Edgar Wright is sticking to the script.
Last year we read the funny, clever and entertaining screenplay for “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” written by Wright and Michael Bacall (also an actor, who appeared in small roles in “Inglourious Basterds” and Tarantino’s “Death Proof”) and honestly, we enjoyed the hell out of it. It was crisp, sharp, and really amusing with some awesome, memorable quips. It’s no wonder some have said it has elements of a modern-day “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
After reading the screenplay we also noted the key differences between Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novel and the script. We wrote, ” it’s significantly different, but very awesome, hilarious and very-much capturing the mood, tenor and tone of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s original books with necessary changes to keep the narrative propelling forward, but never deviating wildly” from the original spirit of the novels.
Some hardcore fans complained, but we thought it was a great adaptation. Wright spoke to MTV and confirms that what’s on the page hasn’t changed. After ‘Scott Pilgrim’ Volume 3, the film and screenplay become something different and unique and at the same time use older material that O’Malley never used in his original series.
“It stays pretty true to volumes one and two. And three,” explained Wright. “After three volumes, it starts to take its own path, but very much within the spirit of the book — and approved by Bryan as well. … There are some things that are in the film that are actually from Bryan’s original ideas before he wrote the books. [So] there are some things in there that refer to older ideas which [O’Malley] didn’t end up [using]. He totally understood how and why it had to be shaped into a movie structure. It’s ironic, because there will be a couple of scenes when people will say, ‘That’s not in the book,’ but actually, if you look at these notes from 2005… I feel like we tried to respect the books as much as we can in a Hollywood film, but also infuse his ideas that didn’t necessarily fit into the volumes.”
Anyhow, the reason we’re mostly reporting this is that we’re immensely happy to hear it. Scripts change along the way, but we didn’t want production to touch one hair on the “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” screenplay. There has been some differing of opinions in our comments section on the script, but we’ll remind skeptics, Bacall was named by Variety as one of the 2008 Screenwriters to watch, and with good reason.
O’Malley’s 6th ‘Scott Pilgrim’ book should come out this year, but he’s already said that the book and film will (obviously) not conclude in the same way. We’ll be curious to see if he can finish the book in time for August when the film comes out. Obviously that would be the most ideal time frame.
Hope Pegg, Frost and Wright reunite after this film.