How La La Land Pulled Off That Stunning Highway Dance Sequence

Surprise: though “Another Day of Sun” is built to look like it was shot in a single, glorious take, La La Land’s bravura opening sequence actually hides at least two sneaky cuts. That’s just the beginning of what you’ll learn in this detailed, 10-minute-long breakdown of the Oscar winner’s most lavish production number, a scene that involved 30 talented dancers, an array of cleverly hidden speakers (to allow every performer to hear playback of of the song itself), a broken truck door, a secret cameo by Damien Chazelle’s sister, an army of computer-generated performers stretching to the horizon, and, in the words of choreographer Mandy Moore, “the perfect moment where everything worked.” (Unfortunately, Ryan Gosling’s famed hammer pants are nowhere to be found; perhaps they’ll appear in the sequel?) The film, which walked away from February’s Oscars with six Academy Awards, is available on DVD Tuesday.

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