Last night at SXSW, Baby Driver premiered to full house at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas. Already there is a lot of buzz around the film. The plot revolves around a young music-obsessed getaway driver (Ansel Elgort) who gets in too deep with a crime boss (Kevin Spacey) and his criminal activities. Baby Driver also stars Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm, Lily James, Jon Bernthal, and Eiza Gonzalez.
Being the first film of Edgar Wright’s to be shot in the United States, it was inspired by music video that Wright did for British electronic duo Mint Royale and their song “Blue Song” in 2002. Wright wrote the film with Los Angeles in mind, but because he was able to get better tax incentives in Georgia, he relocated the shoot to Atlanta, Georgia. Wright says he conceived the entire film nearly 22 years ago, so he knew what he wanted, making a point to use no CGI effects and minimal green screen, insisting on shooting in the actual city where there was a lot of concrete. Fueled by the high adrenaline music, Wright said the following at a SXSW press conference regarding the film:
I was just listening through my record collection and I’d envision scenes. I wouldn’t write scenes until I found the right track…This is a departure from the films I’ve done in the past. It definitely took the longest [of my projects] to write.
Wright previously directed/co-wrote feature films Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Shaun of the Dead, and The World’s End, and also wrote Ant-Man starring Paul Rudd. He is currently working on quite a few projects, as both writer and director, including the animated feature Fortunately, The Milk with Johnny Depp attached to voice a character.
After pushing back the release date numerous times, Baby Driver finally settled on a theatrical release on August 11 of this year, courtesy of Sony Pictures.
Check out the trailer and poster below.
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