Writer/director Damien Chazelle drew upon personal memories of his own jazz band days for the writing and direction of Whiplash. He modeled the story after his gut-wrenching experiences with his former conductor in high school. In interviews, Chazelle has added that he expanded the character of Fletcher to model him after Buddy Rich and other jazz greats known for their brutality towards band members.
Chazelle secured financing for the feature-length film by creating a short film based on 15 pages from the full script. The attention given the short film at the Sundance Film Festival led producers to take a chance on the young and then-unknown director. Chazelle ability to capture the brutality of music training put a fresh spin on the traditional music pedagogy story, and he was adamant about making the film in exactly the right way. For instance, he insisted on filling the jazz bands in the film with real musicians to make it authentic.
The film opened to critical acclaim, with many critics praising its fresh and uninhibited perspective on musicianship, practice, and the violent undercurrents in so many training programs. J.K. Simmons received especial praise for his role as Fletcher, and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. While the film launched Chazelle's career, there were some detractors, including Richard Brody from The New Yorker who wrote, "Whiplash honors neither jazz nor cinema."
