Comment on The “La La Land” backlash: Will it last until the Oscars?

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in "La La Land" (Credit: Summit Entertainment) What happens when a scrappy little movie about two lonely dreamers who love solitude, dying art forms and (perhaps) each other becomes a heavily armed juggernaut prepared to crush all who stand in its way? Well, we’ll see how this plays out over the next few weeks. That’s what appears to be happening with “La La Land,” the sort-of-musical, sort-of-movie-about-jazz, sort-of-underdog tale that has gone from being a low-budget indie with no superheroes or action figures (or even nudity or violence) to becoming the Best Picture favorite at next month’s Academy Awards. Hollywood buzz around “La La Land,” which stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, goes back to before the film itself, and it impressed people at the Venice Film Festival.