The day after I posted the Scott Pilgrim movie review, I attended a round-table interview with the film's director (Edgar Wright) and three of its stars (Michael Cera, Jason Schwartzman, and Anna Kendrick). They didn't let me bring a video camera in, so I could only capture audio of the event. Don't worry though, I still got you covered, at least where visuals are concerned. When it comes to questions, well, I only got one out before I became mortified to the point where I could no longer speak.
Don't let me spoil it for you though. Watch the video for yourself, and for those of you who've now seen the movie, tell me now; do you think that Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is the first true videogame film?
Jonathan Holmes is the most lovable Associate Editor on Destructoid. Catch him on videos, original editorials, and on back episodes of the Destructoid Show and MTV's Road Rules. Jonathan is a retro gamer's gamer.
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Still, Wright seems like a really smart dude. I'm still not in a rush to see the movie (the books didn't dazzle me, and I really don't think Cera embodies the energy and exclamation that Scott exhibits) but maybe I'll rent it sometime later down the road.
Resident evil is not taken from Romero films it was taken from Sweet Home which was also a film.
Couple of things, they were unfair when you tried to ask you a question, what the hell was that noise in the background, and.....
So far it's getting somewhat favorable reviews.
I love the response when you opened your mouth and voiced your question. They're all sort of like "um, you're here why again". I really liked the answer they gave you though. Seemed to answer the question well.
I loved the movie. I'm so glad that they deviated from the comic as they did. If I wanted the comic, I'd read the comics (and I did, actually. Read all six today leading up to seeing it). I wanted to watch a movie, and I got a movie.
A really fucking good one too. Every change, in my mind, turned it into a movie rather than a comic adaption a la Watchmen. That's a good thing.
The movie is great but I would have loved it to be two movies, not so it could follow the comic, but because I feel none of the secondary characters got enough time to develop their character. I really liked some of the deviations, though.
@cst0910: True that they didn't have much time for the secondary character expansion, but that is why television is really able to rival film these days when it comes to quality of characters and story. That said, this film did an amazing job of focusing like a laser the concepts it meant to discuss, and I felt in a not overly forced. Then again, it is covered up by tons of fan service and pure balls-to-the-wall insanity that you might be so distracted as to not notice.
What I love about this movie is its magic and whimsy. The actors are all beautiful, the environments wonderfully created, the fight scenes so intense and crazy and hard to believe they were ever created. I bet the people behind the Street Fighter movie are kicking themselves right now...this captures perfectly what they needed to focus on. What I don't understand is this constant need to water down something for the masses, when we are in an age where you can reach your core demographic to effectively that you have to be better off than you were 15 years ago trying to market directly to your key demographic. Why, then, can't we just let things like crazy ass video game movies be what they are?
You know, i never ever thought of it that way, and now that it's been said....it really does feel like it!
They kinda came close to the old aesthetic feel with the Doom movie at the VERY end, where The Rock went around shooting aliens and stuff with the Doom music playing, and in the exact style of a Doom FPS set-up, but this game really does do it absolutely perfectly.
When I read the comics, i realized that to get EVERYTHING into the movie, they'd have had to do a 2 volume movie (kinda like how Quinten Tarentino did with Kill Bill), but i was amazed that they were able to cram as much into the movie as they did, and still make it AMAZING!
Despite all the good points and bad points one could raise, I really do think this is the first video game movie that was done right, and I think this one is almost an anthem of sorts to gamers and video game nerd everywhere.
@ drzero3- True about Sweet Home being an influence on Resident Evil, but that was more of a ghost story. Mikami has been pretty clear that that the first Resident Evil was heavily influenced by the zombies, sense of powerlessness, and claustrophobia of Night of the Living Dead, so I don't think Edgar Wright was off by too much.
@ TJF588- I absolutely consider Clue to be the only true board game movie. Madeline Kahn is amazing. "Flames on the side of my face" is one of my favorite lines ever.
