Damien Chazelle's "La La Land" is a bittersweet tale of a romance that almost was. The story of Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone) is of a love that is very much requited and yet, due to circumstances, simply cannot be. That theme of a near-miss is very much the real-life story of the movie as well as its fictional narrative in a number of ways. For one, the film infamously nearly won Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Although this was less an instance of a near-miss and more just a genuine mistake, there was a good minute there where the filmmakers thought it actually happened.

That's not the only near-miss that "La La Land" experienced during its journey from inception, to cinemas, to awards season. When the film was first being developed, Chazelle had two completely different actors in mind for the leading roles: Miles Teller and Emma Watson.