The Treatment
Edgar Wright: The World's End
Director Edgar Wright confesses he originally pitched "Shaun of the Dead" as Mike Leigh's "Love is Sweet," but with zombies. Mike Leigh's take? "Well it certainly had zombies."
The great British filmmakers, including Mike Leigh and Bill Forsyth, have often set their films in very local communities, often with singular, lonely characters that have trouble connecting with others. With films like Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Edgar Wright follows in their footsteps with the same kind of idiosyncratic filmmaking. "If you are very specific in what you write, it resonates more," he says. Along with place, that particular British humor permeates every part of his latest film, The World's End, even the more commercial set pieces. Elaborate car chases are staged with the most unsexy cars possible. "I'm no Michael Bay," he says.
Banner image: Lee Thomas