Damien Chazelle made Oscars history when he took home the award for best director Sunday night.
“This was a movie about love, and I was lucky enough to fall in love while making it,” the 32-year-old director said to his girlfriend, Olivia Hamilton, after thanking the film’s stars Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and John Legend while onstage.
The La La Land helmer broke an 85-year-old record to become the category’s youngest winner ever. On Oscars night, Chazelle was 221 days younger than the previous record-holder, Skippy‘s Norman Taurog, who was also 32 when he won in 1931.
He is also only the second director ever to collect an Oscar for an original musical, after Vincente Minnelli for Gigi nearly 60 years ago.
La La Land was up for a record-tying 14 nominations, only All About Eve and Titanic have had as many.
Throughout the evening, it also won the Oscars for production design, cinematography, score and original song. Later in the night, Stone picked up the award for best actress.
Going into the night, the original musical, starring Stone and best actor-nominee Gosling, was the heavy favorite to win best picture. The most it could take home, however, is 13 since two of its original songs are competing against each other.
In the run-up to the biggest night of awards season, Chazelle took home directing prizes at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Directors Guild Awards, which have predicted the Oscars best picture winner all but seven times in 68 years.
Chazelle beat out Manchester by the Sea‘s Kenneth Lonergan, Arrival‘s Denis Villeneuve, Hacksaw Ridge‘s Mel Gibson and Moonlight‘s Barry Jenkins. Halle Berry introduced the nominees.
Had Moonlight‘s Jenkins taken home the prize, he would have become the first black director to ever win the category.
Jenkins is only the fourth black man to be nominated for the best director Oscar. No black woman has ever been nominated in the category.
Jimmy Kimmel hosted the 89th annual Academy Awards, which were held at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre and aired live Sunday on ABC.
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