Damien Chazelle and his iPhone are at it again. For his recent, star-studded, and opinion-dividing movie Babylon, the filmmaker reached for his phone during early production in order to visualize some of the scenes and take notes. Today, just ahead of the movie's release in 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD, and in tandem with the film's digital release, Paramount shared with Collider some exclusive footage that hailed directly from Chazelle’s phone, and we’re excited to show it to you.

In the featurette, you can see that Chazelle wasn’t really focusing on camera positioning or cinematography. It looks like a home movie that anyone would make—if you had Margot Robbie and Diego Calva at your disposal, that is. The scene is a conversation between Nellie LaRoy (Robbie) and Manny Torres (Calva), and it feels like Chazelle only wanted to document how the actors played against each other. This is one of many techniques used by filmmakers to study a scene before actually putting everything in place to film it. Much like in other industries, time is money in Hollywood, and you need to be as camera-ready as possible when the time comes to roll them.

Damien Chazelle Reveals That Diego Calva's Casting Was Life Imitating Art

In the behind-the-scenes featurette, Chazelle talks about the casting process for Babylon and mentions that he knew Calva was perfect for the role of Manny from his headshot. In order to test the actor’s chemistry with fellow cast member Robbie, Chazelle took them both to his backyard and had them deliver some lines while he filmed them. You can also notice that at that point in the production, the accents of each character were not the focus of the rehearsal, and Calva adds that what they were looking for at the time was for the duo to convey the toxicity of that relationship.

Margot Robbie and Diego Calva as Nellie and Manny about to kiss at a party in 'Babylon'

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Babylon, Cinema, and An Orgy of Excess

Babylon is the kind of movie that celebrates cinema itself. Set in the transitional between the silent movie era and the “talkies,” the story follows the Hollywood stars who had to deal with a new era of entertainment that would change their careers forever. In his review, Collider’s own Ross Bonaime called Babylon an “orgy of excess,” and underscored that this is precisely why the whopping 3-hour movie works. He championed Chazelle’s direction from the movie’s very first scene, and that the long ride doesn’t forget to be fun.

Aside from Robbie and Calva, the cast of Babylon also features Brad Pitt, Tobey Maguire, Katherine Waterston, Diego Calva, Max Minghella, and Jean Smart. The movie was nominated for three categories at the 2023 Academy Awards: Best Achievement in Production Design, Original Score, and Costume Design.

You can watch the exclusive featurette below and watch Babylon on digital now: