Damien Chazelle’s Star-Studded Hollywood Drama ‘Babylon’ Drops Footage at CinemaCon

variety.com:

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterDirector Damien Chazelle brought the ol’ razzle dazzle to CinemaCon, showcasing the first look at his next film “Babylon,” a star-studded homage to Hollywood’s golden era.Attendees of CinemaCon, the annual gathering of movie theater owners that’s currently unfolding at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, were treated to never-before-seen footage of “Babylon,” which puts the spotlight on Brad Pitt as silent film star John Gilbert and Margot Robbie as Roaring Twenties icon Clara Bow.Prior to Paramount’s presentation at CinemaCon, little had been revealed about “Babylon,” which is set in the late 1920s during the movie industry’s transition from silent films to talkies.Based on the first-look footage of glamorous parties against a backdrop of an entertainment business in flux, “Babylon” looks like a mix between Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” “You know what we have to do… we have to redefine the form,” Pitt’s character. “When I first moved to Hollywood, the stars on all the doors said ‘No actors and no dogs allowed.'”Robbie’s character is less worried about her place in showbiz. “You don’t become a star,” she says. “You either are one… or you ain’t.”Tobey Maguire, who also serves as an executive producer, is portraying Charlie Chaplin, while Max Minghella is playing Irving Thalberg.

The starry cast of “Babylon” also includes Spike Jonze, Jean Smart, Flea, Samara Weaving and Olivia Wilde.“Babylon” has been hotly anticipated as Chazelle’s first project since “First Man,” his 2018 biopic about Neil Armstrong.

Despite positive reviews, the story behind the moon landing did not resonate with audiences to the same degree as Chazelle’s 2016.