We got the brilliant news just last month that the Mitch Hurwitz-created TV show, Arrested Development, will be making its long-awaited return with not just the planned movie, long in development, but also a fourth season prior to its big screen debut, which would take us from the time between the end of the third season and the start of the film.

Variety are now reporting that Netflix have secured the rights for the fourth season, with an eye to air the new episodes early in 2013, which is excellent news in my books. Given that last month we also heard that Netflix, one of the US’ biggest TV/movie streaming companies, is coming to the UK and Ireland early next year, this means that by the time the new episodes of Arrested Development are airing, we’ll have the company who has the licence available to us here too!

Life is good.

Of course, this is just conjecture on my part, given that I know nothing about licensing rights. And this is also assuming that Netflix will take off on this side of the Atlantic. Personally, I’m hoping it will be received really well over here, because that would give us at least the chance to see the new season of Arrested Development without having to wait for it to come out on DVD.

As I’m sure you can tell, I’m a big fan of the show, and cannot wait to see more of it in both the new TV season and the film. With its terrific cast that includes Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, David Cross, Alia Shawkat, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Tony Hale, and Portia de Rossi, with the genius Ron Howard narrating, along with literally dozens and dozens of fantastic cameos, Arrested Development was by far the smartest and funniest comedy shows on TV, in my opinion, and its return couldn’t be more highly anticipated. It is going to be one of the best things to happen to TV in a very long time. As always, more news as and when we get it.

This is quite possibly the best news I’ve read all year.

This time last week, we brought you the great news that the entire cast of Arrested Development would be coming together with the show’s creator, Mitchell Hurwitz, for a panel in New York at the New Yorker Festival.

News, we hoped, was imminent, and now I’m so happy to say that I have some incredible news for all the fans of the original TV show. EW reports, via Collider, that not only is the long-awaited Arrested Development movie still very much alive, but we’re going to get a fourth season of the show before then!

I’m like a kid at Christmas as I write this. Notoriously cancelled by Fox back in 2006, and having since developed an ever-increasingly large fan base, Arrested Development is by far one of my favourite TV shows, one that I would say had some of the smartest writing of any show or film I’ve ever seen.

So you can imagine my delight this morning to wake up and find that Hurwitz and the cast – including Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, David Cross, Alia Shawkat, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Tony Hale, and Portia de Rossi, with Ron Howard being the wonderful narrator – had announced at the panel that they would be bringing the show back to life. And not just for a film, but a whole(ish) season.

The plan is to have a nine- or ten-episode season, with NetFlix and Showtime in talks to air the season at the moment, and then release the film on the back of that. Hurwitz said at the festival, and I’m going to quote as much text as I can because I’m sure a lot of people will be interested to read it all,

“I have been working on the screenplay for a long time and found that as time went by there was so much more to the story… In fact, where everyone’s been for five years became a big part of the story. So, in working on the screenplay I found that even if I just gave five minutes per character to that backstory, we were halfway through the movie before the characters got together. And that kinda gave birth to this thing we’ve not been pursuing for a while and we’re kinda going public with a little bit. We’re trying to do kind of limited run series into the movie.

“We’re basically hoping to do nine or 10 episodes with almost one character per episode, where like the first episode will just be Buster. We’re kinda picturing it like, um, well the latest joke we have is that, you know, it’s Cambridge, Massachusetts and there’s all these scientists in lab coats and they’re waiting for somebody and Buster comes through the door wearing a lab quote and says `let’s begin,’ and they say, `you don’t get to wear the lab coat, we’re experimenting on you. [garbled] And then we go through his life and we meet the people in his life and maybe he goes to see his therapist who he’s getting a good rate on because it’s Tobias and he’s lost his license. We can do cross overs and things like that. But it’s an unusual style of show I think and we get him to a certain point of peril in his life and then maybe we jump over to like Maeby and she’s living with Cornel West… We’ll do this kind of thing that builds the peril in their lives until they all come together, really, in the first scene of the movie. It requires, and Ron [Howard] has been working on this too, it just requires studios to work together, they don’t normal work together in film and TV. It’s a really ambitious project but it’s also a very simple project in a way because it kind of gives the fans a level of detail for `granularity,’ which is a big word on the East Coast.

