Teaming up with J.K. Simmons in WHIPLASH worked out so well for director Damien Chazelle that THR reports that Simmons has signed on to Chazelle's new project, LA LA LAND. The film, which will be a modern take on the Hollywood musical, stars Ryan Gosling as a jazz pianist who falls for an aspiring actress played by Emma Stone.
The synopsis reads:
La La Land follows an aspiring actress Mia, who's lonely desperate to fit in, and cocky yet charismatic jazz pianist Sebastian — who fall in love in Los Angeles. However, the city that brought them together may tear them apart, as they soon discover that balancing love and art in such a cutthroat climate isn't easy.
There's not a heck of a lot of information about J.K. Simmons' character other than he will go by the name of "Boss." Jessica Rothe, Sonoya Mizuno, and Callie Hernandez have also joined LA LA LAND as three of Emma Stone's roommates. Damien Chazelle had originally wanted to get LA LA LAND going before WHIPLASH, but the larger scope of LA LA LAND proved difficult to get off the ground for someone without much previous directing experience.
LA LA LAND is set for a July 15, 2016 release, but you can see J.K. Simmons in theaters right this moment in TERMINATOR: GENISYS.