DAMIEN CHAZELLE

FILMS Guy And Madeline On A Park Bench, Whiplash, La La Land, First Man

AUTEUR THEORY The outrageously talented wunderkind has a connoisseur’s ear for music and an obsessive fascination with the cost of ambition. Since his “scruffy, indie” debut, Chazelle has examined his pet theme in three wildly contrasting movies: a jazz drumming drama that plays like an action thriller, a modern, meta musical and a hyperrealistic space odyssey.

UP NEXT Reuniting with Emma Stone for 1920s-set Hollywood fable, Babylon. AWARDS La La Land made him the youngest-ever Best Director Oscar winner.

“If you’re a perfectionist, you have this very specific kind of idea in your head. And reality is never going to correspond 100 per cent to that.”