Zathura comes close, but Clue is still tops in board games movies.
@ Mooks- And I love you, Mooks.
@ CrocBox- I'm not sure if you're really jealous. Do you really wish that you were mocked by two of your favorite actors and one of your favorite directors immediately upon meeting them?
@TJF588 & Holmes: OMG win for Clue mention, it is to this date one of my favorite movies ever, the multiple endings just made it even more awesome (Tim Curry totally steals the show), it's unbelievable to me that it got panned back when it was originally released, i guess people back then had no taste, then again i don't think that has changed much in 20 years considering Twilight topping the movie charts for 3 years.
@ pbrand- That's what I thought too, until I actually saw the movie. It's got it's share of not-so-necessary references, but by the end, it proved itself to have something genuine and interesting to share with the world.
It was actually a lot more fun to watch the second time.
@Johnathan
Same here, brother. And you'd think the movie would lay on the video game in order to "win over" viewers like us, but they actually use it quite well. The only time I felt it was overdone was when they kinda overdid using Zelda music/sound effects, but they nailed it when the movie opened up the LttP sound and when Scott began dreaming about Ramona to the Fairy song.
Also, was I the only one who at the fight with Gideon couldn't help but remember every time Anthony Burch has talked about video games and movies, and makes the point that you'd never see a movie where a character fails or dies and then has to redo everything all over again?
@ Sonic9jct- As much as I consider myself a friend, and a fan, of Mr Anthony Burch, I don't remember ever hearing him say that. It doesn't surprise me though. And he's right, most movies would dare go about things the way that Scott Pilgrim does.
I hope that changes though. For years now, we've seen games try harder and harder to be like movies, despite the fact that games are getting more popular, and games are getting less popular. It's time for more movies to stand up a realize that, and use the language of videogames to their advantage.
Personally, I don't get the idea of TOO many references...like the emperor or whatever complaining that Mozart's symphony had TOO many notes. I mean, this is a POP movie, a tongue in cheek homage to all that it decided to put between its beginning and end. And they decided to cram 6 volumes into one movie...how could it not be a densely dripping honeycomb of POP? And what the hell is a hipster, what exactly in this movie is directed solely at them? I enjoyed all the music in that movie, especially the Beck and Frank Black. I enjoyed the constant barrage of video game imagery and sound. I fell in love with the characters and their plights, and I was moved by their growth.
And when I saw Hot Fuzz, I was blown away by how awesome the action was, and so out of no where. Scott Pilgrim was a perfect project for Wright, no doubt.
I agree that it's the first great video game movie (not adaptation). Actually said that to a friend coming out of the midnight show. Everything the Mario Bros movie did wrong, Scott Pilgrim did right. One reason is because this movie just revels in itself and is not ashamed of it's breaking suspension of disbelief, And it's not ashamed of it's video game roots, all the while never forgetting to have a heart, and give us a story and characters worth caring about. Another reason we don't get good video game adaptations is because most producers look at video game fans as mindless idiots that just want mindless violence. In other words, they underestimate us and don't take us seriously. But that's enough ranting, I'm gonna go see it again.
I can't express how much I loved this movie.
Favorite movie ever sounds like hyperbole.
It really is though. It has displaced my favorite movies of five + years.
I was just giddy as hell through most of it. It was superb and there is truly nothing like it.
That being said, I read the first graphic novel and wasn't impacted the same way- so I'm going to have to claim that the movie is better despite my lack of knowledge of every book.
@Johnathan Holmes have you sent this to Edgar Wright? Because he's an avid twitterer (@edgarwright), and if you tweet him the link the chances he'll see it are pretty good!
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Contest:
11:00 PM on 08.13.2010
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Gotta say I wish it would have been split into two movies perhaps to better fallow the books.
But for what it was was still a great movie.
Still, Wright seems like a really smart dude. I'm still not in a rush to see the movie (the books didn't dazzle me, and I really don't think Cera embodies the energy and exclamation that Scott exhibits) but maybe I'll rent it sometime later down the road.
