One-sheet poster for La La Land, which played as part of the AFI Fest at the Chinese on November 15, 2016.
 
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La La Land Stars
Footprinting Ceremony
held on Wednesday, December 7, 2016
 
La La Land
World Premiere, Wednesday, August 31, 2016, at The Venice Film Festival
 
La La Land is director Damien Chazelle's obsession with musicals made into a movie. Wildly imaginative, the film portrays a young lady (Stone) who is in Los Angeles hoping to break into pictures, and a young man (Gosling) who is trying to make it as a jazz pianist.

Emma Stone shines brightly in the film, and Gosling is her low-key suitor, but somehow, it works. The design of the film, the music, the sentiment on display, all contributed to the film's success. Young people thought it was "cool."

The film made a lot of money and Emma Stone got the Best Actress Oscar for the picture.
 
 
TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, Hollywood, California. La La Land block. Executed by unknown, Wednesday, Dece,ber 7, 2016. 51 x 25 inches.
   
Ryan Gosling at the premiere of First Man at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., October 4, 2018. Photo by NASA/Aubrey Gemignani.
 
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Ryan Gosling
 
Born: November 12, 1980, in London, Ontario, Canada
Age at the time of the ceremony: 36

 
Ryan Gosling's father was a sales rep for a paper mill, while his mother was a secretary. The family was LDS and moved around a good deal. Watching Dick Tracy on television inspired Ryan to become an actor. When he was 12, he auditioned for and got a slot on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. The family relocated to Orlando Florida, but Ryan didn't get much screentime.

Ryan's parents divorced when he was 13. With one more year to go on his Mickey Mouse contract, Gosling met and even roomed with fellow cast member Justin Timberlake. Timberlake's mother Lynn became Gosling's guardian after Donna had to return to Canada for work.

After Mickey Mouse, Ryan and his older sister Mandi grew up with Donna. In high school, he was a complete misfit weirdo kid, who "hated being a child." Donna homeschooled the lad for a year, which proved salutary. He and his sister began to perform at weddings; Ryan felt at ease onstage — it was the only thing he was good at.

At age 15, Gosling guested on the anthology series Are You Afraid of the Dark? with Gilbert Gottfried, aired over The Family Channel in November 1995. He guested for one episode of Kung Fu: The Legend Continues with David Carradine, aired over the Prime Time Entertainment Network in May 1996. He had a smaller part in the cheapie horror movie Frankenstein and Me (released in July 1996) with Burt Reynolds.

Thinking his Canadian accent would hinder him, he started mumbling like Marlon Brando. . . At 17, he dropped out of school to follow that dream. That might sound crazy, but Gosling joined the ensemble cast of a high school dramatic show, playing Sean Hanlon for 44 episodes of Breaker High with Rachel Wilson, aired over the United Paramount Network from September 1997 to March 1998.

He moved to New York to star in the title role for 50 episodes of Young Hercules with Dean O'Gorman, aired over Fox Kids from September 1998 to May 1999. But playing the same character all the time came to be a drag. After the show was cancelled, Gosling decided: films only.

Okay. He got a role as one of the team players in Remeber the Titans (released in September 2000) with Denzel Washington, then he got a huge part as a Jewish neo-nazi in The Believer (shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2001), where he got rave reviews for his work.

Gosling played a high schooler who commits a murder with a pal in Murder By Numbers (released in April 2002) with Sandra Bullock. The picture got drubbed, but Gosling's performance was praised. His similar perfrormance in The United States of Leland (released in March 2005) with Don Cheadle, didn't help the picture find playdates. It sank like a rock.

Then, paydirt: playing Noah to Rachel McAdams's Allison in the film of The Notebook (released in June 2004) with James Garner; the film was a hit even though Gosling and McAdams fought on the set constantly. They later had a romance (go figure).

Gosling really sunk himself into the world of high school wrestling teachers for his role in Half Nelson (released in September 2006) with Anthony Mackie; his performance was praised to the skies, and he got an Oscar nomination.

His performance as a lonely nerd in Lars and the Real Girl (released in November 2007) with Emily Mortimer, was very much admired by most — but not all — critics.

After taking a break from films for a bit, Gosling starred and was also co-executive producer on the drama Blue Valentine (released in December 2010) with Michelle Williams.

Trying his hand at comedy, Gosling shone in Crazy, Stupid, Love. (released in July 2011) with Steve Carell (and Emma Stone), then played a neophyte in director / star George Clooney's film about a presidential campaign, The Ides of March (released in October 2011).

In the drama The Place Beyond the Pines (released in April 2013) with Bradley Cooper, Gosling's performance divided the critics and the film did well in the marketplace. Doing a period piece for once, Gosling starred as an L.A. Police detective trying to take down mob boss Mickey Cohen, played by Sean Penn, in Gangster Squad (released in January 2013) also with Emma Stone. The picture got poor reviews and did no business to speak of.

Things went better in The Big Short (released in December 2015) with Christian Bale; the film about the sub-prime mortgage crisis was popular and got an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. Next was the retro-comedy directed by Shane Black, The Nice Guys (which had its World Premiere at the Chinese on Tuesday, May 10, 2016) with Russell Crowe.

Finally, he played Sebastian in La La Land (which showed at the AFI Fest at the Chinese on Tuesday, November 14, 2016, and later played in IMAX® in January 2017). The wonderfully unique film wowed many, and it ended up grossing pots of money and got a lot of Oscar nominations, and won six.

Doing a sci-fi movie for once, Gosling starred as Officer K in Blade Runner 2049 (which played the Chinese in October 2017) with Harrison Ford. Audiences were divided on the film, which sort of "underperformed."

