March 13, 2017

How Edgar Wright’s ‘Baby Driver’ Was Inspired By One Catchy Song and a Music Video — SXSW 2017

Twenty-two years ago, writer-director Edgar Wright was constantly listening to the album “Orange” by the rock group The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.

“The first track on the album, ‘Bellbottoms,’ which is a fantastic rock track, I just listened to that song over and over again,” said Wright at a Q&A during the 2017 SXSW Film Festival. “I don’t know what it was, but I just thought that would make a great car chase song.”

READ MORE: ‘Baby Driver’ Review: Edgar Wright’s Brilliant Car Chase Musical Casts Ansel Elgort As an Outlaw Fred Astaire — SXSW 2017

Wright laid in his bedroom listening to the song on repeat, visualizing a car chase set to “Bellbottoms.” He also started coming up with the idea of a character: a getaway driver for a bank heist, who cannot do his job properly without the right music playing.

That core idea is the premise of Wright’s new film, “Baby Driver,” which premiered this weekend at the SXSW Film Festival to rave reviews and will be released by Sony on August 11. Wright wouldn’t sit down to actually write the script until 2010, but that germ of an idea is something he’d develop over two decades.

Chris O'Falt

“I didn’t really know when to start writing it [because] you don’t really have car chases in the UK, London in fact has sort of become car chase proofed,” said the British filmmaker. “If you have ever driven around London and seen the amount of one way systems…they basically rubbed out all car chase crime. In fact, if you get bank robberies in the UK, they’re using scooters.”

For that reason, Wright instinctively thought of the film as being set in America. In 2002, he decided to test out some of his ideas in a music video for the band Mint Royale.

“I sort of used my opening scene for that video,” said Wright. “At the time, I was annoyed at myself for doing it, because I shouldn’t waste this idea on a music video.”

Wright said the video had a long shelf life because it stars Noel Fielding (“The Mighty Boosh,” “Never Mind the Buzzcocks”), who afterwards would go on to become a well-known British comedian and actor.

READ MORE: ‘Baby Driver’ Trailer – Edgar Wright Gets Fast and Furious With Ansel Elgort and Jamie Foxx

“It was one of those videos that kept coming around, the actor in the video became famous afterwards, so it was one of those videos that reappearing throughout my career,” said Wright.

Before writing, Wright started researching cop car chases in Los Angeles (and later Atlanta, when the film switched locations) to find out what techniques were used by successful getaway drivers.

“In a lot of action films, people are driving muscle cars or vintage cars, where as in reality, getaway drivers would choose commuter cars and find ways of blending into freeway traffic as quickly as possible,” said Wright.

READ MORE: The 2017 IndieWire SXSW Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival

The filmmaker even went so far as to start interviewing ex-cons and law enforcement, explaining he wanted the film’s action sequences to feel grounded in reality.

“I really wanted people to get the feeling of what it would be like to be a getaway driver in the middle of a pursuit,” said Wright. “Not everybody fantasizes about robbing a bank, but I think most people have that fantasy of being in a high speed chase.”

In his previous films. Wright has played with choreographing scenes to music. “Baby Driver” is an attempt to take this to another level.

“I always have so much fun doing those sequences that I basically came up with this movie as a way of doing that for the entire movie essentially,” said Wright.

Wright emphasized that it wasn’t simply a matter of cutting the chase scenes to music, but writing, shot listing and then choreographing the scene with a stunt coordinator, cinematographer, actors and an actual choreographer to get the precise timing and movement in lock step with each specific song.

“It’s sort of like a musical in a way,” said Wright. “I took that premise that Hong Kong movies are musicals that have about five big numbers, it’s five action set pieces, a song for each.”

“Baby Driver” premiered at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival and will open nationwide on August 11.

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Source: IndieWire film

March 13, 2017

Isabelle Huppert Talks Paul Verhoeven Film That Made Her Want to Make ‘Elle’ in Home Video Release Featurette

Isabelle Huppert gave one of the most dynamic and memorable performances of last year in Paul Verhoeven’s “Elle,” spinning gold out of a tricky character in an even trickier film. But it was Huppert’s familiarity with Verhoeven’s work — specifically “Turkish Delight” — that helped prepare her for it, as she reveals in this exclusive clip ahead of the film’s DVD and Blu-ray release.

