“Ever fired your gun in the air and yelled, ‘Aaaaaaah?'”
The Skyview Drive-in in Belleville (5700 N Belt W, Belleville, IL 62226) will be hosting the Double Feature of NOBODY and JEdgar Wright’s HOT FUZZ this April 9th only starting at 7:30pm.The other screen at the Skyview will be showing GODZILLA VS KONG and PACIFIC RIM. The Skyview’s site can be found HERE
Focus Features has announced it will release Edgar Wright’s documentary feature debut THE SPARKS BROTHERS on Friday, June 18th, 2021 in theaters.
Check out the discussion on Twitter.
How can one rock band be successful, underrated, hugely influential, and criminally overlooked all at the same time? Edgar Wright’s debut documentary THE SPARKS BROTHERS, which features commentary from celebrity fans Flea, Beck, Jack Antonoff, Jason Schwartzman, Neil Gaiman, and more, takes audiences on a musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with brothers/bandmates Ron and Russell Mael celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks: your favorite band’s favorite band.
Currently with a 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, the film chronicles the decades-long career and influence of the enigmatic rock pop duo Sparks.
In his second film with Focus Features this year, director Edgar Wright (upcoming Last Night in Soho, Baby Driver), also produced the documentary with his producing partner Nira Park, though their company Complete Fiction Pictures, along with producers George Hencken, and Complete Fiction’s Laura Richardson. The film was financed by MRC Non-Fiction and will be distributed domestically by Focus Features.
Focus Features will now release Edgar Wright’s LAST NIGHT IN SOHO in theaters on Friday, April 23, 2021 domestically in North America.
See Edgar Wright’s tweet about the release date change.
Wright tweeted, “Haunted by someone else’s past, but we’ll see you in the future… It’s true, #LastNightInSoho is not quite finished yet due to Covid 19. But, I’m excited for you all to experience it, at a big screen near you, on April 23, 2021.”
It has moved off of September 25, 2020. Universal Pictures International will release internationally.
About LAST NIGHT IN SOHO
The Edgar Wright directed, London-set psychological thriller stars Anya Taylor-Joy (Emma), Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie (Jo Jo Rabbit), Matt Smith (The Crown), Michael Ajao, Synnøve Karlsen, Diana Rigg, Terence Stamp, and Rita Tushingham.
Edgar Wright and Penny Dreadful scribe Krysty Wilson-Cairns co-wrote the screenplay, produced by Nira Park, Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, and Wright. Focus Features and Film4 co-financed the film.
““You punched me in the boob. Prepare to die, obviously!”
SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD plays midnights this weekend (July 26th and 27th) at the Tivoli as part of their Reel Late at the Tivoli Midnight series. A Facebook invite for the event can be found HERE
Take every genre that can be adapted into film, then go slightly beyond that, and you may find the 2010 film SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD. British director Edgar Wright, after SHAWN OF THE DEAD and before THE WORLD’S END, adapted Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Oni Press comic book of the same name about the eponymous slacker rocker and his colorful quest to defeat his dream girl’s seven evil ex-boyfriends. Wright captured the theme of the comic book, mixed in an aggressive visual style inspired by video games, amplified musical exchanges so they resonated like a live concert, and applied the physical laws of a Loony Tunes Cartoon. With a young cast superbly led by Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead but wonderfully supported by Allison Pill, Ellen Wong, Chris Evans, and Kieran Culkin, the result was a noisy, flashy, hipster mess. But luckily it had heart, which made it feel fun and unique and more like a lo-fi, endearing mess.
Box office-wise, SCOTT PILGRIM was something of a flop, but it found new life and a cult following, on DVD and cable, and now you’ll have the chance to see it again on the big screen (or for the first time if you missed it) when it plays this weekend ( July 26th and 27th ) at the Tivoli as part of their Reel Late at the Tivoli Midnight series.
The Tivoli’s located at 6350 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO. Admission is a mere $8!
The Tivoli’s website can be found HERE
Here’s the line-up for the other films coming to ‘Reel Late at The Tivoli:
Aug. 2-3 POLICE STORY (1985) Jackie Chan classic, 4K digital restoration! – subtitled
Aug. 9-10 HOT FUZZ
Aug. 16-17 ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL – New digital re-master – 40th Anniversary
Aug. 23-24 NINJA SCROLL (1993) – subtitled
Aug. 30-31 LABYRINTH
Sept. 6-7 HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH New 4K digital re-master
Focus Features’ 15th anniversary celebration pulled out all the stops on Thursday night at LA’s Greek Theatre with a fantastic party and screening of the Edgar Wright-Simon Pegg horror-comedy classic SHAUN OF THE DEAD.