He played astronaught Neil Armstrong in the biopic First Man (which played the Chinese in October 2018) with Clare Foy. He co-starred with Chris Evans in The Gray Man, aired over Netflix in July 2022. And just who could play Ken to Margot Robbie's Barbie (which played the Chinese in September 2023)?
   
Emma Stone at the 89th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, California, February 26, 2017.
 
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Emma Stone
 
Born: Emily Jean Stone, November 6, 1988, in Scottsdale, Arizona
Age at the time of the ceremony: 28
 
Emma Stone's father was a well-to-do contractor; her mother was a stay-at-home-mom. Her paternal grandfather was a Swede who changed his name to "Stone" when going through Ellis Island.

Emily was a sickly baby, crying constantly. She describes herself and being "loud" and "bossy" while growing up. Acting since the age of four, Emily went through singing lessons, hoping to find a place in musical theatre. Although she hated school, her nature led her to make sure she got "A"'s in all of her classes. Panic attacks caused her to attend child therapy, but appearing in the Valley Youth Theatre productions helped the young lady overcome these attacks.

Her parents took her to Los Angeles to audition for All That on Nickelodeon, but did not get a part. She was sent to an acting coach with connections. She was homeschooled for a while, then lobbied her parents to allow her and her mother to move to LA. She auditioned for everything she could find, but got nowhere. Some of these experiences found their way into La La Land. The SAG already had an "Emily Stone", so she changed her name to Emma, after Emma Bunton, one of the Spice Girls, of whom, Stone is a huge fan.

After winning the role on a reality TV show, Stone played Laurie Partridge in a TV movie reboot of The New Partridge Family with Suzanne Sole, aired over VH-1 in January 2005, but the show was not picked up. She guested on Malcolm in the Middle with Jane Kaczmarek, aired over the Fox Network in March 2006. For her film debut as Johan Hill's girlfriend, Emma dyed her hair red and got good notices for Superbad (released in August 2007) with Michael Cera. Now, Stone was in the swim.

Stone was in the ensemble cast of a Cannonball Run rip-off called Drive with Kristin Lehman, aired over the Fox Network in April 2007, but the show was cancelled after only seven episodes. Stone learned to play bass guitar for her role in The Rocker (released in August 2008) with Rainn Wilson, but she was too pert really to play a bass player. The film got drubbed by critics and flopped.

She played a sorority leader and walked away with The House Bunny (released in August 2008) with Anna Faris, and gave a considered performance in the comedy Zombieland (which played the Chinese in October 2009) with Woody Harrelson. Stone lobbied hard to get the lead in Easy A (which had its US Premiere at the Chinese on Monday, September 13, 2010) with Amanda Bynes, and many think this is her best early work.

Reteaming with her Easy A director Will Gluck, Stone had a small role in Friends with Benefits (released in July 2011) with Justin Timberlake. Her part in Crazy, Stupid, Love. (released in July 2011) placed her as Ryan Gosling's girlfiend; again, many commented that Stone rather pulled the whole film together.

Stone played the aspiring writer Skeeter Phelan and got top billing in the wonderful film of The Help (released in August 2011) with Viola Davis. She then signed on to play Gwen Stacy, girlfriend to The Amazing Spider-Man (released in July 2012) with Andrew Garfield in the title role. The film did very well and the box office, so her gamble with big films paid off.

Stone next appeared as Sean Penn's girlfriend in Gangster Squad (released in January 2013) with Josh Brolin. Oh, yes, Ryan Gosling is in it too. Stone did a lot with her "girlfriend" character in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (which played the Chinese in May 2014) with Andrew Garfield.

Stone is unnerving as Michael Keaton's bitter daughter in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), (released in November 2014). Stone undertook to replace Michelle Williams on Broadway in Cabaret from November 2014 to February 2015. The comedy drama Aloha (released in May 2015) with Bradley Cooper, got panned and was spurned by movie-goers.

Stone played Mia in La La Land (which showed at the AFI Fest at the Chinese on Tuesday, November 14, 2016, and later played in IMAX® in January 2017). The wonderfully unique film wowed many, and it ended up grossing pots of money and got a lot of Oscar nominations, and won six, including the Oscar for Best Actress going to Emma Stone.

Stone gave a spot-on portrayal of tennis superstar Billie Jean King in Battle of the Sexes (released in September 2017) with Steve Carell as Bobby Riggs. She played Abigail Masham in The Favourite (released in December 2018) with Olivia Colman as Queen Anne.

Stone starred in ten episodes of Maniac with Jonah Hill, streaming over Netflix in September 2018. Stone was game enough to star in the Zombieland sequel, imaginatively titled: Zombieland: Double Tap (released in October 2019) with Woddy Harrelson. Entering into Disney territory, Stone played the title role in Cruella (released in May 2021), with Emma Thompson, which well enough to greenlight a sequel.

Stone got rave reviews for her performance in Poor Things (released in December 2023)., then went on to win her second Best Actress Oscar for the film.
 
 
TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, Hollywood, California. La La Land Forecourt ceremony, Wednesday, December 7, 2016. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling share a laugh as they make their handprints in the wet cement.
TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, Hollywood, California. La La Land Forecourt ceremony, Wednesday, December 7, 2016. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are busy with their inscribing styli.
TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, Hollywood, California. La La Land Forecourt ceremony, Wednesday, December 7, 2016. Ryan Gosling holds up a pair of dirty hands.

TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, Hollywood, California. La La Land Forecourt ceremony, Wednesday, December 7, 2016. Emma Stone enjoys her moment in the cement.

 
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