READ MORE: ‘Elle’: Isabelle Huppert on Why Her Controversial Film About Rape Is ‘Post-Feminist’

In a recent career-spanning talk with the Hollywood Reporter’s Stephen Galloway, Huppert discusses how her love for “Turkish Delight” was a major part of why she signed on for “Elle” in the first place. She explains how the film “struck her forever” with its balance of comedy and melodrama, and how she found something similar working on “Elle.”

READ MORE: ‘Isabelle Huppert: A Tribute’ Is Essential Viewing for All Huppert Super-Fans — Watch

“It was one of my favorite films ever, and when I thought that I was going to work with Paul Verhoeven, that was really something like the bond or the bridge between that moment when I saw “Turkish Delight” and now,” Huppert said. “Sometimes you have that kind of feeling in life, and it’s very rare, and it happened, you know, with ‘Elle.’”

“Elle” will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 14. Check out our exclusive clip below.

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Source: IndieWire film

March 13, 2017

Newly-Released Michael Brown Surveillance Video From SXSW Doc Sparks Protests

About 100 protestors gathered at the Ferguson convenience store that police accused the late Michael Brown of robbing Sunday night, after newly-released surveillance footage shows the 18-year-old calmly buying marijuana from the store clerks. The video is part of the documentary, “Stranger Fruit,” which chronicles the events of August 9th, 2014, through the eyes of the Brown family. The film premiered at SXSW Saturday night.

Filmmaker Jason Pollock says the video not only proves Brown did not rob the convenience store, but that the Ferguson Police Department intentionally obfuscated the timeline of events. At least one report reveals that the police knew of the existence of the video.

READ MORE: ‘Whose Streets?’ Review: Ferguson Doc Shows the Birth of Black Lives Matter With Unrelenting Power — Sundance 2017

“What this video shows is that they lied to the world about what happened,” Pollock told CNN. “They wanted to make [Michael] Brown look bad, so they put out half a video to destroy his character in his death.”

Police say the video is irrelevant to the investigation of Brown’s death at the hands of officer Darren Wilson, who claimed he feared for his life. A grand jury and the U.S. Justice Department declined to indict Wilson.

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Source: IndieWire film

March 13, 2017

‘Barry Lyndon’ Live Score First Look: Experience Stanley Kubrick’s Period Drama Like Never Before — Watch

Getting to experience a Stanley Kubrick movie on the big screen is always a treat, especially in 2017.  But when you throw in a 50-peice orchestra performing a live score, that experience suddenly becomes even more jaw-dropping.

Such will be the case on April 8 when the musicians of the Wordless Music Orchestra take the stage at the Kings Theater in Brooklyn to accompany “Barry Lyndon.” The original score, which has been newly transcribed by composer Frank Cogliano, will be performed in its entirety and synced live to the film.

READ MORE: How Live Film Scores Are Finding New Life in the Age of Netflix

Last Tuesday night, members of the Wordless Music Orchestra performed a preview concert of selections from the one-night-only event, and you can check out a first look at their arrangements in the video below.

Songs performed include Handel’s Sarabande, the third movement of Vivaldi’s Cello Concerto in E Minor, an arrangement of the Adagio from Bach’s Concerto for Two Harpsichord’s and Orchestra in C Minor, and the second movement of Schubert’s Piano Trio in E-flat, which concludes both the first and second acts of “Barry Lyndon.” An Irish ensemble also played all of the traditional folk songs heard in the film.

The preview concert was held at the American Irish Historical Society in Manhattan, and was attended by members of the Society, colleagues and associates of Wordless Music, and members of the press.

Tickets for ‘Barry Lyndon with Live Orchestra’ on Saturday, April 8 are $55 – $100, and available now at Ticketmaster and the Kings Theatre Box Office. Now through March 19, you can use the discount code BARRYIRISH to unlock select seating at up to 30% off.

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Source: IndieWire film