The Babylon director “horrified” his 3-year-old son by showing him a Brad Pitt scene he thought would be funny.

The new film Babylon, which is the latest feature film directed by Damien Chazelle, the director of “Obsession” and “La La Land,” does not contain a great deal of material that would receive a G rating. An intuitive dedication to Hollywood in the late 1920s contains the depravity and anarchy that purportedly defined the industry. Sex, drugs, and jazz music define what I consider to be one of the best movies that have been produced so far in 2018. (to be honest, I called it at the beginning of the year).

But Chazelle is also a father to a newborn and a child who is three years old, so while he waits for the world to see Babylon on the big screen, he is currently involved in a marathon of viewing The Little Mermaid. On the other hand, Chazelle imagined that he would be able to show his child a piece of Babylon. He believed that the youngster would like the scene because it was not dangerous. (The teaser for the film reveals this information!) Just this one thing led to several terrible outcomes.

In his second appearance on the ReelBlend podcast, Damien Chazelle discussed Babylon and continued his conversation with the show’s hosts about his prior films and other projects. And as he was doing this, he recounted a very humorous tale about how he let his son, who was just three years old at the time, view a very brief clip of Babylon in the editing room. The director assured him that this was perfectly safe and even hilarious. Except that, as far as Chazelle is concerned, everything transpired in the following manner:

It was a moment that, in my opinion, did not warrant a rating higher than a G. It was Brad Pitt who gave the address from the balcony, after which he shifted his position slightly and retreated. When I heard it, my first impression was, “Oh, it sounds like Peter Sellers or the chaplain.” It’s going to be hilarious! My youngster is completely out of his head. He was shaking in his boots. He hurried out of the room screaming, as he got the impression that he had just witnessed the death of someone. And for the remainder of that following week, he was very much in sync with me. He just… kept shouting, “Man, fall, man, fall.” It’s almost as if he caught a glimpse of a snuffbox or something. Since then, whenever I try to show him what I’m working on, he avoids it like the plague and I give up trying to show it to him. As it is possible that he should.

The most well-meaning parents are the only ones who can truly comprehend how something as innocuous as an assignment might go wrong. Even taking into account everything we know about Babylon, the moment that Damien Chazelle is referring to, in which a drunk Brad Pitt speaks poetically about the necessity of innovation for the film industry if it wishes to exist, seems humorous to any youngster. However, you can never tell. And Chazelle’s son was adamant that he had no interest in learning about Pitt’s leprosy. It actually occurs! It is imperative that you move quickly to rescue Ariel and restore order to the world.

The following is an excerpt from the full interview that can be found in the most recent issue of ReelBlend:

We have high hopes that Babylon will become a movie that people will speak about long after they have seen it. It is an unsavoury glimpse at the underbelly of Hollywood, recording the highs and lows of celebrity society and demonstrating that the happenings of the 1920s are just as common today as they were then. The film received mixed reviews, and our very own Eric Eisenberg found himself smack dab in the thick of the controversy regarding the picture. But he needs to have a successful finish to the year and get people excited about all of the new 2023 films that will be arriving in theatres soon.