La La Land’s difficult dance scenes used body doubles for Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling
DESPITE claiming their two stars trained rigorously for all of their dance scenes, reports have revealed they actually had some help from body doubles.
EMMA STONE and RYAN GOSLING will not soft-shoe out of this easily.
They became the toast of Hollywood this year after it was claimed they took just a few months to perfect their moves for Oscar-winning movie La La Land, The Sun reports.
But those who think it was all the actors’ own work have been led a merry dance.
The Sun have found out doubles were used for the movie’s most complex routine.
The filmmakers tried to stop the truth coming out but one of the duo’s stunt doubles told the publication the magical scene in Los Angeles’ Griffith Observatory, where the leads appear to dance through the sky, was, in fact, the work of dance stand-ins.
They said: “Ryan had three stunt doubles — two were dancers — and Emma’s dancing was done by Emilie Livingston. The sequence where they danced in the clouds was filmed on a platform and was not Ryan and Emma.
“Lots of people have been asking what really went on and we have been contacted by the studio, told off for talking and sworn to silence. It’s not fair but they were insistent we shouldn’t tell anyone there were doubles for the dancing.”
The Sun first put this story to La La Land producers Lionsgate in February and were told it was “not true”, as “both Ryan and Emma trained for three months intensively and everything you see is their work”.
The firm then said doubles had been used but only for a brief sequence on wire work. When asked if any other dancers’ work was in that scene, they were told no.
But, a Lionsgate statement The Sun have seen this week finally admitted: “Doubles were used for some silhouette turns in the latter half of the observatory scene.”
An industry source explained the firm would have been desperate to hide the truth in February, in case it harmed their Oscars chances that month.
They said: “The film’s campaign was quite heavily built around how amazing it was that Emma and Ryan had learned to sing, dance and play piano for the movie.
“But in the observatory scene it’s obvious, if you pay attention, that the silhouettes are not them. Suddenly, their dancing turns from being nice enough, to amazingly poised.
“The fact Lionsgate denied the stunt doubles’ existence at first then took months to clarify their role is telling.”
This article originally appeared on The Sun and has been republished here with permission.
Originally published as La La Land’s difficult dance scenes used body doubles for Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling