Paramount has picked up “Babylon,” Damien Chazelle’s drama set in the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Brad Pitt and Emma Stone are in talks to star in the project, but no deals are set.

Marc Platt, who produced Chazelle’s “La La Land,” is one of the producers on “Babylon,” as are Olivia Hamilton, Matthew Plouffe and Tobey Maguire.

The story is said to be set in the late 1920s, during the movie industry’s transition* from silent films to talkies. The rise and fall of fictional and historical characters figure into the proceedings.

If deals are made, Stone would portray Clara Bow, the early sex symbol and box office star who was Hollywood’s first “It” girl. Pitt would play a fictional character, a silent film star who fails to make the transition to the new technology; sources say he is based on real-life figure John Gilbert.

Paramount’s acquisition* of “Babylon” has been a slow-cooking deal. Chazelle took his project to the studios and movie companies in June, and while there was immediate interest due to the pedigree, many had second thoughts on the script, which clocked in at a massive 180 pages, and a budget in the US$80-100 million range. A period drama from the filmmaker who was coming off of “First Man,” which engendered* acclaim but was little seen, was deemed risky. Sources say Chazelle spent time reworking the draft and cut over 30 pages, thus reducing the budget.

(SD-Agencies)