Name of Film: La La Land
Year Created: 2016
Director: Damien Chazelle
Genre: musical rom-com drama
Link to Film Trailer: La La Land (2016 Movie) Official Trailer – ‘Dreamers’
Current opening title sequence: Another Day of Sun – La La Land Opening Scene
Plot Synopsis: Follows the main characters of Sebastien and Mia following their dreams, Seb of owning a jazz bar and revitalizing classic jazz appreciation, and Mia wanting to break through in acting. Following a classic “La Dreams” kind of trope when these two fall in love and navigate their relationship and missteps, and kind of a commentary on dreams, people following through with them, the cost, and what could have been. Watch as these two push each other to follow their dreams, and the experience of trying to do everything to do so leads them astray and to different outcomes than expected. The director said he wanted it to “be realistic,” but, in my opinion, he inserted his personal opinion. I think he made the ending and the path of their direction go to follow and cope with his own failed marriage personally.
Reason for selection: The opening sequence is beautiful, and the artistry is just wonderful. It just doesn’t have an actual opening title sequence with the credits and names and such. It needs a title sequence that lives up to the wonderful filming techniques, and that would be a great pre-opening to the opening, but also something that maybe slowly draws you into the world so when you get to the opening sequence it isn’t like “BANG YOU ARE HERE NOW” it could be more to draw in people slowly so they are sucked up into this world before they even realize.
Additional Links:
- La La Land (2016) – IMDb
- La La Land | Rotten Tomatoes
- La La Land | Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, John Legend, Academy Award Winner | Lionsgate
- La La Land movie review & film summary review:
- La La Land | Moviepedia | Fandom
Name of Film: Weapons
Year Created: 2025
Director: Zach Cregger
Genre: Horror/Mystery
Link to Film Trailer: Weapons | Official Trailer
Current opening title sequence: Weapons (2025) Opening Scene 1080p HD
Plot Synopsis: Weapons is about 17 school children going missing all at the same time, one night. They run out of their houses T-posing, and no one knows how or why. All 17 children are from the same class, and only one kid doesn’t go missing. Parents and the community suspect the teacher of this classroom, and you follow the teacher, navigating her weird life and going through this circumstance of being blamed for something she says she didn’t do. Throughout the film, you start to watch from various perspectives as they all converge together at different points in time. A dark and twisted plot that really ropes you in at different turns. This movie explores grief and life’s complications for something that scars a whole community. Many people, including me, note the parallels to topics of school shootings, and this film goes about it in a very creative, interesting manner.
Reason for selection: Kind of similar to my first film pick, as it has a wonderfully technical, beautiful beginning sequence, but no title sequence itself. I want to do something similar to the idea of the first film I picked, which gently leads into the film with an eerie and simplistic title sequence, but allows the beginning sequence to shine without competition. There is already so much going on in this opening sequence that the title sequence shouldn’t give anything from the film away. It should be just as eerie with the open-ended interpretations.
Additional Links:
- Weapons (2025) – IMDb
- ‘Weapons’ review: A horror film about the underbelly of American suburbia: NPR
- Weapons | Rotten Tomatoes
- ‘Weapons’ Review: These Classmates Are Not All Right – The New York Times
Name of Film: Into The Woods
Year Created: 2014
Director: Rob Marshell
Genre: Adventure/comedy/drama/fantasy/musical
Link to Film Trailer: Into the Woods Official Trailer #1 (2014) – Anna Kendrick, Johnny Depp Fantasy Musical HD
Current opening title sequence: “I wish” – Into The Woods 2014
- Note: It opens with the Disney logo and then immediately goes into this sequence.
Plot Synopsis: It has been a while since I last watched it, but it follows a baker and his wife who wish for a child, then plant the rest of the plot seeds and affect all the big story characters we know and love. The witch, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, Tangled, Red Riding Hood, etc. It takes a twisted turn on fairytales and tells an involved and interesting story about human wants and desires, consequences, and the costs. Everyone in this town wishes for something more and does what they can, perhaps losing what they have in the process. A darker story from Disney with many big-name stars within the film, a fairy tale like no other.
Reason for selection: Again very similar to my other two picks, it doesn’t have an opening title credit scene, but it has this wonderful chaotic opening sequence with everyone singing and introducing all of these fantastic actors/actresses and their roles in the film, so it just needs something a bit more chill to once again slowly rope people into the film and immerse in the world I feel less abrubtly. And it has Meryl Streep, whom I ADORE IN EVERYTHING SHE HAS BEEN IN, and can do no wrong; she needs an opening title sequence that does her justice, I want to be her justice.
Additional Links:
