Mia & Sebastian's Theme

"Mia & Sebastian's Theme"
Instrumental by Justin Hurwitz
from the album La La Land: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
ReleasedDecember 9, 2016 (2016-12-09)
Length1:36
LabelInterscope
ComposerJustin Hurwitz
Producers

"Mia & Sebastian's Theme" is an instrumental by Justin Hurwitz that appears in the 2016 musical film La La Land. It first appears during a scene between the film's two main characters, where Mia (Emma Stone) hears Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) playing it. The piece, and variations of it, recurs throughout the rest of the film. The first piece composed for La La Land, "Mia & Sebastian's Theme" represents Sebastian's character and his romantic relationship with Mia. Hurwitz found it difficult to compose due to its significance for the rest of the score and challenges in balancing the tone.

Context

"Mia & Sebastian's Theme" first appears near the beginning of La La Land. Mia (Emma Stone) hears the piece and walks into a bar, where Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is playing it.[1] Hurwitz said that it is characterized by senses of yearning, hope, pain, and sweetness[2] and is "about somebody who doesn't have what they want and doesn't know what they want".[3] A later version of the theme, subtitled "Late for the Date", recurs throughout the score.[4] Other pieces in the film's score, including "Planetarium" and "Epilogue", build on "Mia & Sebastian's Theme".[5]

Background and writing

Damien Chazelle wrote the screenplay for La La Land in 2010.[6][7] His idea was "to take the old musical but ground it in real life where things don't always exactly work out",[8] and to salute creative people who move to Los Angeles to chase their dreams.[9] He conceived the film's concept while he was a student at Harvard University with his classmate Justin Hurwitz.[10][11] Hurwitz described the music as an "unbelievable amount of work and an unbelievable amount of passion". When writing the film's songs and score, he focused on whether the audience would remember them after watching La La Land. Hurwitz began by writing themes for the film and characters, some of which turned into songs.[12]

"Mia and Sebastian's Theme (Late for the Date)" was the first piece that Hurwitz wrote for La La Land.[2] He wanted to avoid "old-fashioned" and "contemporary" sounds, instead aiming for a "timeless" quality.[4] Hurwitz aimed for it to represent both "an outpouring of Sebastian's soul" and the core of Mia and Sebastian's romantic relationship. He had difficulty finding the "yearning" tone because it required both sweetness and pain without too much of either.[13] Before its completion, he created 30 versions,[3] including several demos on the piano. He described writing the final melody as an "A-ha!" moment for him and Chazelle, where its suitability was immediately apparent.[2] Hurwitz found "Mia & Sebastian's Theme" to be the most difficult piece to compose in the entire film due to its significance for the rest of the score.[5]

Gosling learned the piece and performs it in the final film.[1] He spent four months practicing with his piano teacher. The final recording features Randy Kerber's playing.[14]

Composition

The Hollywood Reporter described the piece as "bittersweet".[3] Billboard called it "plaintive instrumental lullaby",[4] and MuseScore said it was a "lilting waltz".[15] The piece switches between major and minor within the same key, which, according to Hurwitz, gave it emotional complexity while avoiding mawkishness.[13] "Mia & Sebastian's Theme" begins on the piano before incorporating strings that lead into a full orchestration.[15]

Reception

Screen Rant ranked the piece as the eighth-best song in La La Land, referring to it as one of the film's "most beautiful moments".[16]

References

  1. 1 2 Sharf, Zack (February 21, 2017). "La La Land Set Video Proves It Really Is Ryan Gosling Playing Those Beautiful Piano Solos – Watch". IndieWire. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 McCollum, Maureen (January 17, 2017). "Wisconsin's Justin Hurwitz Tapped into Nostalgia to Compose La La Land Score". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Ford, Rebecca (November 22, 2016). "How 'La La Land's' Music Found Just the Right Note". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Reilly, Phoebe (February 16, 2017). "La La Land Director Calls Ryan Gosling's Character 'Kind of a Fool'". Billboard. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
  5. 1 2 Barquin, Juan Antonio (April 8, 2025). "La La Land Composer Justin Hurwitz on the Film's Longevity: 'It's Surreal'". Miami New Times. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
  6. ↑ Hipes, Patrick; Patten, Dominic (April 14, 2015). "Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone Circling Damien Chazelle's 'La La Land'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 23, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  7. ↑ Keegan, Rebecca (September 12, 2016). "With 'La La Land,' Emma Stone and director Damien Chazelle aim to show that original musicals aren't all tapped out". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  8. ↑ Anderson, Ariston (August 31, 2016). "'La La Land': Emma Stone, Director Damien Chazelle Talk Bringing Back Hope in Films". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  9. ↑ Smith, Nigel M (September 8, 2016). "Damien Chazelle on La La Land: 'Los Angeles is full of people chasing dreams'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 23, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  10. ↑ Ford, Rebecca (November 3, 2016). "How 'La La Land' Went From First-Screening Stumbles to Hollywood Ending". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 23, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  11. ↑ Goldstein, Meredith. "'La La Land' could have been set in Boston". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on June 23, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  12. ↑ Ellwood, Gregory (December 8, 2016). "For 'La La Land's' music, it's all about the characters and themes". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  13. 1 2 Grobar, Matt (February 15, 2017). "How La La Land Composer Justin Hurwitz Used 'Sleight of Hand and Deception' to Create His Dynamic Score". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
  14. ↑ de Vries, Marius; Loughrey, Clarisse (February 9, 2017). "La La Land: Here's a Track-by-Track Breakdown of the Soundtrack by the Film's Music Director". The Independent. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
  15. 1 2 Johnson, Kevin (September 25, 2025). "Why 'Mia and Sebastian's Theme' Endures: The Story Behind La La Land's Iconic Melody and Its New Classical Voice". MuseScore. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
  16. ↑ Wilkinson, Matthew (January 2, 2021). "La La Land: Every Song, Ranked Worst To Best". Screen Rant. Retrieved August 8, 2026.
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