Were Miles Teller & Emma Watson “Too Demanding” For La La Land?

With La La Land sweeping every award show and Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling being hailed as modern-day musical icons, it's hard to imagine this movie playing out any differently. Alas, Stone and RyGos weren't the only options on the table when casting the Los Angeles-set love story. According to director Damien Chazelle, Emma Watson and Miles Teller were in talks to play Mia and Sebastian prior to Stone and Gosling signing on. Now, the That Awkward Moment star is calling out a report that says the part fell through because of the actors' "demands." A source for Page Six alleges that the reason it didn't work out with Watson and Teller was because Watson insisted upon rehearsals in London, and Teller demanded more money. Now the source claims the duo is making their agents' lives miserable over not securing them the role. Classic Hollywood egotism, right? Eh, more like another unconfirmed Hollywood rumour — one that Teller is happy to clarify. On Sunday, the Whiplash actor took to Twitter to call bullshit on the whole story — with a little help from Kellyanne Conway. ".@pagesix @nypost "reporting" alternative facts."

While it might be a good story (who doesn't love a tale of celebrity divadom?) it's far more likely that the casting didn't work out due to something as mundane as scheduling conflicts. Chazelle told People that the film, which took six years to make, went through many "permutations" in terms of casting — so it's likely that Teller and Watson weren't the only alternative leads on the table. La La Land may be the biggest movie on the block right now, but I doubt that these stars are losing any sleep over what might have been. There's always another day of sun in Hollywood, and no shortage of parts for these two A-listers.