Billed as a “rom zom com” (romantic zombie comedy), the film follows the bloody funny adventures of underachiever Shaun (Simon Pegg) and his best mate Ed (Nick Frost) as they cope with a zombie invasion of North London and attempt to rescue Shaun’s girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) and his Mum, Barbara (Penelope Wilton).
Thousands of fans, including BABY DRIVER co-star Jon Hamm, enjoyed the red-themed activities including a photo op, scary makeup applications, a character costume contest and dozens of zombies roaming the venue to frighten and entertain partygoers “like a drunk who’s lost a bet.”
After leading the audience in a zombiefied version of the THX sound effect, Wright and SHAUN co-star Lucy Davis, the scene-stealer in WONDER WOMAN, welcomed the crowd with memories of the production and expressed gratitude that their little English film has stood the test of time.
Wright recalled a veteran actor mistaking him for a production assistant and telling him “It’s straight to video for this one.”
Wright also praised the zombie extras for persevering through night shoots during which all they did was mill around outside the Winchester Pub waiting for their chance to break in. When they finally got their chance, one overzealous extra bit the director!
Co-writer and star Simon Pegg appeared in a hilarious video to thank the fans despite him not earning any money from the event.
SHAUN OF THE DEAD is the first part of Wright and Pegg’s Three Colors Cornetto Trilogy which continued with HOT FUZZ and THE WORLD’S END.
Hosted by Fandango’s Alicia Malone, fans received a special Shaun of the Dead t-shirt!
Contributed by Gary Salem and Melissa Thompson
All Cornetto trilogy enthusiasts know the hilariously choreographed “Don’t Stop Me Now” scene in director Edgar Wright’s SHAUN OF THE DEAD where Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and the group fight off the invading zombies.
Focus 15, the initiative commemorating the founding 15 years ago of worldwide film company Focus Features, has partnered with Fandango, the leading digital network for all things movies, and the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles for a special outdoor zombie screening of Shaun of the Dead the week of Halloween on Thursday, October 26, 2017.
Starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Shaun of the Dead was the first film in The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy, and was followed by Hot Fuzz and The World’s End.
Guests are encouraged to come in costume as their favorite Shaun of the Dead character. All attendees will receive a special Shaun of the Dead t-shirt while supplies last. Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster for $12 and can be purchased here.
Focus 15 kicked off last spring with a party at the Cannes International Film Festival, and continued overthe summer with screenings around the world of classic Focus films. Fans have come together throughout the spring and summer to watch some of Focus Features’ most iconic titles including Beginners and Brick as part of the Rooftop Cinema Club open-air screenings, Milk with Academy Award® winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black in London; Brokeback Mountain at Brooklyn’s Alamo Drafthouse Cinema; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind at Gurney’s Montauk Resort; and Sin Nombreas part of an IndieWire screening with director Cary Fukunaga in New York, just to name a few.
Over the past 15 years, Focus Features movies have garnered 105 Academy Award nominations and won 21 Oscars.
The event is also part of Fandango’s multi-year partnership with The Greek, designed to create memorable experiences for movie fans throughout the year.
“You made me swallow my gum! That’s going to be in my digestive tract for seven years!”
SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD plays midnights this weekend (September 29th and 30th) at the Tivoli as part of their Reel Late at the Tivoli Midnight series.
Take every genre that can be adapted into film, then go slightly beyond that, and you may find the 2010 film SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD. British director Edgar Wright, after SHAWN OF THE DEAD and before THE WORLD’S END, adapted Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Oni Press comic book of the same name about the eponymous slacker rocker and his colorful quest to defeat his dream girl’s seven evil ex-boyfriends. Wright captured the theme of the comic book, mixed in an aggressive visual style inspired by video games, amplified musical exchanges so they resonated like a live concert, and applied the physical laws of a Loony Tunes Cartoon. With a young cast superbly led by Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead but wonderfully supported by Allison Pill, Ellen Wong, Chris Evans, and Kieran Culkin, the result was a noisy, flashy, hipster mess. But luckily it had heart, which made it feel fun and unique and more like a lo-fi, endearing mess.
Box office-wise, SCOTT PILGRIM was something of a flop, but it found new life and a cult following, on DVD and cable, and now you’ll have the chance to see it again on the big screen (or for the first time if you missed it) when it plays this weekend (September 29th and 30th) at the Tivoli as part of their Reel Late at the Tivoli Midnight series.
The Tivoli’s located at 6350 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO. Admission is a mere $8!
