Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone musical La La Land to open Venice Film Festival

A musical starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone will open this year’s Venice Film Festival.

La La Land, the new film by Whiplash director Damien Chazelle, has been confirmed as the opener for the annual event, which kicks off on August 31.

The film, which has been described as a tribute to the ‘golden age’ of musicals, will screen in competition.

Gosling, who isn’t exactly known for his singing and dancing, plays jazz pianist Sebastian who falls for Stone’s aspiring actress Mia.

JK Simmons, who won an Oscar for his role in Chazelle’s Whiplash, co-stars in the film, as does John Legend.

Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera said: “La La Land is a film that does not merely reinvent the musical genre, it gives it a brand new start.

“If Whiplash was the revelation of a new filmmaker, La La Land is his definitive, albeit precocious, consecration among the great directors of Hollywood’s new firmament.”

Speaking about the new film in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Chazelle said: “There’s an incredible romanticism in L.A. that you don’t always see when you’re stuck in traffic on the 405.

“I wanted to make a big love letter to the city and focus on that push and pull that all young artists experience, between dreams and reality, which old Hollywood musicals are so good at expressing.”

Sam Mendes is heading up this year’s festival jury, tasked with awarding the prestigious Golden Lion for best film.

The Venice Film Festival will run from August 31 – September 10.