“I really have to say, we’ve talked about this, we’re all game, we hated be coy, we’ve been trying to put together this more ambitious idea and I think we’re very close, the script is halfway done and we have to get the film companies on board… They’ve always been great to us but you know times are tough and money is tight but I’m very hopeful, there is business left to be done but creatively we have a very specific plan of how it would come out and what we would do and when we would shoot it. Our hope is that, perhaps the series is in the fall.”

Sounds beyond awesome to me. It looks like there’s still work to be done, both in terms of the script and getting the show and film made, but everyone on board sounds very optimistic, and if Hurwitz says that they’re close, that can only be good news. Bringing the cast all together for something like this – and Howard was even said to be present with his voice coming through the speakerphone in a really great touch for people at the festival – definitely suggests that they’re all committed to making it, and that the future isn’t as far off as we might think. 2012/2013 look to be great years for fans of the show.

The Huffington Post picked up this tweet from Bateman,

“It’s true. We will do 10 episodes and the movie. Probably shoot them all together next summer for a release in early ’13. VERY excited!”

And here’s another great tweet from Arnett,

“I’m peeing with @batemanjason at the moment..and we can confirm that we are going to make new AD eps and a movie”

It really sounds almost too good to be true. But I’m so glad that it’s not. The cast said that they’ll be keeping their schedules free for filming Arrested Development’s return, which just further goes to show their commitment to bringing the show back, and then heading straight for the big screen. This time last week, I was hoping for updates on the movie, and now it’s just turned into a whole different ball game. It’s going to be an awesome return for an entirely undeservedly cancelled show. I literally cannot wait.

Arrested Development is by far one of my favourite TV shows of all time. It’s one of the funniest, smartest, and best-cast programmes I’ve ever seen, and in my opinion, there’s really nothing else like it that’s on TV at the moment.

But, like Fox has a tendency of doing – Family Guy even opened their fourth season with a long list of some of Fox’s cancelled programmes – in spite of its greatness, the show was cancelled, with its final episodes airing back in 2006.

Since then, there’s been a lot of talk about the programme being turned into a movie. Sceptics out there might be critical of the possibility, but Joss Whedon made an utterly awesome film in Serenity after Fox cancelled Firefly, and I think Mitch Hurwitz would do exactly the same thing with Arrested Development. The two shows obviously fall under entirely different genres, but they’re both awesome, and a film version of Arrested Development has so much promise.

Sadly, since the years after its cancellation, all there has been is talk, without any real movement on the project whatsoever. Hurwitz does seem to be keeping in touch with the leading cast from the show, though, and it sounds like they’re all still talking about the film, with questions popping up in interviews from time to time about the show, and whilst no definitive answers ever seem to be given, they’ve often suggested that the cast at least has an idea of what the film will be about, which is something in itself.

The past four paragraphs are essentially all just a prelude to this somewhat unimportant, but nonetheless excellent, news. The Playlist are reporting that the entire cast of Arrested Development, including Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Michael Cera, David Cross, Alia Shawkat, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Tony Hale, and Portia de Rossi, will be joining Mitchell Hurwitz, the show’s absolutely genius creator and writer, to take the stage for a panel discussion this weekend on 2nd October in New York.

So you might think of this as a kind of pre-news; news telling you that news should be coming. As you can imagine, gathering the entire cast of Arrested Development with its creator undoubtedly means that they’ll be asked a number of questions about the show – past, present, and future – and hopefully those questions about the future will be given some specific answers about how the film is coming together.

Whilst it was on the air, Arrested Development had some of the best cameo roles I can remember on TV, including Henry Winkler, Charlize Theron, Zach Braff, Liza Minelli, Judy Greer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ben Stiller, Heather Graham, J.K. Simmons, to name just a few. Not to mention the fact that it was narrated by the brilliant Ron Howard, who isn’t mentioned as appearing alongside the cast, but would make for an amazing surprise guest if he’s free at the weekend. We shall see.