The Tivoli’s website can be found HERE
http://www.landmarktheatres.com/market/st.louis/tivolitheatre.htm
Oct. 6-7 POLTERGEIST (1980)
Oct. 13-14 RE-ANIMATOR
Oct. 20-21 and Oct. 27-28 ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW with live shadow cast, Samurai Electricians!
All tickets $10
Reel Late at the Tivoli takes place every Friday and Saturday night and We Are Movie Geeks own Tom Stockman (that’s me!) is there with custom trivia questions about the films and always has DVDs, posters, and other cool stuff to give away. Ticket prices are $8. We hope to see everyone late at night in the coming weeks.
Edgar Wright knows cinema. It’s evident in the way he writes his characters. It’s evident in how he chooses to tell his stories. It’s evident in the little visual nods he sprinkles into each scene, like tiny cinematic sprinkles – though they may seem unnecessary, they add to the delightful treat for film lovers. And so, with each new film, he pushes himself in terms of telling a new type of story and delivering it in a way that pushes his exhilarating style. It’s impossible to watch an Edgar Wright film and not feel the energy he has for the project, complete with those fun little sprinkles on top.
His unabashed glee for filmmaking has come to a head with BABY DRIVER. Years of studying film, analyzing the camerawork, acknowledging the tropes, and listening to the importance of a solid soundtrack, has amounted to a cinematic fervor that he hasn’t exhibited before. Sure, films like HOT FUZZ and SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD have shown the filmmaker challenging his comedic visual chops or adapting a new visual language, but with his sixth feature film, Wright gathers his knowledge and love of cinema into a nearly two-hour assault on the senses that’s sure to be one of the most talked about films of the year.
Baby (Ansel Elgort) is a kid who walks (or drives) to the beat of his own drum. He’s constantly plugged into his headphones to drown out the hum in his head from a childhood accident, and in doing so, he has created the ultimate soundtrack for the film. You see, Baby is a getaway driver who is looking to get out of his contract with his crime boss (Kevin Spacey). When he meets the girl of his dreams at a diner (Lily James), he sees a chance to ditch his criminal life and make a clean getaway. But as we all know with this genre, there’s always one last heist and it never goes as planned.
Relative newcomer Ansel Elgort is a delight, as he saunters and spins his way around veteran talent like Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, and Jon Hamm. There’s a coolness to his performance that matches Wright’s style. It’s never cocky or ultra-masculine; it’s more indicative of Marlon Brando’s or James Dean’s brooding cool in THE WILD ONE or REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. Spacey seems to be toning it down (thankfully) to make room for Foxx, Hamm, and Eliza Gonzalez to flex their intimidating muscles opposite our puppy-eyed hero.
However, it’s important to remember that behind those soft eyes and quiet accent is fuel and rock n’ roll. Wright reminds us of this throughout the majority of the film. Like a Nirvana song where the verses are slightly softer and prettier and the choruses are loud and in your face, Wright incorporates those same tempo changes into the film. He’s not afraid to let the sweet moments between Baby and his waitress girlfriend shine, but he also ramps up the the intensity and is perfectly comfortable behind the wheel. It’s a balancing act, but he masters both with finesse and skill.
What might be the most astonishing feat but feels effortless, is the editing accompanied with each carefully selected song (curiously done by two editors who haven’t always worked together). The soundtrack, which runs the gamut from 60’s R&B like Carla Thomas, 70’s punk including The Damned, and a dash of modern hip-hop with Run the Jewels, is used throughout the film to coincide with the action, making the film the equivalent of an action movie musical. It’s one thing to listen to these songs, but it’s completely different watching how each drum beat and chord change matches up perfectly with the film.
Many might recognize the familiar story beats and cinematic tropes and see it as lazy or that Wright and his crew are copying off the films that have come before. Yet, Wright isn’t trying to hide his references. In fact, he openly showcases his love of these previous films throughout. You can’t have a kid from the “wrong side of the tracks” fall in love with a waitress at a diner without a little cheese. When you name the pizza place in your film “Goodfellas” – a film acknowledged as a cornerstone for film soundtracks – you clearly aren’t hiding your influences. Instead, Wright chooses to use these influences to create a cinematic language that walks a fine line between acknowledging the past and winking at the audience (something Tarantino falls on the wrong side of most times).
BABY DRIVER is an adrenaline-fueled love letter to the pulpy films from the 40s and 50s that’s precisely set and edited to the ultimate mixtape. Thoroughly exhilarating with just a touch of pathos, Edgar Wright has found the perfect vehicle for his passionate, cinematic voice. Each of our lives is set to a soundtrack, and it’s up to us to choose what track we want to live by.
