In Hollywood, they say you’re only as good as your last credit.
Damien Chazelle is weighing what that means for him following the box office failure of his big-budget film Babylon starring Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt and Diego Calva. Made for a reported $80 million before marketing costs, the Paramount Pictures release opened to a disastrous $3.6 million before topping out at $15.3 million domestic. With international grosses, it finished at $63.4 million worldwide.
“Certainly, in financial terms, Babylon didn’t work at all,” the Oscar-winning filmmaker told Ben Mankiewicz during an interview on his podcast, Talking Pictures. “You try to not have that affect what you’re doing creatively, but, at some level, it can’t help but affect it. But maybe that’s OK? I have [a] very mixed mind about it. Who knows? Maybe I won’t be able to get this one made. I have no idea. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Chazelle has become one of Hollywood’s hottest auteurs after the breakout success of his 2014 film Whiplash starring J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller. It won three Oscars including one for Simmons for best supporting actor, one for Tom Cross for film editing and for Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley for sound mixing. He followed it up with 2016’s La La Land starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. The movie musical won six Oscars including one for Stone for best actress, and one for Chazelle for best director. He followed that up with another Gosling-starrer First Man, which won a best visual effects Oscar. Then came Babylon, which divided critics and audiences and has the receipts to prove it.
“I’ve been head in the sand,” Chazelle continued to Mankiewicz when asked about his current status in Hollywood. “I’ve been sort of busy writing. I’ll get a real taste of how it’s changed or not once I get to finish this script and try to actually get it made. I’m in a sort of trepidatious state of mind, but I have no illusions. I won’t get a budget of Babylon size any time soon or at least not on this next one.”
The filmmaker did not offer details about the script he’s working on, but he did open up on a few other subjects, from getting Whiplash made to the films that make him cry. The full podcast episode is below.
March 1, 3:19 p.m.: Updating to correct Chazelle’s Oscar credits.
