Edgar Wright is sharing a behind-the-scenes moment from the pre-production of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World that shows off not only the director’s penchant for visual gags but his acting abilities as well.
The video clip in question was a previsualization (previz), which is test footage for directors to figure out things such as actors’ blocking, composition, and action beats.
“My finest acting,” Wright sarcastically captioned the video. In the clip, Wright broke from his character to point out he’d been accidentally staring directly at the camera in the scene.
The scene being recreated from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was one in which Ellen Wong’s Knives Chau knocks on the door of the apartment for her boyfriend, Michael Cera’s Scott Pilgrim. Scott’s roommate, Kieran Culkin’s Wallace Wells, answers the door, insisting that Scott is gone. However, Scott can clearly be seen in the background jumping out a window, as he’d been avoidant of Knives in the movie at that point due to basically being a bad boyfriend.
The previz captures this same scene, only with an apartment window and door made of cardboard boxes, and with Wright playing the role of Wallace. Culkin obviously pulled off a superior performance in the finished film, as he never once looked straight into the camera for the scene.
It’s interesting to see how different directors approach previz as the process can encompass everything from hand-drawn storyboards to recreations with miniatures.
Wright, who co-wrote and directed Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, is slated to helm the latest adaption of The Running Man as his next directorial project, according to IMDb.