At the press conference for Edgar Wright’s new film, ‘Scott Pigrim vs. The World’, Jason Schwartzman walks into the room with black markered writing on his cheek, with something red underneath. He is joined by Michael Cera (who plays Scott), a beefy Brandon Routh (Evil Ex #3, the diabolical vegan Todd), and Satya Bhabha (Evil Ex #1, Matthew Patel).
Nearly fifteen minutes pass before anyone – okay, it was me – asks him about this. Schwartzman, who plays arch-villain Gideon Graves in the film, has clearly been longing to be asked, and reveals that Cera had autographed his face and planted a big kiss underneath. “It’s a symbol of the ‘Scott Pilgrim’ experience,” he explains with a half-sincere wistfulness, “the times we had… like smoke from a birthday candle that just got burnt out.” Riiiight. “Sorry, we’re on Moscow time,” he offers as a further non-explanation. Clearly, the boys have been enjoying their stint in London.
From there, the conversation turns to the actors’ preparation for their roles. To my complete non-surprise, none of them had read the comics previously, nor do any of them play video games, which may have something to do with the fact that they are interesting people with cool jobs. Cera notes that he “watched a lot of Cassius Clay” on YouTube to prepare for his fight scenes. As Brandon Routh talks about learning to play the bass for his role, all I can think about is how incredibly large his biceps are. Each is roughly the size of Cera’s head. I’ve never applied the words ‘brawny’ and ‘strapping’ to a member of the opposite sex without a heavy dose of sarcasm, but Routh fits the bill.
By all accounts there was little room for improvisation: the storyboards and dialogue were largely taken directly from the source material. Schwartzman notes that Wright had spent ‘six or seven years’ on the adaptation, and the effort to get every detail comes through in the film. The slightly defensive tone of his words and the solemn nods of the other panelists are the first oblique hint to the film’s lackluster performance in the States.
With blood in the water, the journos make their move: ‘Who’s the audience for this film?’ one asks. The actors laugh too loudly and shift in their seats when Cera responds with “People who like fun? People who like movies? If you hate movies, stay at home.” Bhabha takes up the ‘functional members of society don’t want to see a movie about video games’ issue head-on, adding “people don’t talk about ‘The Matrix’ like, ‘Oh, I can’t fly, I won’t enjoy it.” I find myself rooting for Bhabha, and wanting to lob my pencil onto the reporter’s bald spot and see a ‘Scott Pilgrim’-esque score float above when it sticks. The movie isn’t about video games at all – they’re just a source of visual inspiration.
The first half of the conference ends on this slightly wounded note, and the second panel – consisting of Edgar Wright, Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Ramona) Kieran Culkin (Scott’s roommate, Wallace), Anna Kendrick (Stacey Pilgrim), and Ellen Wong (Knives Chau, Scott’s other love interest) – enters the room. Gone is the fraternal group dynamic – Culkin spends much of the time twirling a loop of fabric around his hands, and Kendrick pulls her knees up to her chin and toys with her hair. Wright and Wong (an unintentional pun) get most of the attention.
Discussion turns to the casting process – Wright comments that he had a strict ‘no Brits’ policy for casting the film, but that Bhabha had put on a convincing North American accent and snuck through. Culkin, whose hair needs washing, speaks with a note of detectable irritation at having had to read for Wallace more than once. I find it difficult to stifle a laugh when he goes out of his way to insist that he’d never have wanted to play the lead. He’s hilarious in the film, but I don’t think he needs to worry about those pesky leading man roles being forced upon him.
Wong, the newcomer of the cast, is completely adorable and clearly ecstatic to be doing her First Big Publicity Tour. The younger male reporters throw her some easy ones just to hear her speak, and honestly, I don’t blame them. Sadly though, the questions never pick up much momentum. Toward the end of the session, a reporter asks Wright if he planned to use game-inspired visuals in future projects (see what I mean about the questions?). Wright immediately laughs it off, shaking his head and saying ‘Yeah, maybe the next one could be Jane Austen with Mario noises all the way through.’ He trails off, still laughing. But you could tell he was sort of considering it. Dude. I’m so there.
