It is a cooperate thing, those who work in the "Industry" recognized all the top-notch elements of LaLa Land. You have to know the "history". Best Screenplay Golden Globe because of the references to the "classic" moments of films, musicals, etc. Many are mentioned in "IMDb Trivia": Films that were inspirations/influences and screened for the cast/crew include: Another Day of Sun opening dance number."SPEED"freeway ramp Singin' in the Rain (1952), Top Hat (1935), An American in Paris (1951), The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), (One of the buildings on the studio lot is called "Parapluies," a reference to the musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, which has a similar plot to La La Land.) Swing Time (1936), The Band Wagon (1953), The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), and even 8 1/2 (1963) for the film's opening traffic number. ..Rebel without a Cause: After one of the auditions Emma Stone attends, she mentions the film has a plot similar to "Rebel Without a Cause." One of the most iconic things from "Rebel" is James Dean's red jacket, Emma wears a similar jacket to both the audition and the call back. ..they go on a first date to see the movie, that burns out, ..they go up to the Planetariumsame scene with the car driving up to the Observatory: Although production was able to film the Griffith Park Observatory interior exhibits, they were not allowed to film in the planetarium, so the planetarium was recreated on a set. The vintage Minolta projector in the center of the planetarium was rented from the Planetarium and Projector Science Museum in Big Bear Lake, California to complete the set. .Casablanca: When Mia gives Sebastian a tour of the Warner backlot, she shows him a window that was used in "Casablanca." Much later, near the end of the movie, when Mia and her husband go into Sebastian's club and he is stunned to see them, it is a clear homage to the famous scene in "Casablanca" when Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henried go to Rick's Caf Americain and Bogey is stunned to see Bergman. ..Funny Face: In the last dance sequence, when Sebastian and Mia are fantasizing about a life that could have been, Mia is seen holding a bunch of balloons as a model at a photo shoot in Paris. This directly references a scene in Funny Face, where Audrey Hepburn does exactly the same thing. .The Red Balloon: In one of many homages to classic films, when Sebastian and Mia dance around in the Paris set, a little boy is clearly seen holding a bright round balloon. This is a nod to the classic French kids' movie The Red Balloon Won seven Golden Globes, more than any other movie ever. .SPEED and the bus scene over the ramp: The express lane freeway ramp used for the opening number, Another Day Of Sun, is the same stretch of freeway as used for the iconic "bus jump" sequence from Speed (1994), where a 50-foot section of the ramp was digitally removed using CGI to create the gap the bus must jump over. Woody Allen's: One not mentioned at IMDb was the "floating" dance sequence which was first done, smooth and cool, with Goldie Horn in Wood Allen's "Everyone Says I Love You" (musical film that it was).
LALA Land has meaning for "The Industry" Hollywood
You have to know the "history".
Best Screenplay Golden Globe because of the references to the "classic" moments of films, musicals, etc.
Many are mentioned in "IMDb Trivia":
Films that were inspirations/influences and screened for the cast/crew include:
Another Day of Sun opening dance number."SPEED"freeway ramp
Singin' in the Rain (1952),
Top Hat (1935),
An American in Paris (1951),
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964),
(One of the buildings on the studio lot is called "Parapluies,"
a reference to the musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,
which has a similar plot to La La Land.)
Swing Time (1936),
The Band Wagon (1953),
The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967),
and even 8 1/2 (1963) for the film's opening traffic number.
..Rebel without a Cause:
After one of the auditions Emma Stone attends, she mentions the film has a plot similar to "Rebel Without a Cause."
One of the most iconic things from "Rebel" is James Dean's red jacket,
Emma wears a similar jacket to both the audition and the call back.
..they go on a first date to see the movie, that burns out,
..they go up to the Planetariumsame scene with the car driving up to the Observatory:
Although production was able to film the Griffith Park Observatory interior exhibits,
they were not allowed to film in the planetarium, so the planetarium was recreated on a set.
The vintage Minolta projector in the center of the planetarium was rented from the Planetarium
and Projector Science Museum in Big Bear Lake, California to complete the set.
.Casablanca:
When Mia gives Sebastian a tour of the Warner backlot, she shows him a window that was used in "Casablanca."
Much later, near the end of the movie, when Mia and her husband go into Sebastian's club
and he is stunned to see them, it is a clear homage to the famous scene in "Casablanca"
when Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henried go to Rick's Caf Americain and Bogey is stunned to see Bergman.
..Funny Face:
In the last dance sequence, when Sebastian and Mia are fantasizing about a life that could have been,
Mia is seen holding a bunch of balloons as a model at a photo shoot in Paris.
This directly references a scene in Funny Face, where Audrey Hepburn does exactly the same thing.
.The Red Balloon:
In one of many homages to classic films, when Sebastian and Mia dance around in the Paris set,
a little boy is clearly seen holding a bright round balloon.
This is a nod to the classic French kids' movie The Red Balloon
Won seven Golden Globes, more than any other movie ever.
.SPEED
and the bus scene over the ramp:
The express lane freeway ramp used for the opening number, Another Day Of Sun,
is the same stretch of freeway as used for the iconic "bus jump" sequence from Speed (1994),
where a 50-foot section of the ramp was digitally removed using CGI to create the gap the bus must jump over.
Woody Allen's:
One not mentioned at IMDb was the "floating" dance sequence which was first done, smooth and cool,
with Goldie Horn in Wood Allen's "Everyone Says I Love You" (musical film that it was).