First Man with Justin Hurwitz and Damien Chazelle

On the heels of their six-time Academy Award^®-winning smash, La La Land, Oscar^®-winning director Damien Chazelle and star Ryan Gosling reteam for Universal Pictures’ First Man, the riveting story behind the first manned mission to the moon, focusing on Neil Armstrong and the decade leading to the historic Apollo 11 flight. A visceral and intimate account told from Armstrong’s perspective, based on the book by James R. Hansen, the film explores the triumphs and the cost—on Armstrong, his family, his colleagues and the nation itself—of one of the most dangerous missions in history.

Justin Hurwitz graduated from Harvard University in 2008, where he studied music composition and orchestration. He composed the music for Chazelle’s first three films: Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, Whiplash and La La Land, earning two Academy Awards^®, two Golden Globes^®, two Critics’ Choice Awards, two Grammys^® and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award for film music for his work on La La Land. Hurwitz lives in Los Angeles.

Academy Award^® winner Damien Chazelle most recently wrote and directed the musical La La Land, which earned 14 Oscar^® nominations, winning six awards, including Best Director for Chazelle, who is the youngest director to receive the award.The film also won a record-breaking seven Golden Globe^® Awards, and was honored with five British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award wins and 11 nominations. His previous film, 2014’s Whiplash, received five Academy Award^® nominations and three wins, including Best Supporting Actor for J.K. Simmons. His 2013 short, based on the Whiplash screenplay, won the Short Film Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and, the following year, the feature film took home both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award from the festival. 

Chazelle made his first feature, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, as an undergraduate student at Harvard University. The film was named one of the best films of the year by The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, LA Weekly, The Village Voice and others. Upcoming in television, Chazelle has the musical drama The Eddy for Netflix, and a a drama series for Apple TV, which he will direct and executive produce.