So sit tight, stay tuned, and with any luck, we’ll hopefully have something concrete to bring you about the Arrested Development movie by this time next week. I literally cannot wait. Until then, here are some great clips from the show to enjoy. (You may have need to have seen the show to really enjoy them – Arrested Development’s like that, it’s excellent.) If you’re yet to see it, now is the time to start.

It’s been almost three and a half decades since Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope hit the big screens and took the world by storm, and in all of the years following, the series of six films has penetrated pop culture across the world in a way that very, very few films or franchises are ever able to.

Like it or not, there are literally thousands of references to the Star Wars series in the films and television programmes we watch, the books we read, and the music we listen to. With so many references, homages, and parodies to choose from, it would be enormously difficult, if not impossible, to come up with a definitive list of them all.

So instead, to coincide with the films’ Blu-Ray release, I present to you the Awards for the Best Pop Culture References to Star Wars, as voted for by me. Because there are so many to choose from, I’ve cut it down to a Six of the Best awards ceremony (six rather than five for obvious Star Wars reasons). There’ll undoubtedly be many moments that haven’t made my personal Top Six, so if there’s something you think has been unjustly missed out, vote for your own favourite moments in the comments below. We’d love to hear what your favourite nods to the franchise are.

Without further ado, I give to you, my Six of the Best.

Best Costume

I thought a great moment from TV’s Friends would be a good way to kick us off. Just like Star Wars, Friends is something a lot of people love, and almost everyone is familiar with on some level. And this particular scene from the show, taken from the episode ‘The One With the Princess Leia Fantasy’, is fantastic. After confessing his secret fantasy to Rachel about wanting to see her dressed up as Princess Leia, Ross’ dream is somewhat ruined by something Chandler confesses to earlier in the episode.

The award itself is actually a tie between Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) and Judy Geller (Christina Pickles), because they are equally as excellently dressed as each other, and both deserve credit for their efforts. But sadly I can’t find a clip I can embed that features them both, so it’s just Rachel that we see below. As the first episode in season three, it aptly serves as both a brilliant introduction to the season and to these awards.

Best Lightsaber Practice

From one TV show to another, we move on to George Michael Bluth (Michael Cera) and his garage home-video recording of something so many of us will have done at some point or another: lightsaber practice for our inevitable future Jedi training.

The clip is one that crops up a few times throughout the show (they did enjoy rewarding their long-time viewers with self-references on Arrested Development), so I’m a little surprised I can’t find that decent a clip of it on YouTube. Nonetheless, it’s a great moment, and whilst I can’t say I ever filmed myself doing it, nor did I get quite so into it as George Michael does here, there’ll be millions of kids all over the world who can relate to the idea of making that well-known lightsaber sound, having fake saber-rattling fights with their friends, and wanting to be a Jedi.

Hell, considering almost 400,000 people in England and Wales alone marked down ‘Jedi’ as their religion in the UK 2001 Census, he can’t be the only one doing it. So I’ll ask you now to direct your attention to about 1:45 into this video, when Gob (Will Arnett) accidentally slots George Michael’s home video into the end of his campaign video for class president.

Best Re-Enactment

If you’re a fan of any of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s work, you’ll know that the pair like to embed pop. culture references into so much of what they do, which is always good fun. Their TV show, Spaced, is full of nods to Stars Wars, The Matrix, and many other things, and whilst shooting their latest film, Paul, they also made this absolute gem.

Everyone knows that pretty much every film has little plot holes and continuity errors dotted about here and there, and Star Wars is no different. But of course that doesn’t mean we love it any less, and Pegg and Frost brilliantly show up a few of these little flaws, which I’m sure in no way detract from their love of the series, in their excellent re-enactment.

