Ask anybody and your frontrunner for Best Picture is unquestionably Damien Chazelle's golden era musical, La La Land. It's a film that pleases audiences and cinephiles in equal measure, with the director forming a unique kind of bond with his stars. So much so that Chazelle sought out Ryan Gosling for his Neil Armstrong biopic, First Man, and now it's been made official.
Variety confirms Gosling will head up the film, an adaptation of James R. Hansen’s biography First Man: The Life Of Neil A. Armstrong. Penned by Oscar-winning Spotlight writer Josh Singer, the film will center on the life and career of the first man NASA ever put on the moon. With NASA more in the headlines than ever, thanks to Hidden Figures and the unfortunate passing of John Glenn, expect there to be a lot of attention on this film. And of course, having such a talented group involved doesn't hurt.
This one's launching fast as Universal plans for filming to begin early in 2017. It'll be interesting to see how Chazelle handles a film that doesn't have the kind of personal connection as Whiplash or La La Land. [Variety]