Overall score: 4.5 out of 5
BABY DRIVER opens in theaters June 28th
There’s nothing like a good car chase in a movie. Maybe it’s the daring-do of the stunt drivers that makes you feel you’re in danger even though you’re comfortably in your seat, or the high stakes of the moment in which the characters we’re rooting for will either get out of the situation or have a gruesome finale, but an impressive car-chase scene can make even a mediocre movie a beloved classic. What makes a car chase legendary, you ask? They’re the ones that keep you at the edge of your seat and actually fit in with the rest of the plot.
Edgar Wright’s BABY DRIVER opens Wednesday, June 28th. Baby (Ansel Elgort), is an innocent-looking getaway driver who gets hardened criminals from point A to point B, with daredevil flair and a personal soundtrack running through his head. That’s because he’s got his escape route plotted to the beat of specific tunes that go from his well-curated iPod straight to his ears, and which translate into expertly timed hairpin turns, gear shifts and evasive maneuvers that leave his passengers on the ride of their lives. Wright claims BABY DRIVER was inspired by the great car chase movies of the ’70s, and for good reason. While the “Fast and Furious” movies have collectively taken the car chase to the next level, they don’t count. They’re far too CGI-enhanced. The 1970’s may have marked a new age in American cinema, but it was also a decade of movies filled with practical car chases that are still the best. Here are the 10 greatest car chase movies of that glorious decade.
10. RACE WITH THE DEVIL (1975)
RACE WITH THE DEVIL was an unforgettable hybrid of horror and car chases. Warren Oates and Peter Fonda (along with wives Loretta Swit and Lara Parker) hit the road in a mammoth state-of-the-art (for 1975) motor home with a horde of devil worshipers in hot pursuit. The satanic road rage on display in the stunt-filled highway climax is insane.
9. WHITE LIGHTNING (1973)
What list about 70s car culture would be complete without a couple of Burt Reynolds movies? The 1973 moonshine opus WHITE LIGHTNING was full of booze, broads, car chases, corruption and revenge — all the things that make life worthwhile. Burt Reynolds at his peak of awesomeness (and sans mustache) mostly drove a 1971 Ford Galaxie Custom 500 to take on on despicable redneck Sheriff Ned Beatty.
8. DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY (1974)
Basically a movie-long car chase, this 1974 drive-in standard takes Susan George, Peter Fonda, and Adam Roarke through miles of rural countryside and small town highways with local police, led by Sheriff Vic Morrow, in pursuit after they’ve robbed a grocery store. They start off in a 1966 Chevrolet Impala, which they eventually ditch for a 1969 Dodge Charger 440 to stay ahead of Morrow in his Bell JetRanger helicopter.
7.VANISHING POINT (1971)
The 1971 road movie VANISHING POINT directed by Richard C. Sarafian is notable for its scenic film locales across the American Southwest and its social commentary on the post-Woodstock mood in the United States. Barry Newman and his 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T take a journey across the country defying everything the authorities can throw at him in this cult classic.
6. THE DRIVER (1979)
Walter Hill’s THE DRIVER (which Edgar Wright claims as his primary inspiration for BABY DRIVER) gives us a number of lengthy car chases, including a thrilling and lengthy one near the beginning through the streets of Downtown LA. The Driver (Ryan O’Neal) steals a blue 1974 Ford Galaxie 500, which he promptly uses to escape the police with a crew of casino robbers on board. THE DRIVER is somewhat forgotten today, but well worth seeking out.
5. GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS (1974)
Amateurish, badly-acted and shot on the cheap, the original GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS (1974) is still perhaps the ultimate drive-in car chase movie. If that sounds like a backhanded compliment, then you don’t know the sheer visceral thrill of this great tire squealing, chassis-slamming, slice of outlaw auto cinema. The cult item features a 40-minute car chase that features every 60s and 70s muscle car you can imagine. Writer/Director H.D. Halicki was killed in an on-set accident while filming the sequel.
4. SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT (1977)
Redneck bad boys were all the rage in 1977. Cars were still made in Michigan and CB radios were the hot technology with phrases like “10-4 good buddy” familiar expressions and SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT captured that side of American culture as well as any film. It was the directorial debut for former stuntman Hal Needham and was the first of nine stunt-filled collaborations with his pal Burt Reynolds.
