Damien Chazelle’s La La Land continues to be one of Emma Stone’s most spellbinding performances and perhaps one of the most delightful musicals ever made. And although Greta Gerwig’s Barbie has rightfully deserved the status of Ryan Gosling’s magnum opus, the 2016 musical marked nothing short of a vertex of his acting career. But before Stone landed her dazzling Oscar for Best Actress and the movie became a classic that fans never tire of revisiting, there had been an entirely different Emma attached to the project.
Emma Watson Addressed the La La Land Controversy
It was indeed Emma Watson who had been slated to portray the dreamy Mia in the musical that ultimately ended up starring Emma Stone. Rumors at the time, however, cast the Harry Potter star in a rather sordid light, deeming her apparently “demanding” attitude the primary reason why Stone bagged the project in lieu. And although the English actress didn’t react to any such tabloid nonsense then, she did go on to debunk said rumors a year or so later during her appearance on SiriusXM.
“It’s one of these frustrating things where sort of names get attached to projects very early on as a way to kind of build anticipation or excitement for something that’s coming before anything is really actually agreed or set in stone.”
In reality, her reportedly domineering nature wasn’t the culprit behind her turning down Chazelle’s award-winning hit, it was actually her prior commitment to another musical that left her with no other choice but to extricate herself from the former.
She Had Her Hands Full With Beauty and the Beast
Watson, 33, had already been aboard Disney’s Beauty and the Beast long before she was offered to lead La La Land. All the horse training coupled with singing and dancing lessons that she was to devote herself to for the former, the Little Women star thus didn’t dare entertain the idea of taking over yet another high-profile project, one that inevitably demanded just as much, if not more, from her.
“This wasn’t a movie I could just kind of parachute into. I knew I had to do the work, and I had to be where I had to be. So scheduling conflict-wise, it just didn’t work out.”
Before the Cruella star and Ryan Gosling‘s chemistry won millions of hearts all over the globe, Watson and Miles Teller had been in the works to depict the love-struck duo in the romance musical. And much like his female co-star, the Top Gun: Maverick star was also said to have excessively high demands (he allegedly wanted $2 million more than what he was being offered), the reported neglection of which ultimately led him to reject the movie.
But alas, everything ended up working out for the best.
La La Land can be streamed on Netflix and Beauty and the Beast is available for streaming on Disney+.
Source: SiriusXM [via Vanity Fair]
