Paramount acquires Damien Chazelle’s Babylon with Emma Stone & Brad Pitt
Deadline has brought word that Damien Chazelle’s upcoming Hollywood period drama Babylon has been acquired by Paramount Pictures after a bidding war amongst studios. The Oscar-winning writer/director is also in talks to reunite with his La La Land star Emma Stone, with Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) also attached.
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Babylon is described as an original drama set in period Hollywood, a “bold auteur piece with a significant budget.” Lionsgate was previously in the lead to land the movie at auction until Paramount came through with the winning bid.
Paramount has high expectations for the project as they have already slated it for a limited Christmas Day 2021 release in theaters followed by a wide release January 7, 2022, a prime slate for Oscar season, and given Chazelle’s 23 Oscar nominations across three films, it’s a safe bet this will be an effective plan.
Chazelle, whose credits include 10 Cloverfield Lane, Whiplash, First Man and The Last Exorcism Part II, wrote the script and will direct. Olivia Hamilton, Matt Plouffe and Marc Platt will serve as producers. The outlet confirms the project is not the previously rumored musical Chazelle had written.
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Stone’s recent credits include the Netflix series Maniac, The Favourite, Battle of the Sexes, and Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). Upcoming projects include the action-comedy horror Zombieland: Double Tap sequel, The Croods 2, Cruella, and the comedy horror The Menu starring alongside Ralph Fiennes.
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