Emma Stone didn't have to go all method to play an aspiring actress in La La Land.
Like her character Mia, Stone had her share of bad auditions as did her co-star Ryan Gosling.
"That was a cathartic and interesting part of playing Mia," Stone told me while promoting the movie with their director Damien Chazelle. "Ryan and I told Damien some of our audition stories so he was nice enough to utilize some of those." Trust us, some of the audition scenes are brutal.
But if Stone could go back and give her younger self some advice, she said she wouldn't want to change a thing about her journey. "I don't really know if I would tell myself anything because I feel happy to be where I am now and I think it all sort of unfolds the way it's supposed to unfold so I wouldn't want to change any course along the way," she said.
Chazelle, cracked, "Stop all the drug use?"
Stone kidded, "I guess stop that, yeah—the hard drugs at least."
Joking aside, as we know La La Land is an Oscar favorite in so many categories. Chazelle says he can't let himself get caught up in the buzz.
"This movie, I kept waiting for the plug to get pulled, especially in the lead up," Chazelle said of making the musical. "Once you start rolling cameras, it's harder for them to pull the plug but like in the lead up, I was like, 'This is going to be the week. This is it. We're going to get the call. We're shutting down."
Stone agreed, "It's not a consistent kind of industry, so you're kind of waiting for the shoe to drop."
The movie first premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in September. The last four months have been a whirlwind promotional tour for Stone. (Gosling hasn't been around as much because he's shooting the Blade Runner sequel.)
"At [Saturday Night Live], someone said, 'I'm sorry I haven't seen it yet,'" said Stone, who hosted SNL for the third time on Saturday. "And I was like, 'It's OK, it's not out yet! It's still not out!' I'm so excited that it's coming out—this week!"
La La Land is in select theaters tomorrow with a wider release set for Dec. 16.