3. MAD MAX (1979)
This low-budget, high-octane Australian thriller spawned three sequels, two of which (ROAD WARRIOR in 1982 and MAD MAX FURY ROAD in 2015) are action masterpieces. The Mad Max films show that stunts themselves would be nothing without a filmmaker behind the camera and George Miller, a doctor and film buff making MAD MAX, his first feature in 1979, showed he knew what cinema was all about. Max’s black Pursuit Special driven by Mel Gibson was a 1973 Ford Falcon.
2. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)
Gene Hackman’s Popeye Doyle commandeers a civilian’s 1971 Pontiac LeMans in THE FRENCH CONNECTION which begins one of the greatest, most heart-pounding car chase sequences in movie history. Doyle is frantically chasing an elevated train, on which a hitman is trying to escape. The scene was filmed in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn and is a masterpiece of editing for which Gerald Greenberg took home a well-deserved Oscar.
1. THE SEVEN-UPS (1973)
This 1973 follow-up to THE FRENCH CONNECTION (some of the same cast play different characters – plus Richard Lynch and Joe Spinell!) was the sole directing credit of FRENCH CONNECTION producer Philip D’Antoni. The movie is highlighted by one absolutely incredible car chase, occurring just past the halfway point which cranks up the films’ energy level to a high degree. This is old school stunt driving and editing at its finest. The driver in the 1973 Pontiac Grand Ville sedan pursued by Roy Scheider in his 1973 Pontiac Ventura Sprint coupe is Bill Hickman, who was also the wheelman in the chase scene in BULLITT!
There were of course great car chase movies before and after the 70’s. Harold Lloyd’s SPEEDY features an eye-popping chase through the streets of New York that was filmed way back in 1927 while Robert Mitchum delivered the high-speed goods in THUNDER ROAD back in 1958. Some think the wrong-way car chase on a Los Angeles freeway in William Friedkin’s TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. (1985) outdid the chase sequence in his THE FRENCH CONNECTION. John Frankenheimer’s RONIN in 1998 was one of the last great car chase films before CGI took over, and of course THE ROAD WARRIOR and MAD MAX FURY ROAD are in a class by themselves, but the ‘70s is definitely when the car chase movie was at its peak.
“You’ve got red on you!”
SHAUN OF THE DEAD plays this weekend (April 21st and 22nd) at the Tivoli as part of their Reel Late at the Tivoli Midnight series.
Shaun (Simon Pegg) and Ed (Nick Frost) are two twenty-something slacker roommates. Shaun spends his days working, playing video games, and hanging out at the pub. Ed does pretty much the same thing, except for the working part. Shaun’s world takes a turn for the worse when, sensing that their life is going nowhere, his girlfriend Liz breaks up with him. Then things really get bad when zombies start showing up in his neighborhood (and everywhere else).
Soon after realizing that The Dead Are Walking The Earth (nothing gets by these blokes), Shaun and Ed decide to rescue Shaun’s mother and father (excuse me, that’s step-father), Liz and her two roommates, and find a safe place to hole up, which turns out to be the pub, of course. In the course of this, they have to fend off zombies with everything from cricket bats to record albums. Predictably, things just go from bad to worse for the team. SHAUN OF THE DEAD is a rare creature: a film that effectively mixes humor and horror. I haven’t seen a movie that does it this well since An American Werewolf In London. In the beginning there are lotsa laughs, giving way more and more to the horror elements as the film nears its conclusion. But even when things are at their most horrific this movie will surprise you with some hilarious bits. There are even a few moments that tug on the heartstrings a bit; something I hadn’t expected at all.
Most of the performances are good, and the directing, camera-work and editing are all great. The brilliant script is filled with sharp-edged satire (many of the humans in the beginning are very zombie-like to begin with), and jokes aplenty. One of my favorite bits is when Shaun and Ed are fending off a couple of zombies with records from Shaun’s collection, choosing only the bad ones to fling at the undead: Ed: “Purple Rain”. Shaun: “No”. Ed: “Stone Roses” Shaun: “Definitely not”. Ed: “Batman soundtrack?” Shaun: “Throw it”.
If you have a strong stomach and a good sense of humor, you should see SHAUN OF THE DEAD midnights this weekend at The Tivoli!
The Tivoli’s located at 6350 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO. Admission is a mere $8!
The Tivoli’s website can be found HERE
http://www.landmarktheatres.com/market/st.louis/tivolitheatre.htm
A Facebook invite for the screenings can be found HERE
https://www.facebook.com/events/256024564824158/
And here’s the Tivoli’s midnight line-up for the next several weeks:
APRIL 28TH AND 29TH – 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
MAY 5TH AND 6TH – GREMLINS
MAY 12TH AND 13TH – MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO
MAY 19TH AND 20TH – THE DARK KNIGHT