Best Animated Parody

There are of course two main contenders that come to mind for this award, and they would be Robot Chicken and Family Guy. Both shows have done three episodes apiece parodying the Star Wars series, but I must confess that I haven’t seen any of Seth Green’s take on the films with his own show, and thus my vote falls unilaterally and dictatorially behind the latter, Seth MacFarlane’s Laugh It Up, Fuzzball trilogy, which started by opening the sixth season back in 2007 with the double-length episode, Blue Harvest.

Given that there’s a full forty-odd minutes of Star Wars parody gold to choose from here, and that’s just counting the first of the three episodes, I thought I’d include two tiny snippets instead of one longer one, just because they’re both excellent. The first clip is of two of the Death Star’s employees venting to each other, and the second is our introduction to Stewie as Darth Vader, whose sarcasm is just perfect.

Best Debate On The Source Material

Star Wars vs. Star Trek, Star Wars vs. The Lord of the Rings, even Star Wars vs. Star Wars. In plenty of films, as well as in real life, there are arguments over which is better, and this particular debate from Kevin Smith’s Clerks is my personal favourite. It’s just such a great conversation. In my opinion, Smith has an unmatched talent for turning ordinarily utterly inane subject matter into something watchable and incredibly entertaining, and this is a perfect example of that.

Here, we see Randal (Jeff Anderson) and Dante (Brian O’Halloran) at first discussing which Star Wars film is their favourite, and then they get into the finer details and Randal starts talking about how innocent lives were lost in Return of the Jedi when the second Death Star is blown up. It’s the kind of brilliant observation that I love Smith for. He can turn the most ridiculous and meaningless discussion, the kind you have with your friends about nothing whatsoever, into a genius scene in a terrific film, showing right off the bat with his feature debut what a great writer-director he is.

Best Use Of The Star Wars Main Theme

And finally, from one great Lucas-sized figure in pop. culture to another, I thought I’d finish this little awards ceremony with John Hughes’ nod to Star Wars in one of my favourite of his films, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

The Star Wars Main Theme is beyond iconic. It’s something almost everyone recognises with ease, and it’s just one of the many incredible pieces of music John Williams has written, with A New Hope’s score earning him one of his five Academy Awards. And Hughes’ use of the theme here is brilliant. After Ferris (Matthew Broderick) puts Cameron’s father’s Ferrari into a parking garage, the two mechanics working there see their chance for a day of freedom, just like Ferris, and take advantage of the opportunity that has fallen into their laps, enjoying the benefits the classic car has to offer, set to Williams’ classic score.

As I wrote at the start of this article, there is an almost infinite number of moments from television and film to choose from over the past three and a half decades, making it very hard to pick just half a dozen. That there are so many is an undeniable testament to the franchise’s cultural impact, and there are very few things that could be argued rival Lucas’ creation. Film series like Harry Potter, James Bond, and Pirates of the Caribbean might well be in the same ball park as Star Wars in terms of box office revenue, but even they don’t pervade pop. culture nearly as frequently or as brilliantly as Star Wars does. In that respect, I’d say it is truly in a league of its own. And for that reason, Lucas and everyone that worked on the films deserve our undying gratitude for creating something that has spawned so many brilliant parodies and allusions that are excellent in their own right.

Until next time, I’ll leave you with one final clip from Family Guy’s Blue Harvest that pays homage to John Williams’ fantastic work on the films’ scores. The video quality’s not brilliant, but I love this piece. Enjoy.

Emily Browning (Sucker Punch), Juno Temple (Atonement) and Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace) have signed on to star opposite Michael Cera (Youth in Revolt) in psychological thriller Magic Magic.

Sebastian Silva (The Maid) is attached to direct the film, which centers on a girl vacationing Chile who slowly starts to lose her mind.

Filming is expected to begin later this summer, with producers currently shopping the domestic and foreign rights at the 64th annual Cannes Film Festival.

Source: Variety

Michael Cera is going to be mixing things up a little with his career, Empire is reporting, and is set to star in upcoming indie drama/thriller Magic, Magic.

