Today’s movie of the day is the 2014 American psychological drama film Whiplash, written and directed by Damien Chazelle inspired by his experiences in the Studio Band at Princeton High School.

Synopsis

Andrew Neiman is a young jazz drummer on the east coast with one goal: to become the best in his class at his prestigious music institution. Because of his father’s unsuccessful literary career, Andrew is driven to achieve greatness in his own right. As a result of Terence Fletcher’s formidable teaching skills and scary techniques, the school’s premier jazz group is led by him. When Fletcher comes upon Andrew, the wannabe drummer, his life is permanently altered. As his harsh tutor continues to push him to the limit of both his talent and sanity, Andrew’s drive for excellence gradually escalates into obsession.

Fun Facts

• Producers included Sony Pictures Classics, Bold Films, Right of Way Films, and Blumhouse Productions.
• The main cast includes J.K. Simmons, Miles Teller, Melissa Benoist, and Paul Reiser.

• It is rated R for strong language and some sexual allusions.
• Whiplash was initially scheduled to compete for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards, but it was later revealed that the movie would instead compete in the Adapted Screenplay category.
• Damien Chazelle, the film’s director and writer, was unable to get financing for the film, so he transformed it into a short film and submitted it to the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, where it ultimately won the Short Film Jury Award, and received financing shortly afterward.
• K. Simmons has received 47 awards for his role as Fletcher.
• On October 7, 2014, the soundtrack album was released by the Varèse Sarabande label, comprising 24 songs broken into three sections.

• In North America, the movie premiered in six cinemas on October 10, 2014, generating $135,388 and ranked 34th at the box office.
• The film has a 94 percent approval rating based on 298 reviews on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 8.60 out of 10.
• Whiplash garnered a Grammy nomination in December 2015, as well as an NME Award nomination for Best Film.

• Whiplash was nominated for four Film Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Director, Best Feature, Best Editing, and Best Supporting Actor (J. K. Simmons).
• Whiplash made the 2012 Blacklist, a ranking of the year’s “most liked” unmade screenplays.