'Babylon': Everything to Know

Paramount Pictures

Reunited and it feels so good!

After starring together in 2019's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie have reunited for the film Babylon — another historical drama. Babylon was written and directed by Oscar-winner Damien Chazelle.

Pitt teased the film back in January 2020 when he attended the Golden Globes. He told Access, "[Director Damien Chazelle] is looking at the silent movie era and the death of the silent movie era. It's really good."

On Dec. 15, 2022, the film premiered in Los Angeles. At the event, Robbie impressed in a black gown as she walked the red carpet with her mom. On Jan. 12, 2023, the leading lady turned heads again at the London premiere when she was photographed on the red carpet wearing a Valentino red poncho gown. Her co-star Pitt also looked dashing in a checked grey suit.

Here's everything to know about Babylon.

What is Babylon about?

Scott Garfield/Paramount Pictures Brad Pitt and Diego Calva in Babylon

The film follows an up-and-coming actress by the name of Nellie LaRoy (played by Robbie) and movie star Jack Conrad (played by Pitt) "during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood," according to the official log line.

"I wanted to capture just how big and bold and brash and unapologetic that world was," Chazelle told Vanity Fair. "It was really a wild West period for these people, this gallery of characters, as they rise and fall, rise, fall, rise again, fall again."

Who is in the cast?

Scott Garfield/Paramount Pictures

Robbie and Pitt aren't the only major celebrities in the cast. Tobey Maguire, Olivia Wilde, Jean Smart and Jeff Garlin all have roles in this highly-anticipated motion picture, along with Max Minghella, Lukas Haas, Samara Weaving, Eric Roberts and more.

"Part of what was magical about working with them in these roles is that each of them felt like they were really able to make the performance the most personal thing they had done," Chazelle said about Pitt and Robbie.

In November 2022, Roberts, who plays Robbie's character's father in the film, praised Robbie's performance during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "I will also tell you that Margot Robbie is going to win an Academy Award for that," the actor said. "She gives the most incredible performance in Babylon that I have ever seen."

Robbie, while chatting with Vanity Fair, described filming Babylon as the "best experience" of her life.

"What you see onscreen is the chaos of making a movie and how f----- it is, but also how it's just the greatest thing ever," she told the outlet. "And, literally, filming it was the exact same thing. S--- was so unhinged and so fun and amazing and just absurd."

Before even stepping on set, Robbie studied the life and work of Clara Bow, the silent film star who was the original inspiration for her character.

"Whenever I'm trying to make a character, I have to figure out their childhood. I can justify anything they do later in life if I just figure that out," she shared. "[Clara Bow] had probably the most horrific childhood I can imagine for anyone. You can justify anything Nellie does and says in this movie if you imagine that she experienced something like that as a kid."

The Aussie actress later revealed to E! News that she was able to justify an improvised kiss scene with Pitt because she thought "Nellie would just go up and kiss Jack." But there was also a bit of selfish intent behind the creative choice.

"I thought, 'When else am I gonna get the chance to kiss Brad Pitt? I'm just gonna go for it,' " she told the outlet.

Is there an official trailer for Babylon?

The official trailer for the film dropped on Sept. 13. It opens with the sound of Robbie's character, Nellie LaRoy, snorting cocaine.

"It's written in the stars. I am a star," Nellie says. "If I had money, I would only spend it on things that were fun. Not boring things, like taxes. I just want for everyone to party forever."

The teaser then cuts to Pitt.

"When I first moved to L.A., signs on all the doors said, 'No actors or dogs allowed.' I changed that," Pitt's character, Jack Conrad, says.

The remainder of the trailer depicts rambunctious parties, guns going off haphazardly and the potential tussle between Nellie and a rattlesnake. Put simply, it screams unhinged Hollywood.

Who directed Babylon?

Scott Garfield/Paramount Pictures Babylon (2022)

Damien Chazelle, known for his work on La La Land, is the writer and director of Babylon. In a conversation with Vanity Fair, he described the film as the most challenging project he's ever worked on.

"Just the logistics of it, the number of characters, the scale of the set pieces, the span of time that the movie charts — it all conspired to make it particularly challenging, but it was a challenge that was pretty exciting to take on," he said.

Where was Babylon filmed?

Paramount Pictures

The movie was predominately filmed in Los Angeles and wrapped in October 2021.

When was Babylon released?

Babylon hit theaters on Dec. 23, 2023. The film has a total runtime of 3 hours and 8 minutes, according to Variety.