Chris Evans and Brie Larson pre-MCU!
They don’t make movies like 2010’sScott Pilgrim vs. the Worldanymore but then again, they never did.
“Imagine doing a gym class all together with [these actors],” says Wright.
Michael Cera in ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World’.Kerry Hayes/Universal
“It was extraordinary.”
Tons of people I would kill to work with now."
I love Seth, but I couldn’t get my head around that.
Double Negative/Universal
MICHAEL CERA (SCOTT PILGRIM):Edgar was a big fan ofArrested Development.
WRIGHT:Michael Cera was the only person who came to mind.
Edgar was a part of that.
Chris Evans in ‘Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World’.Double Negative/Universal
WRIGHT:I was living in Quentin Tarantino’s guesthouse.
WINSTEAD:Edgar sawDeath Proofand [thought of] me for Ramona.
WINSTEAD:I think it had a lot to do with my eyes looking really similar to the drawing.
Double Negative/Universal
[Laughs]
WRIGHT:That’s very true.
She has big eyes.
CHRIS EVANS (LUCAS LEE):Edgar called and said he was making this movie.
Double Negative/Universal
I was such a big fan of his.
It was a no-brainer.
This was not the pop in of role that I would be able to even look at.
Kerry Hayes/Universal
KIERAN CULKIN (WALLACE WELLS):They didn’t send anything on the [script] cover letter.
For all I knew, they wanted me to audition for Scott Pilgrim.
I had no idea.
I went, Yeah, got it.
[Laughs]
WRIGHT:Brie Larson’s audition was just amazing.
The next day they had a little edited version of our fight.
We were like, “Oh my God, wow, look at us!”
We were just like, “Oh my God.”
WINSTEAD:They got us together in Toronto before we started shooting.
It was all of us in this giant warehouse.
It was really fun.
EVANS:That little training period was like an initiation.
You do these group exercises and drills with medicine balls, and push-ups and sit-ups.
Then we split into our own specialized stuntman sequences.
It was such a happy time.
The Shoot
Principal photography began in Toronto in spring 2009.
CULKIN:Edgar had the entire movie in his head.
It was in his noggin.
Every cut and every music cue and everything.
He just needed to go through the process of physically making the movie.
EVANS:Edgar spoke about a scene in a Steven Seagal movie [as reference for Lucas Lee].
WRIGHT:It must have been something likeOut for Justice.
ALISON PILL (KIM PINE):Chris Evans taught us to high-five.
Generally, nerds aren’t awesome at high-fiving.
The elbow is key.
If you look at somebody’s elbow while you’re high-fiving, you will make contact every single time.
That’s a fact.
Not that it’s of any use now.
CERA:It was freezing when we were shooting that fight with Chris Evans all through the night.
They build this skateboard out of balsa wood; I’m wearing a helmet under my hat.
But this thing would not break.
I felt myself getting a concussion.
They did it with a CG effect in the end.
WRIGHT:We went over schedule by at least 10 days, maybe more.
It was a big deal and the studio had to come out and sign off on the overrun.
That was funny enough.
Then he whispered to me, “I’m wearing ladies' underwear.”
SCHWARTZMAN:It occurred to me that this character would wear the underwear of whatever person he was with.
I wore multiple pairs of these red silk panties the whole shoot.
During the fight scene, my pants ripped completely, open in the back.
The Reception
Scott Pilgrimpremiered at Comic-Con in July 2010 and was released Aug. 13.
While reviews were mostly positive, the film earned a disappointing $31 million at the box office.
WINSTEAD:At Comic-Con it felt like it was the biggest film of all time.
But that didn’t translate initially.
CERA:We got annihilated by Sylvester Stallone.
WRIGHT:It opened the same weekend asThe ExpendablesandEat Pray Love.
And I thought naively I thought, Well, it’s only Friday morning, how could they know?
It opened at number five.
It’s that thing where it becomes a bit of a punch line.
I was like, f— you.
I didn’t tweet anything because I’m not a total monster.
[Laughs] But Monday morning Michael Moses sent an email with three words.
It was one of the sweetest emails I’ve ever gotten from anybody in the industry.
It said, “Years, not days.”
I hate that I don’t have an answer for you.
I think it may have just been truly a movie that was ahead of its time.
So, maybe I would have put it out 10 years later!
[Laughs]Scott Pilgrimbasically never left release.
I don’t know why I picked two John Carpenter movies, no disrespect to him.
CERA:I don’t think a sequel is a reality.
I sketched Scott early in the pandemic with a huge beard.
I think that would be a funny image.
It’s being discussed as we speak.
SCHWARTZMAN:There’s still an email chain that started 10 years ago.
The entire cast is on it.
To this day, everyone still “replies all” to a lot of emails.
WRIGHT:I’m incredibly proud of the movie.
The fact that you’re not doing a 10th-anniversary article aboutThe Expendablessays it all.
