Many students roam PHS’s halls without even realizing that just over two decades ago, Damien Chazelle ’03 did the same. 

A director and screenwriter known for his movies “Whiplash”and “La La Land,” Chazelle is the youngest person to win the Academy and Golden Globe Awards for Best Director at age 32. He was born and raised in Princeton, and joined the PHS Studio Band as
a freshman, which at the time was directed by its founder Anthony Biancosino.

“Ironically, movies were ... my main passion, but [Biancosino’s] overwhelming presence ... motivated
me to make drumming my life,” said Chazelle. 

Drumming became so important to Chazelle that he even considered pursuing it as a career. However, he ultimately decided to stick with filmmaking, his first love. Despite the pivot, Biancosino’s teachings still had a heavy influence on Chazelle’s
approach as a filmmaker.

“Looking back, I think [my experiences] wound up creating [a] way of thinking about cinema through rhythm ... and getting into a mode where making art ... was not just a hobby [but was] all consuming,” said Chazelle. “Obviously [when] pushed to its extreme [this] can be very unhealthy, but that sort of intensity of art can be important in your life. I think I kind of owe that all to him.”

Premiering in 2014, the psychological drama “Whiplash” was Chazelle’s breakout film. He drew inspiration from his own experiences in Studio Band and interactions with Biancosino, although the events in “Whiplash” are greatly exaggerated. Chazelle saw the movie as an opportunity to push boundaries and explore the value of trying to attain a costly goal.

“I pushed the narrative of Whiplash ... far beyond what, for instance, I personally went through [as] a student ... I wanted to kind of see if you push this sort of thing into really dark terrain, at what point [do] the ends justify the means,” said Chazelle. “I think, in a way, the moral answer is an easy one ... it’s not worth it ... And yet I keep grappling with it, because it’s hard to imagine ...
rewriting history to exclude all of those things, or all those accomplishments, and thinking ‘what does that mean?’”

Despite this dilemma, Chazelle emphasized that when creating movies, he doesn’t think about messaging since it can be too abstract. Rather, he prefers to focus on emotional expression and tries to share a piece of his own world with others.

“In the case of ‘Whiplash,’ it was both the emotion I felt when I was drumming, but also that specific world I was in as a ... young, competitive jazz drummer ... that I hadn’t seen very often in films.
[I] felt like I could shine a light on [it] in some way,” said Chazelle. 

Chazelle’s experiences at PHS led him to discover his passion for film and have inspired his movie-making process. He has found that everyone has unique experiences that allow them to create distinctive artistic works.

“We all have our influences, and you should be honest about it and ... learn what you can from the past, because that’s what it’s there to do,” said Chazelle. “In following those influences, at some point ... you [will] stumble on to what it is that you bring to the table — that is yours and yours alone.

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