The film will be the English language debut of Chilean writer/director Sebastián Silva, who wrote and directed 2009’s Golden Globe Award-winning film, The Maid (La Nana).

Magic, Magic has at its centre a young woman on holiday with her friends in remote part of Chile, and she slowly starts to lose her mind. Though she tries to get her friends to realise what’s happening, they ignore her until it is too late.

At the moment, the search is still ongoing for the actress to play the young woman. Perhaps with Cera now on board, an actress of both similar fame and calibre will be more enticed to join. Silva also won the World Cinema Jury Prize for Drama with The Maid at Sundance, so his talent as both writer and director seems confirmed already. Personally, I think Emma Stone would be perfect for the role. She and Cera starred in Superbad, so we know that they work well together, and Stone has truly been going from strength to strength over the past few years. The only thing that could be an issue is that she is already very much in demand, currently filming The Amazing Spider-Man, and depending on what roles she’s looking to take on next, she could be hard to schedule.

Cera, on the other hand, has been relatively quiet of late. He of course had the lead role in last year’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, which has gained somewhat notoriety for not doing as well as expected at the box office, falling short by about $15m of its budget, a figure that I hope it will make up with its DVD and Blu-Ray sales.

Scott Pilgrim was incredibly well received by critics, and its unsuccessful performance came as a real surprise, because I don’t think it had anything to do with the quality of the film; some films just don’t do well at the box office. Having worked pretty solidly since about the age of 10, Cera (now 22) was certainly due a bit of a break.

Coming back to work with Magic, Magic sounds like it will be quite a bit of a change from what he’s done in the past though, so it will be interesting to see what he’s like in a more serious role. I’m hoping that before we see him in Magic, Magic, we’ll be seeing him return to his role as George-Michael Bluth in the upcoming (and very much long awaited and highly anticipated) Arrested Development movie. Nothing is set in stone yet, but creator Mitchell Hurwitz talked to Digital Spy back in February and said that he’s sincere in his hopes for shooting it this year, so I remain optimistic that things are progressing well.

The first full day here in Austin at SXSW has been pretty much a time to get accustomed to what’s going on and work out how this crazy convention all works! I didn’t arrive in time last night to get to the Source Code premiere which was a shame but from what I’ve heard, it was a great night which sounds like it’s going to be remembered more for Jake Gyllenhaal getting huffy with a photographer in a toilet than for the movie itself but all publicity is good publicity!!

As you can see I have collected my pass and now it’s time to break it in! For those eagle eyed of you, yes, they have spelt my name wrong but I forgive them as they probably thought my surname needed some extra vowels inserted!

I’m going to do my best to get into the Attack the Block screening later on tonight and hopefully review the movie as soon as I get back. So excited to see it! I’m guessing that a lot of the humour in it might be rather English so hopefully I won’t be the only one laughing! Just need to get in the queue early enough to get in!

In the meantime, here’s the SXSW 2011 Zombies. Every festivals needs one and these are doing a very good job!

Someone left a comment on the last video asking me to show what the rest of the HP trailer park looks like. You wish is my command and check out the video below where our friends from @SoulCulture make a cameo.

Don’t forget you can follow all of my updates by either following @DaveSzt or @HeyUGuysBlog or using the hash tags, #SXSW and #HPSXSW.

**Read all the posts in our ‘Love Theatrically’ series here**

#6 – “JUNO” (2007)

Directed by Jason Reitman

Since appearing as “Boy Kissing Girl” alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Kindergarten Cop” aged just 13 Jason Reitman has come on in considerable leaps and bounds, quick to step out from the shadow of his father (“Ghostbusters” director Ivan Reitman) and forge himself an impressive directorial career of his own with the likes of the 2005 political satire “Thank You For Smoking” and the 2009 Academy Award nominated “Up in the Air”.

