In an era where movie studios seem to be recycling the same ideas, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a breath of fresh air.  Based on the awesome graphic novel by Bryan Lee O'Malley, Scott Pilgrim has been brilliantly brought to life by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Spaced) and it's not only a showcase of what he can do as a writer/director, it completely breaks the mold of the way to tell a story on screen.  That's because Wright has found a innovative way of telling the story and it involves fast editing and insanely quick transitions from scene to scene that feel like you're inside a comic book.   I truly believe Scott Pilgrim is going to influence a generation of filmmakers as I've never seen anything like it.  I'm beyond impressed, and I strongly recommend buying a ticket this weekend.

Anyway, last week I got to sit down with Wright for an extended interview.  If you're a fan of this great director or just really looking forward to Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, I really think you'll love the interview as we covered a wide range of subjects like the writing process,  how they came up with the awesome transitions and the editing in general, Comic-Con, Scott Pilgrim t-shirts, the premiere at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood, deleted scenes and extended cuts, can he make a movie more than every three years, and we talk future projects but he says no progress has been made on Ant-Man or any other project since July 2008.  Hit the jump to check it out. As always, it's been time indexed so you can watch the parts that interest you:

edgar wright ant man
Image via Universal Pictures

Edgar Wright part 1

  • We talk about the cool t-shirts of Scott Pilgrim
  • 1:30 - Did he take home any of the t-shirts or props from the movie
  • 2:00 - We talk about the shirts and how you either know what it's from or you don't. Nothing say Scott Pilgrim.
  • 2:45 - What was it like to premiere the movie at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood. He also talks about some of the emails he got after the screening
  • 6:00 - What was it like to screen the movie at Comic-Con in front of 1,200 fans
  • 7:40 - Wright talks about how the Comic-Con crowd is actually your toughest audience
  • 8:35 - How involved was he with the marketing of the movie at Comic-Con like the huge billboard on a building and the Scott Pilgrim Experience.  Talks about how they originally thought about screening the entire movie in Hall H
  • 10:00 - Did he walk around the convention floor and did he wear a costume
  • 11:55 - The editing process of Scott Pilgrim (which is incredible). We talk about what they did, how long it took, and Wright relays a cool story about after the premiere Sally Menke (Tarantino's editor) came up to him to talk about how he did it. He also talks about how he was able to promote two editors he previously worked with and what went on behind the scenes.
  • 15:00 - He talks about the transitions of Scott Pilgrim and how he did it. He says some of the transitions are almost him turning the page of the comic book for you.  Also explains how a lot of the transitions are done in camera.
  • 16:55 - Says they were editing for 10 months
  • 18:45 - Wright says if you are a stoner…

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Edgar Wright part 2

  • What were the sequences he edited almost till the end. Talks about the fight scenes and balancing them within the film
  • 3:25 - How long was the first cut of Scott Pilgrim and what's the final length. Says they cut 14 minutes out of the film. Does he envision releasing an extended cut or will they just be deleted scenes. Says they are deleted scenes and the version released is his final cut
  • 5:25 - How many of the deleted scenes will be completed and on the DVD
  • 6:30 - Easter Eggs talk - what's planted in the movie and what should fans look out for. Mentions the opening credit sequence and throughout the film there are a lot of x's and what are on the actors…lot's of cool stuff to look out for
  • 10:10 - How tough was it to get the rights to a certain TV theme song that he uses in the movie
  • 11:00 - How long did it take to write the movie and how many drafts. Talks about the 5 year process and how he first started writing the script when only two books had been finished.
  • 15:30 - What is it like for him to keep getting questions about Ant-Man and the 3rd film with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and Baby Driver. Says none of them have moved forward since July of 2008 as all he has worked on since then is Scott Pilgrim
  • 17:30 - We talk about how he doesn't attach himself to tons of projects at the same time
  • 18:40 - Talks about how the writers' strike helped him have enough time to storyboard Scott Pilgrim
  • 19:20 - Says he would love to have a film out in less than 3 years

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