ScottPilgrim Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I guess the best place to start would be from the beginning.

See, filmmaker Edgar Wright has been steadily photo-blogging his exploits on the set of his potentially (probably?) awesome Scott Pilgrim adaptation, revealing casting decisions by having his actors conceal their faces with portraits of their respective characters.

With a wink and nudge, Cinematical then 'exclusively revealed' that its own Elisabeth Rappe had been cast as the new face of Lara Croft in the upcoming Tomb Raider sequel/reboot.

Well, in a twist of meta-blog-a-go-go proportions, it appears that Wright himself has stepped up for the role, as indicated by this most recent casting announcement blitz-o-rama-tacular.

In a prepared statement, Rappe had the following to say: "I was genuinely looking forward to playing Lara Croft. I had put in hours of physical training, had the required plastic surgery, and had performed numerous sexual favors in order to secure the role. However, if the studio is looking to go in another direction, I understand. I wish Mr. Wright well -- I know he has better legs than I do, and I have no doubt he'll make a fantastic Tomb Raider."

Your move, Ed.

UPDATED -- There's a new "mystery" image that hit the Internet today, and is in the gallery below. Your guess as to who it might be ... but ours is Jason Schwartzman, although who he is playing is for better Pilgrim fans than me to guess at.

It's just as well my head cold prevented me from posting the latest Scott Pilgrim glimpse, because now you get two characters for the price of one. Happy Wednesday!

Directly from Edgar Wright's blog is the man we've all waited for -- Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim himself. My heart skipped a little beat to see his jacket so faithfully replicated. It's really the little things that count.

Next up is Chris Evans as Lucas Lee, the second of Ramona Flowers' evil exes. He's a pro-skateboarder turned movie star and full of swagger. It's casting perfection.




If that's not enough Scott Pilgrim to tide you over until the next photo, CHUD's Devin Faraci caught up with Bryan Lee O'Malley to talk about the series so far, and the upcoming film. Cera's controversial casting was the last question on the table, and O'Malley laughed off the criticism. "I'm pretty sure he can do it. People have really different ideas of what Scott is like. A lot of people see Scott as being really, really cool and really handsome ... and I don't know about that. There was a good quote on the CHUD forum the other day where somebody was taking these people to task. He said, 'Scott is a guy who cries when his roommate saves over his Final Fantasy game - you don't think his voice cracks from time to time?' Me and Edgar and Michael [Bacall] the writer, we don't see Scott as being a hero-like idol. We don't see him as Zac Efron or whatever. Nobody ever suggested anybody else to play Scott. I think Michael Cera is going to do a f---ing awesome job." I don't know if that will lesson the fears of fans (sound off, William Goss), but there you have it ... and nightmares of Zac Efron in the jacket to boot.

After that rush of casting announcements, Scott Pilgrim VS the World is underway, and Edgar Wright is having a lot of fun teasing us from his MySpace blog. He's been quietly posting pictures of his cast this week.

The first was the Ramona Flowers photo I posted yesterday, and it's been joined by a proper photo of Mary Elizabeth Winstead all dressed up and ready to film. Now I'm seeing the dream girl worth fighting seven exes for. (And I apologize for being unimpressed with the original photo -- look at how well her eyes match her inked counterpart!)

We also got a glimpse of Knives Chau, played by the equally lovely Ellen Wong, and an action shot of the first evil ex Scott must do battle with -- Matthew Patel, who will be played by Satya Bhabha. The Street Fighter (at least, it looks like Street Fighter) screen grab behind him is a very nice touch. So far, I'm really loving the secondary casting -- and that said, where's our Michael Cera photo?

All of the shots are available in our brand new Scott Pilgrim gallery below. I predict it will expand a lot more in the weeks to come, courtesy of Wright's MySpace.

Pictured: On the floor at NYCC (courtesy of Getty Images)

It's not quite as massive as San Diego Comic Con, but New York Comic Con is definitely its own animal, and the convention took over Manhattan this weekend with its comics, costumes and characters. For your convenience, here's a brief roundup of all the movie-related stuff at this year's NYCC:

News

• McG did not deny nor confirm that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton would play a part in the new Terminator film, teasing "Perhaps by not answering your question, there's a small answer within." He also noted that since the T800 plays a big role in the film, they're trying to use visual effects to include Arnold in some capacity. On the Christian Bale tirade, McG joked: "You only got to hear the most explosive parts, but that remix is pretty hot." [More at Coming Soon]

• io9 reports that at the Radical Studios panel, Barry Levine said that Joseph Kosinski will return to San Diego Comic Con with a full trailer for the Tron sequel. [io9]


• Watchmen's Dave Gibbons addressed questions about the film's altered ending (""The outcome is exactly the same as the graphic novel, but the MacGuffin, the gimmick, is a little different."), and whether or not he thinks a prequel or sequel is a smart idea ("If you try to add anything to Watchmen, you're not enriching it, you're diluting it. Sure, you can tell another adventure of Batman or Spider-Man, but ("Watchmen") is like a complete story ... leave well enough alone.") [More at Coming Soon]

Check out the scene from NYCC 2009 in the gallery below ...