But it was to be with the truly wonderful “Juno” that Reitman was to gain a great deal of cinematic kudos with a scathingly smart’n'sassy screenplay by professional blogger and ex-stripper Diablo Cody married to an electrifying central performance by the then 20 year old Ellen Page but two of the many masterstrokes behind this hilariously heart-warming  romantic comedy.

Two years after wowing audiences and critics alike in David Slade’s psychological thriller “Hard Candy” Page once again walks away with the majority of the plaudits as the eponymous Juno delivering a performance that exudes confidence, sophistication, maturity, warmth and heart with a biting wit and an enviable grasp of comic timing. “Zeus had tons of lays but I’m pretty sure Juno was his only wife.”, she remarks, when quizzed on the origin of her unusual name. “And apparently she was supposed to be super beautiful but really mean, like Diana Ross”

Thankfully such eminently quotable bon mots are liberally scattered throughout Cody’s delightful screenplay yet never at the expense of character or emotion. For as Juno comes to terms with the fact that a new life is growing within her so too does she begin to re-evaluate her own life and, in particular, her true feelings towards the child’s father, one Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera).

Cera’s performance as Bleeker is every bit the insecure teenager and whilst many have since criticised Cera for repeating the self same “deer in the headlights” geek chic in more or less every movie he’s subsequently starred in there’s no doubting that he’s got this particular corner of the market covered. Whether it’s his gangly form clad in bright yellow shorts and headband or his decidedly bewildered initial reaction to Juno’s pregnancy it may at times be confusing as to quite what Juno sees in such an individual but such uncertainties are sure to dissipate come the film’s conclusion whereupon you’ll be more or less convinced the two of them were destined to be together.

The film also benefits from a superb supporting cast with Reitman regular J.K. Simmons making the most of his brief screen time as Juno’s father and Jason Bateman delivering a typically assured performance as Mark, the husband of the couple chosen by Juno to become her child’s adoptive parents. But perhaps the biggest surprise comes from Jennifer Garner who puts all memories of the abysmal “Elektra” behind her and subsequently defies all expectation as Vanessa, Mark’s wife, a woman who, whilst initially appearing cold, obsessive and domineering, slowly develops into someone sure to elicit a great deal of empathy and admiration (not to mention tears) from the audience.

Yet amongst such a raft of stellar performances it’s perhaps ironic yet altogether fitting that the briefest of them all is the one to have the greatest impact on the characters. For though initially considered a burden Juno’s unborn child ultimately destroys the one relationship it was intended to heal and, perhaps more importantly, reignites the one that was, until recently, both overlooked, undervalued and unappreciated. Cue the moment whereupon the simple sight of hundreds of orange Tic Tacs is sure to have your heart performing back flips and a beautifully scripted scene between Juno and Paulie that is quite possibly one of the most tenderly beautiful reconciliations in recent movie memory.

Sonically the film’s unique tone and charm is further heightened by a great soundtrack which features tracks from the likes of “Sonic Youth”, “Mott the Hoople”, “Belle and Sebastian”, “The Velvet Underground” and “The Moldy Peaches” whose song “Anyone Else But You”, combines a whimsical acoustic charm with simple, childlike lyrics and ends the film on a beautifully heart-warming note.

Subsequent performances in Drew Barrymore directorial debut “Whip It” and Chris Nolan’s “Inception” have furthered Page’s meteoric rise to fame yet for me it’ll always be as the feisty Juno MacGuff that she’ll be most fondly remembered. Yet whatever the future may hold for Page “Juno” is certain to forever hold a place in my personal movie mythology.

Intelligent, thought-provoking and beautifully written and acted, “Juno” is a truly delightful film that tackles a serious subject with both sensitivity and grace whilst finding plenty of time for a bellyful of laughs along the way.

“I need to know that it’s possible that two people can stay happy together forever.”

Track #9 – “ANYONE ELSE BUT YOU”

Written by Adam Green and Kimya Dawson

(Performed by The Moldy Peaches)

The coolest film of 2010, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, was released on one-disc Blu-ray, Limited Edition Steelbook Blu-ray, and two-disc DVD on 27 December 2010 from Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd! To celebrate the release we’re giving away three signed copies of the film on DVD, which has been signed by the director Edgar Wright.

