“I think a lot of films are love/hate letters to the place you came from. Shaun of the Dead is about North London where we lived at the time, Hot Fuzz is about where we grew up, and The World’s End is about not being able to return home. It’s both affection for them but satirizing them at the same time.”
-Edgar Wright, episode 434 of Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
Director Edgar Wright hit the ground running. For most filmmakers it takes many years (and many films) to find their voice, but Wright’s seemed to be fully formed upon arrival, with 2004’s Shaun of the Dead.
The beloved British filmmaker joins us this week to discuss his new adaptation of Stephen King’s The Running Man (5:38), the inspiration he took from director Sam Raimi’s career path (17:30), and Wright’s moviegoing childhood in Somerset, England (20:24). Then, we dive into Wright’s own movies: the start of his collaboration with Simon Pegg (25:42), their breakout with Shaun of the Dead (28:17), and the local lore that informed Hot Fuzz (39:59).
On the back-half, Edgar recounts the unlikely origin story of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World—which began in Quentin Tarantino’s guest house (46:46)—his ups and downs inside the studio system (43:00), including his brief foray into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Ant-Man (42:53), and how art ultimately imitated life in The World’s End (58:20). To close, we talk about how he sees the future of filmmaking and artificial intelligence (1:06:11) and why, after all these years, Edgar still believes in the magic of going to the cinema (1:13:55).
Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at talkeasypod@gmail.com.
Watch this conversation on YouTube:
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Show-notes:
- See The Running Man in theaters this Friday, November 14th.
- Watch more of Edgar Wright’s work: Last Night in Soho, Baby Driver, The World’s End, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead, and Spaced.
- Follow Edgar on Instagram and Twitter.
- For more talks, hear Steven Soderbergh, Ari Aster, Ava DuVernay, and Richard Linklater.
- Order your Talk Easy mug in cream and navy or our vinyl record with Fran Lebowitz.
Illustrations by Krishna Shenoi.
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