Biography

Justin Hurwitz was born on January 22, 1985 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for La La Land (2016), First Man (2018) and Whiplash (2014).

Often composes jazz score for film, so far including in Guy and Madeline on a Park bench (2009), Whiplash (2014) and La La Land (2016).

Graduated from Harvard, which is also where he met fellow collaborator and best friend, Damien Chazelle.

His favorite film of all time is The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964). He claimed to always go watch it every time it plays on the big screen.

Son of Ken Hurwitz.

[on his time at Harvard, working with writer-director Damien Chazelle] Damien and I really bonded over this shared philosophy sophomore year of working really hard and sacrificing ... I remember we would really egg each other on and make each other feel guilty for not working hard enough. And we just had a lot of conversations about how we both wanted to be really, really good at what we do, and what it would take.

[on composing La La Land (2016)] it was two and a half years of nonstop work, going to bed into the wee hours of the night - 1,900 piano demos. Orchestrating every note myself. An unbelievable amount of work and an unbelievable amount of passion. I had to be so passionate about it to keep up with it. I got sick because I wasn't sleeping enough.

[on stripping Harvey Weinstein from Academy membership following allegations of sexual assault and abuse] As a new member, I don't know much about disciplinary precedents, but I would personally like to see him removed. I think anything we can do to create a culture of accountability, and to show support for women who have been victimized by this kind of behavior, is a good thing.