Much more after the jump ...

After finishing up the first four volumes of the hilarious and endearing Scott Pilgrim graphic novels (the fifth hits stores on Wednesday), I was talking with one of my fellow Cinematical writers who was similarly fond of them and yet quite vocal in his discontent with the casting of Michael Cera in Edgar Wright's forthcoming big-screen adaptation (admittedly, the character does deserve someone a little... livelier).

Between that, the less-than-amusing spot for Harold Ramis' Year One from yesterday's Super Bowl, his potential part in that fingers-crossed Arrested Development movie, the release of Youth in Revolt being bumped back, and his role in last month's Sundance curio Paper Heart (oh, heck, and tomorrow's DVD release of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist while we're at it) -- is 2009 due to be the year of Michael Cera, or rather, is Cera due for a backlash against his seemingly limited range of bumbling performances?

What do you guys think of the once and future George Michael?

Edgar Wright's upcoming Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a veritable puupuu platter of young talent. Some are super-recognizable -- like Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Evans, and Kieran Culkin. And some are new Canadian talent thrown into the mix, like Ellen Wong. Since Mr. Pilgrim is a Canadian slacker and ex-boyfriend-slayer, we're getting a little more maple leaf talent, more recognizable faces, and a superhero to boot.

The Hollywood Reporter posts that Brandon Routh has signed on to play Ramona's evil ex #3, Todd Ingram -- the rocker with vegan psychic powers, and Brie Larson (who is currently playing the struggling daughter in United States of Tara) will play Pilgrim's ex, Envy Adams. But that's only the beginning. Alison Pill (who kicked butt in Dear Wendy, and more recently served under Milk) will play the drummer in Pilgrim's band, while her Wendy co-star Mark Webber will play Stephen Stills, another bandmate. But that's not even the best reunion.

Ann Veal strikes again! Oh yes -- Mae Whitman, who played George Michael's crazy paramour on Arrested Development will play ex #4 -- the half-ninja Roxy Richter. And wrapping up the pack --- Anna Kendrick will play Pilgrim's sister, Johnny Simmons will play Young Neil, and Satya Bhabha will play "an ex-boyfriend who can summon demon hipster girls at will."

I wonder if other Can-con will follow ... Maybe some swashbuckling with Violet Miranda, or activism with Flyboy Action Figure Comes with Gasmask? Either way, I'm sold on Pilgrim. How about you?

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World continues to pick up casting speed -- and the characters seem to just come in pairs. According to Empire, newcomer Ellen Wong has signed to play Knives Chau. Chau is a 17 year old Chinese-Canadian schoolgirl who dated our title hero, but was dumped for the beautiful and perfect Ramona Flowers. She continues to hang out with our hero and carries a flame for him. (Edgar Wright's MySpace has a flirty photo of Wong for those curious to see how she matches up with Knives.)

And that's not all! According to Ain't It Cool News, Chris Evans has signed to play Lucas Lee, skateboarder, movie star, and evil ex of Ramona Flowers. He's just one of seven boyfriends Pilgrim must defeat in order to win Ramona -- and is there anyone better for that part than Johnny Storm? Sunshine proved he wasn't just a pretty boy, and what better way to earn some major geek cred by sending that up in Scott Pilgrim?

So far, Wright hasn't hit a poor note when it comes to the casting -- Michael Cera has been the only unpopular choice to date, and I think fans are coming around after Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. (It could just be the ebb and flow of fandom, though.) Isn't it nice to live in an era where even the offbeat (i.e. not Marvel or DC) properties are getting such TLC?

Edgar Wright's much-anticipated Scott Pilgrim Vs The World fell off the radar a bit over the past few months. Jessica Barnes posted the last update back in August, when they were scouting Toronto locations and hoping to go into production by fall or winter.

They haven't started filming, but they have added two new cast members. Hit Fix reports that Kieran Culkin has signed on to play Wallace Wells. Wells is Scott Pilgrim's roommate, the more responsible half of the duo, and arguably the one with the best lines. He's also a rather nice symbol for tolerance -- though Wells is openly gay, Pilgrim willingly shares a bed with him. This will be Culkin's first film since 2002's Igby Goes Down, but he has a bunch of films at Sundance this year, so expect a geek reporter or two to pin him down and get some Pilgrim quotes..

Meanwhile, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Aubrey Plaza has also joined the cast as Julie Powers, obnoxious, on again, off again girlfriend of Stephen Stills. Stills (lead singer of Pilgrim's band, Sex Bob-omb ... I just like typing that) has yet to be cast. Who will Plaza / Powers be tormenting onscreen?

Pilgrim is now set to begin filming in the spring, so we should be drowned in casting announcements soon. Meanwhile, those of us still behind on the series can use the breathing room to catch up.