‘Babylon’ First Reactions Are All Over the Place

Paramount has pulled the curtain back on “Babylon,” Damien Chazelle’s period comedy documenting the excess of the early age of Hollywood. An early screening Monday evening at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills has opened the floodgates for first reactions.

The 188-minute epic represents a return to awards season for Chazelle, who became the youngest best director Oscar winner ever in 2016 for his work helming “La La Land.” His subsequent Neil Armstrong biopic “First Man” and his Sundance breakout “Whiplash” also made sizable dents in their respective awards runs.

Margot Robbie, Diego Calva and Brad Pitt lead “Babylon,” among a stacked cast that includes Tobey Maguire, Jean Smart, Li Jun Li and Jovan Adepo. Chazelle has described the film as being inspired by Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita,” Robert Altman’s “Nashville” and “The Godfather” — “old-school epics that managed, through a handful of characters, to convey a society changing.”

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