One hawk-eyed viewer realized that a scene from Babylon set in the 1950s featured a Jackass Forever billboard, and pointed out the oversight to the world. What if it was an Easter Egg instead?
As opposed to La La Land, Babylon it didn’t enchant the US critics, indeed it would be better to say that it disappointed them, if we consider that only 56% of the reviews on rottentomatoes are positive. In addition, compared to a Everything Everywhere All at Oncewhich presents itself with 11 nominations at the Oscars 2023, the new musical by Damien Chazelle has only 3 nominations (costumes, scenography and soundtrack). Perhaps, then, it would be more correct to say that the film has divided audiences and industry insiders, who either heartily loathed it or adored it.
Just today we learn of a small mistake made by Chazelle that could be used as a weapon against him by the detractors of his portrayal of 1920s Hollywood. It is a trifle, which very few will have noticed and which recalls the many quartz watches on the wrists of actors or extras in films set in the times of the Roman Empire or ancient Greece. A Twitter user, who noticed the oversight, immediately shared an image of Babylon where you see a billboard advertising Jackass Forever. It is one of the final scenes of the film when the character of Manuel Torres said Manny (diego bald) walks the streets of Los Angeles before entering a Studio.
The photo of the Jackass Forever billboard in Babylon
In the Tweet you can see very well the billboard of the fourth film in the series Jackass. Released on February 4, 2022, Jackass Forever was about to debut just as Damien Chazelle was filming the blockbuster with Brad Pitt e Margot Robbie. Having shot a lot, much more than the three hours we had the opportunity to see in theaters, it is possible that the director missed the incriminating detail. We do not know if the DVD and Blu-Ray editions of Babylon have already been “closed”, but it is probable that a small cut will be made before the film is shown either again in theaters or at some festival. According to the source of the news (Screen Rant), the poster error that seems to come from the future adds to the appeal of the film, and maybe someone will go to see it just to notice the mistake.
And if instead Chazelle had decided to leave the bill on purpose, as if to underline that the glimpse of Hollywood that the film offers belongs to a man of the twenty-first century? We may not know, but if we happen to meet in the future Damienwe will certainly ask him.
my favorite surprise at the end of babylon was the jackass forever billboard making an appearance on a 1952 studio lot pic.twitter.com/RA6HJIyiG0
— Owen (@styleboy4life) January 31, 2023