Couple of things, they were unfair when you tried to ask you a question, what the hell was that noise in the background, and.....
So far it's getting somewhat favorable reviews.
I'm still out on judgment.
A really fucking good one too. Every change, in my mind, turned it into a movie rather than a comic adaption a la Watchmen. That's a good thing.
Edgar Wright's my hero.
What I love about this movie is its magic and whimsy. The actors are all beautiful, the environments wonderfully created, the fight scenes so intense and crazy and hard to believe they were ever created. I bet the people behind the Street Fighter movie are kicking themselves right now...this captures perfectly what they needed to focus on. What I don't understand is this constant need to water down something for the masses, when we are in an age where you can reach your core demographic to effectively that you have to be better off than you were 15 years ago trying to market directly to your key demographic. Why, then, can't we just let things like crazy ass video game movies be what they are?
Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead are like masturbation material to me.
They kinda came close to the old aesthetic feel with the Doom movie at the VERY end, where The Rock went around shooting aliens and stuff with the Doom music playing, and in the exact style of a Doom FPS set-up, but this game really does do it absolutely perfectly.
When I read the comics, i realized that to get EVERYTHING into the movie, they'd have had to do a 2 volume movie (kinda like how Quinten Tarentino did with Kill Bill), but i was amazed that they were able to cram as much into the movie as they did, and still make it AMAZING!
Despite all the good points and bad points one could raise, I really do think this is the first video game movie that was done right, and I think this one is almost an anthem of sorts to gamers and video game nerd everywhere.
@ TJF588- I absolutely consider Clue to be the only true board game movie. Madeline Kahn is amazing. "Flames on the side of my face" is one of my favorite lines ever.
Zathura comes close, but Clue is still tops in board games movies.
@ Mooks- And I love you, Mooks.
@ CrocBox- I'm not sure if you're really jealous. Do you really wish that you were mocked by two of your favorite actors and one of your favorite directors immediately upon meeting them?
It was actually a lot more fun to watch the second time.
Same here, brother. And you'd think the movie would lay on the video game in order to "win over" viewers like us, but they actually use it quite well. The only time I felt it was overdone was when they kinda overdid using Zelda music/sound effects, but they nailed it when the movie opened up the LttP sound and when Scott began dreaming about Ramona to the Fairy song.
Also, was I the only one who at the fight with Gideon couldn't help but remember every time Anthony Burch has talked about video games and movies, and makes the point that you'd never see a movie where a character fails or dies and then has to redo everything all over again?
I hope that changes though. For years now, we've seen games try harder and harder to be like movies, despite the fact that games are getting more popular, and games are getting less popular. It's time for more movies to stand up a realize that, and use the language of videogames to their advantage.
And NO, I am not a hipster. In fact hipsters annoy the shit out of me. But go ahead and stereotype if it makes you feel better about yourself.
"Flames, on the side of my face. Breathing-breathl- heaving breaths. Heaving breath..."
One of the best comedies in the world!
And when I saw Hot Fuzz, I was blown away by how awesome the action was, and so out of no where. Scott Pilgrim was a perfect project for Wright, no doubt.
Now I want more pixel art interviews, please. =)
is the whole interview up somewhere?
Favorite movie ever sounds like hyperbole.
It really is though. It has displaced my favorite movies of five + years.
I was just giddy as hell through most of it. It was superb and there is truly nothing like it.
That being said, I read the first graphic novel and wasn't impacted the same way- so I'm going to have to claim that the movie is better despite my lack of knowledge of every book.
@ Explosion2- I have the whole interview, but I can't see myself posting it anywhere. Maybe in a cblog? I don't know, I'll think about it.
Scott Pilgrim is much better, though. The Wizard was pretty much a transparent Nintendo advertisement.
Awesome comic/manga. Awesome film. Awesome game.
EXPLAIN