Edgar Wright loves genre cinema which makes him feel good. Guest of honor at the Gérardmer Festival, the British filmmaker’s main ambition was to see as many films as possible during the event. “I am a cinephile filmmaker, he confides to 20 minutes. I started doing movies because I like watching movies. »
Among the genre films he has made, the “Cornetto trilogy” (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The Last Pub Before the End of the World), signed between 2004 and 2013 in collaboration with actor Simon Pegg, is a fan favorite. “It came from the fact that eating these ice creams was the best way to get rid of my hangover when I was a student,” he recalls. It started with Shaun of the Dead. Since there were ice creams at the premiere, Simon and I kept putting them in the next two films so that we could continue to eat free Cornettos! The trilogy comes in three flavors: Classic, Strawberry and Mint.
The great trailer for @Fantastic_arts directed by Marc Caro, a marvel! pic.twitter.com/5OBC59v94I
— Vié Caroline (@Caroklouk) January 27, 2022
References and technical prowess
Even more than ice cream cones, Edgar Wright loves genre cinema. “It annoys me when people tell me that I do parodies,” he says. I’m not making fun: I pay tribute to films that I love. This is just as much the case for Scott Pilgrim only for Baby Driver or the most recent Last Night in Soho. “I grew up in a small English town where seeing films was the only way to escape,” he insists. I like that the spectator finds this escapist side which allows me to talk about serious things without seeming to. Invasion of zombies or aliens, hold-ups or communication with spirits are all ways of evoking friendship, loyalty or the passage to adulthood.
“My goal is to highlight the acting, even if that makes the sequences more difficult to shoot. I try to shoot live as much as possible and only use digital effects if I can’t do otherwise,” says Edgar Wright. He delights in performing astonishing stunts like those of Baby Driver or brilliant sequence shots, as for Last Night in Soho.
A virtuoso filmmaker, he takes pleasure in sprinkling his works with references to those of other filmmakers. “Basically, I haven’t changed so much since I made my Super 8 films when I was a kid,” he admits. I still have so much fun but I just enjoy bigger budgets! Edgar Wright knows how to put them to good use for the greatest pleasure of the spectator.