Damien Chazelle Directs Sabrina Carpenter's Johnnie Walker Film
Sabrina Carpenter has a new Johnnie Walker project, and the man behind the camera is Damien Chazelle, the Oscar-winning director of La La Land and Whiplash. It is a short film inspired by French New Wave cinema, built around the brand's famous Keep Walking message. No new whisky is involved. This is the next chapter of a partnership that already gave us a signature highball and a limited-edition bottle.
Why This Matters
Johnnie Walker announced the film on November 10 as part of its ongoing global partnership with Carpenter, whom the press release calls a two-time GRAMMY and Emmy Award-winning superstar. Chazelle directed it, and Superprime Films produced it. His other credits include First Man and Babylon.
According to Johnnie Walker, the French New Wave influence means effortless cool, spontaneity and a bit of playful rule breaking. The film puts Carpenter in what the brand calls "main-character mode," with celebrations and unexpected moments swirling around her. Maxim describes a roughly minute-long clip of her strolling through a palatial nightclub, a wink at the striding man on every Johnnie Walker label. Fame Magazine says it follows her through a series of parties and run-ins.
Carpenter says she and Chazelle wanted "a true cinematic experience that was playful, unexpected, and full of personality." She also called herself a longtime fan of his work.
Johnnie Walker is treating a whisky ad like a short film, with an Oscar winner in the director's chair.
Inside the Bottle
The film is the headline, but the partnership has liquid behind it. It began with the Go Go Highball, a tall drink made with Johnnie Walker Black Label, ginger ale and cherry juice. A highball is simply whisky stretched over ice with a fizzy mixer, which makes it an easy way into Scotch.
Then came a limited-edition Johnnie Walker Black Label bottle inspired by Carpenter's style. Maxim reports that she was behind the redesign, which features "Sabrina blue" accents, playful dog motifs and her autograph. The bottle is a new look for an existing whisky. Black Label is the brand's long-running blend, which is Scotch made by combining whiskies from many distilleries into one consistent taste.
The Story Behind Johnnie Walker
Johnnie Walker started with a grocery shop, not a distillery. John Walker was born in 1805 in Kilmarnock, Scotland. When his farmer father died in 1819, trustees put the family's £417 from the sale of the farm into an Italian warehouse, grocery, and wine and spirits shop on the town's High Street. The business opened in 1820.
A teenager and a small-town grocery became the world's best-selling Scotch. John's son Alexander, known as Alec, and his grandson Alexander II did much of the work of turning the family's whisky into a favored brand.
Then there is the striding man. The figure that appears on every label is a walking gentleman in a top hat, and it is the visual root of the Keep Walking idea. That is why a film about a confident young star strolling through a party fits the brand so neatly.
Where to Find the Carpenter Bottle and Highball
Film: unveiled November 10, 2026, with imagery and video available through Johnnie Walker's press materials
Go Go Highball and limited-edition Black Label bottle: rolling out in Europe, Australia and North America now, with more markets to follow in the coming months
US states: not announced, so check with your local retailer before hunting for the bottle
Did You Know?
Johnnie Walker reported annual sales of 20.3 million cases in 2025, which works out to roughly 182.7 million liters of whisky.
The brand's Hill Street plant in Kilmarnock was once the world's largest bottling plant. It closed in 2012, ending a connection with the town that lasted about 190 years.
Tonights Poison Take
Brands have been pairing up with musicians for years, but handing the camera to a director with Chazelle's résumé raises the bar for what a spirits collaboration can look like. For Johnnie Walker, it keeps the Carpenter partnership moving without needing a new liquid. Fans of the singer get a film, a highball recipe and a collectible bottle. Whisky drinkers get a reminder that Keep Walking still has plenty of life in it after all these years.
Bar Talk: The director of La La Land just made a Johnnie Walker film with Sabrina Carpenter.
Know a Sabrina Carpenter fan who has never tried a Scotch highball? Send them this one and tell us in the comments how you would build the Go Go Highball.
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About the author: Jas Sawhney (Tonights Poison) has spent 18 years in the beverage alcohol industry and shares new releases, tastings and spirits news as @tonightspoison on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
Please enjoy responsibly.
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