazz...

[@lauraf8625]

Well, movies have to be more “aggressive and abusive” versions of real life no? Otherwise, Damien Chazelle wrote Whiplash 90% from his personal experience, so maybe his Jazz world was like that

[@HarvenHaven]

also the whole point i think is that fletchers approach to jazz is inherently unartistic and not how it should be at all

[@bennozoid1]

@@HarvenHaven totally: he's using jazz as a medium to carry out abuse and psychotic, bullying behavior...

[@Elassyahmed]

That's the case with a lot of jazz artists I know. All thought it seemed one dimensional

[@kevinzhang6623]

He's not making a culture statement, he's making a personal human statement of an exaggeration of a subset of musical instructors in general.. 😂Wonder what he thought of the jazz club scenes in La La Land.

[@eanderson9599]

I can’t be the only one that adores Whiplash but can’t enjoy La La Land at all

[@thankyoujodi]

I feel ya

[@WaveDPM]

i didn't like both his mentioned movies. yet to see First Man. hopefully it's not that same boring and slow.

[@savagewonton6986]

If you didn’t like la la land or whiplash, then you’re basically cinema blind. That’s just pure blasphemy calling them boring and slow.

[@WaveDPM]

@@savagewonton6986 of cause! after all my education in the theory of fine arts, script writing and being a film director for ...let me remember... I started my TV in 1992, documentaries in 2004, feature since 2008. I can detect Talent in a crowd just watching people. May be I am, vice versa, seeing too much? 🤔. You know, this is how thousands of people would by a crap art for high price thanks to propaganda... 🤣😂. Boring movies are just boring movies.

[@savagewonton6986]

@@WaveDPM lol.

[@robertozambrano4076]

I know this comment is from a long time ago but I need to know why you didnt like whiplash and la la land? and did you like his most recent film Babylon?

[@kevinzhang6623]

​@@WaveDPM There a reason why it took you 30 years to get into feature films after starting in the industry, then?