After heading back to theaters to celebrate its tenth anniversary, Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash has again proven that Jazz isn’t a dead genre, drumming up a decent domestic box office figure. Written and directed by Chazelle, Whiplash stars Miles Teller as Andrew, an up-and-coming jazz musician given the opportunity to join Terence Fletcher’s (J.K. Simmons) prestigious band. Excited by the chance to prove himself, Andrew’s joy quickly devolves into stress as Fletcher’s tyrannical leadership creates phenomenal musicians, if they can survive his verbal and physical onslaughts.
Whiplash is one of the most celebrated and popular original movies of the 2010s, and its theatrical re-release has proven that fans will return to theaters in droves to see if Andrew was rushing or dragging. After a three-day stint in 695 theaters across the US, Whiplash managed to gross $578,000, averaging around $800 per theater. Of course, compared to its original release a decade ago, $578k is chumps’ change. But, boasting those figures on a tenth-anniversary re-release is no easy feat.
The movie has also found immense success on streaming, introducing new audiences to one of J.K. Simmons’ most terrifying villains. Upon its release, Whiplash earned a staggering 14 Oscar nominations, and made Damien Chazelle the youngest ever winner of the prestigious Best Director award. The film also finally gave J.K. Simmons his first Oscar. The official synopsis reads:
“Andrew Neiman is an ambitious young jazz drummer, single-minded in his pursuit to rise to the top of his elite east coast music conservatory. Terence Fletcher, an instructor known equally for his teaching talents and his terrifying methods, discovers Andrew and transfers him into his band.”
J.K. Simmons Also Starred in the Whiplash Short Film
Before J.K. Simmons terrified audiences as Terence Fletcher in Whiplash, he was given a practice run in Damien Chazelle’s short film. Released just a year before the feature-length movie, the short film is a single scene from the larger movie, where Fletcher utters the infamous line, “Not quite my tempo.” Many fans assumed that Chazelle directed the short film, and then he was asked about translating it into a feature-length movie. However, according to J.K. Simmons, turning Whiplash into a full film was always the goal.
J.K. Simmons knew he wanted to play Fletcher from the moment he read the original script. “It was one of the most genius pieces of writing,” the actor said, recalling his first read-through of Whiplash. J.K. Simmons has now become synonymous with the dictatorial music conductor, and gets regularly approached by fans asking him to quote lines from the movie. Amazingly, the actor knew he was perfect for the role the moment he read the script. Simmons said:
“It was one of those things that I read and just… I mean, I don’t know if I was literally shaking, but I could 100% see myself as Fletcher in every sentence, every frame of the movie. I understood who this guy was, what he wanted, what he needed, and I knew that I was the right guy.”