Director Edgar Wright, Actor Michael Cera Crack Wise About Scott Pilgrim
Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune. Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski. Edgar Wright and Michael Cera.
OK, that last director-actor pairing may not be as legendary as the first twoat least not yet. But with their new film, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, the British director with a knack for pitch-perfect parody flicks (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) and the awkward Juno kid whose stock-in-trade is arrested pubescence have emerged as a scruffy Hitchcock and a gawky Stewart for the Comic-Con set.
In fact, the pair will trek to the San Diego gatheringCannes for the comic book worldin July to promote their film adaptation of Bryan Lee OMalleys cult comic series, due in theaters August 13. The story centers on Scott, a 23-year-old musician-slacker who must win the heart of his new girlfriend by battling her exes (with surreal videogame flourishes). Wright gives the saga the same winking and inventive treatment he gave crowd-pleasers Shaun and Fuzz. But the first crowd he must win over is the notoriously nitpicky horde in San Diego. We asked Cera to interview Wright about Pilgrim. The pair went on to talk about geek pride, their shared passion for Rambo, and the joy of navigating Comic-Con incognito. Nancy Miller
Cera: So you know, I just wrote up these questions in the car. It was hot in there. Thats why Im all sweaty.
Wright: I like how youre sitting with your legs crossed like a proper interviewer. Waitwhats that embroidered on your socks?
Cera: These are my Id rather be hunting socks.
Wright: Theres a rifle on those socksand whats on the other sidea bow and arrow?
Cera: Yeah, you know, depending on the situation
Wright: Can I ask you a question? Would you rather be hunting?
Cera: Actually, I wish we were walking through the woods right now with a tape recorder and a bow and arrow. Which reminds me of
Rambo.
Wright: You and I are both huge fans of the most recent Rambo film.
Cera: God I loved it. There was a lot of bow-and-arrow killing in that movie.
Wright: You know were up against Sylvester Stallone this summer in The Expendables.
Cera: I know! The cast! Jet Li, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone. I wonder if all of those guys will be at Comic-Con. The Expendables isnt a comic book, is it?
Wright: No. But that doesnt mean it wont be there. Thats the interesting thing about Comic-Con. Its become a celebration of all things that are in any way geeky. I mean, Scott Pilgrim has a right to be thereits based on a series of comicsbut I was there in 2006 with Hot Fuzz, and the following year you were promoting Superbad, neither of which have anything to do with comics.
Cera: I guess they put Superbad there because our characters are the types of guys who would read comics.
Wright: Or maybe its because the title is only two letters away from saying Superman.
Cera: Youve been to Comic-Con a lot. How do you navigate the scene?
Wright: Comic-Con is an interesting barometer of fame. I remember walking the convention floor with [Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz star] Nick Frost, and that made it easy to gauge your fame ratio. You would walk for 10 minutes, and 20 people would stop Nick and go, Dude, Shaun of the Dead! And then one out of those 20 would go, Hey, youre Edgar Wright! Simon Pegg [Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz] went around the convention floor wearing a Joker-type mask. It was right around the time he was in J.J. Abrams Star Trek, so it was the only way he could go shopping without someone shouting, Scotty! I highly recommend hitting the convention floor with your face covered.
Cera: Its the one place where shopping with a mask on will not seem out of the ordinary.
Wright: Its heartwarming. If you went to school as Legolas, you would probably get beaten up in the street, but at Comic-Con you get beaten up for not wearing a costume. Its so tribalpeople go in packs as hobbits
ghostbusters.
Cera: Have you seen people all decked out in Shaun of the Dead costumes?
Wright: Definitely. Ive seen people with Shaun of the Dead tattoos. Theres a girl in Seattle who has a massive tattoo on her arm of Shaun holding a rifle. Then I met a guy in London who had the same tattoo on his leg. I told him theres this girl in Seattle with the same tattooyou two have to get together and have leg and arm sex.
Cera: Yeah, or at least a rousing game of Twister.
Wright: Then that same Shaun of the Dead arm lady recently tweeted me and said, Im going to have Nick Frost on my ass jumping through the air while firing two guns. And I was thinking: You still talking about as a tattoo or
Cera: Because, you know, Nick might be into that
I also bet there will be a lot of Scott Pilgrim costumes at Comic-Con.
Wright: Its going to be pretty huge because book sixthe last of the Scott Pilgrim seriescomes out July 20, two days before Comic-Con.
Cera: So has Bryan Lee OMalley seen the movie yet?
Wright: He saw it a while ago, and he loves itwhich was such a relief. Before I signed up to direct the movie, I had to make sure he was happy about the idea. If I hadnt had access to Bryan, I wouldnt have done the film.
Cera: Why did you want me for the part?
Wright: Most of the time in both the book and the film, Scott Pilgrim is having a major meltdown because of the women in his life. His world is falling apart, and there are times when hes not a nice guy, so we needed an actor audiences will still follow even when the character is being a bit of an ass. Also, youre Canadian.
Cera: Whats that supposed to mean?
Wright: Its about the sense of humor. A question I find interesting is when people ask me about British humor versus American humor. Simon Pegg and I were talking about how its not a matter of cultural references, its a point of view. You know, my sense of humor is British. But, Michael, can you pinpoint something thats Canadian humor? Tone? State of mind? If I had to pinpoint something, and what typifies moments in the film, its that youre seeing insane things happen and yet the humor is very laid-back. Your reaction undercuts whats going on.
Cera: Stupid Canadian docility. You know, something that people might find interesting is all of the videogame effects you used as visualsand music, too.
Wright: I havent told you this yet, but Shigeru Miyamotothe Mario creator from Nintendohas seen part of the film. We had to get his permission to use this piece of music from The Legend of Zelda for that dream sequence. So when I was writing to Nintendo to get permission, I was saying, This music is like nursery rhymes to a generation. I remember seeing you get all misty-eyed any time Super Mario Bros. 3 was mentioned.
Cera: Mario 3. That ones deep in my DNA.
Wright: Its interesting, because when movie-studio executives talk about videogames, it seems like a very recent thing. But gaming has been around for 30 years. And people who played Donkey Kong when they were 20 are now in their late 40s. There are multiple generations who grew up with videogames.
Cera: Right. Weve all played videogamesjust at different stages.
Wright: Those Nintendo games are classicsand people still play them, which is a testament to them being pieces of art. Youre so much younger than me, but Mario is a touchstone for both of us. And in this film we can do visuals that may seem pretty unconventional by Hollywood standards, and yet it doesnt faze people at all because everyone knows what an extra life is. And theres no blood or broken bones in this movie. Its like a game. We had to use wind to show power.
Cera: That explains why I had that giant fan blowing in my eyes.
Wright: We had an air cannon aimed at you for those times in the film when your character gets hitand remember the air cannon made a terrible noise? It goes POW!
Cera: It was like a cartoon.
Wright: You know, Kevin Smith has seen the movie and said your performance was like Bugs Bunny. Its like youve got all these tricks up your sleeve and you just keep bouncing back. I would take that as a high compliment.
Cera: Oh, I do.
