‘Whiplash’ Turns 10: Damien Chazelle, Miles Teller and JK Simmons Talk About the Oscar-Winning Film That Changed Their Lives
A psychological thriller about a young jazz musician, directed by a 28-year-old unknown director and shot for less than $4 million, might not seem like the formula for a Hollywood blockbuster. But ever since its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Whiplash Injury despite all difficulties Damien ChazelleA thrilling, painful, technically perfect portrait of the toxic relationship between an aspiring drummer named Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller, later best known for The present spectacular) and his abusive instructor, Terence Fletcher (JK Simmons belong to Spider-Man film), conquered Hollywood, then audiences around the world. It marked the arrival of a major American filmmaker on the scene, cemented the promise of a rising star, and gave the leading role to a supporting actor who had worked for decades on screen and stage.
Even more impressive, Whiplash Injury has been held steady. The film is regularly ranked on the list best movies of the centuryAnd even of all time. Its portrait of artistic perseverance has given birth to a complete meme genre. Above all, it’s a prime example of what a talented director can do before the world takes notice, taking a very personal story—Chazelle has said he based on “fear” his high school band experience—to create something specific and new. The 2014 film received five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and won three—with Simmons taking home the award for Best Supporting Actor. Chazelle has since won the Oscar for Best Director. La La Land, with his most recent film being Babylon (And, he tells us, something new is on the way.) Teller is breaking away from the box office sensation of Top Gun: Maverick.
Sony Pictures Classics is now offering Whiplash Injury the kind of treatment reserved for films of enduring stature: a full-blown reissue. In honor of the 10th anniversary, the distributor will return the film to theaters nationwide starting September 20. Kicking off the reunion tour, Whiplash Injury will also be screened as part of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
Before celebrating the milestone, Chazelle, Teller and Simmons joined Vanity Fair to reflect on the film for the first time this year—and assess how it changed their lives.
Short
After falling in love Whiplash Injury excellent script, Helen Estabrook sent it to her production partner at the time, Jason Reitman, who then convinced Chazelle to make a short film version as a kind of proof of concept. The short film, which won critical acclaim in its own right, starred Johnny Simmons as Neiman, before Teller took on the role in the film, while J.K. Simmons was the first to take on the role of Fletcher.
Damien Chazelle: Even though it was a 15-minute short, it was the first time I worked with a professional crew and with things like an assistant director and a script supervisor and all these roles. Before that, I had just done basic student films—camera on shoulder, me and a couple of friends, going out on the street and shooting on the weekends. That was my idea of filmmaking.
JK Simmons: Jason [Reitman] said, “Look at this.” I read it, and it was one of those life-changing experiences to just encounter not just absolute brilliance on the page, but a character whose every action, every word that came out of his mouth, felt like I was identifying with it naturally. It was hard not to be narcissistic and pretentious – which I am, because I’m an actor. It was just one of those rare roles. I thought, I’m in charge of this. I’m in charge of this. I understand everything. I’m dying to do this. They said, “Okay, we want you to meet Damien.”
Chazelle: It was always clear to me that regardless of whether or not we had the resources to make it, it had to feel exactly the same rhythm. It had to feel like a film that one of those characters would make. It had to reflect their mindset, for lack of a better word. Go with their rhythm. I knew it had to be shot that way, but I had to learn how to shoot that way. I learned the hard way. I was struggling for the first day or two, and I really thought, I don’t know what I’m doing and I’m not cut out for this kind of filmmaking. And then by the end of the short, I was like, Okay, I’m still not comfortable with this, but I’m not going to give up now.