From acclaimed British writer-director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), comes the hit film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, based on the popular graphic novels by Bryan Lee O’ Malley and featuring a fantastic cast led by Michael Cera (Juno, Superbad). The film is also released as part of a special three disc box-set alongside Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz on both DVD and Blu-ray.

Meet charming and jobless Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera). A bass guitarist for garage band Sex Bob-omb, the 22 year old has just met the girl of his dreams…literally. The only catch to winning the elusive, mysterious Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead)? Her seven evil exes are coming to kill him.

To be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize, simply enter the competition below and answer the question using the form below. Good luck!

Name the Edgar Wright directed movie which had a main character named Nicholas Angel

The small print:

• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close January 13th at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

Competition Now Closed

Universal Home Entertainment have just sent us this new exclusive clip from the Edgar Wright directed movie, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World which you’ll be able to see on the Blu-ray and DVD when it’s released in the UK on 27th December.

Scott Pilgrim stars Michael Cera, Kieran Culkin, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Evans, Bill Hader and Brie Larson who we get to see in this new clip. Larson plays Envy Adams in fictious band, Clash at Demonhead in the movie and whether she’s actually singing in this clip or not is debatable but nonetheless, she’s looking good singing a song which is titled Black Sheep by Metric. It is interspliced with the graphic novel characters (the evil exes) on which the movie is based.

Check out the clip below and click here to pre-order the DVD and Blu-ray and keep your eyes peeled for a rather exciting competition to win tickets to a screening where Edgar Wright will be in attendance to answer some questions.

Here’s a fun post for the evening. It comes from HeroChan.com via a tweet from @GreatWhiteSnark. It’s an animation showing all of the Evil Exes from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World mixed with their original characters from the graphic novel. I thought you might rather like it…. cos I do!

Not much else to say other than Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is released on DVD and Blu-ray 27th December, is directed by the fabulous Edgar Wright and stars Michael Cera, Kieran Culkin,  Brie Larson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Evans, Ellen Wong, Anna Kendrick, and Bill Hader.

Director, Edgar Wright has given us a little treat this morning by blogging a few new behind the scenes videos from the Blu-ray of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. The movie came out a few months ago in cinemas and is released on DVD and Blu-ray, 27th December (why after Christmas?!).

The movie featured a top notch cast consisting of  Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Alison Pill and Brandon Routh. Scot Pilgrim was effects heavy with a lot of work needing to be done in post production. In these new featurettes, we get to see how the comic was brought into life, then how the characters followed and then how some of the stunts were completed:

Last week, the cast of of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World were in town for the European Premiere of the new movie directed by Edgar Wright. The movie stars Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Alison Pill, Brandon Routh, most of whom were at the press conference.

We were on the Red Carpet for the European Premiere of the movie and you can see our footage here and here.

Our friends from Upbeat got to talk with the the cast and director, Edgar Wright about the movie which I’ll leave you to watch below!

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is released in UK cinemas today, 25th August.

IMPAwards seem to have quite a few amazing posters released today. Earlier we had the new Unstoppable poster and now we have this rather fabulous 3d poster for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. We’ve seen Michael Cera (Scott Pilgrim) with his guitar in the pose loads of the marketing before but we’ve not seen him standing up. In this new poster we get to see him giving it 100% on the guitar that he’s holding!

The movie stars Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha), Lucas Lee (Chris Evans), Todd Ingram (Brandon Routh), Roxy Richter (Mae Whitman), Kyle (Shota Saito) and Ken Katayanagi (Keita Saito) and Gideon Graves (Jason Schwartzman), of all who Michael Cera’s character, Scott Pilgrim must defeat in battle in order to win the hand of Ramona V. Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). It’s directed by Edgar Wright and is released in the UK tomorrow, 25th August. Incase you’re wondering, no, the movie is NOT in 3d!

Our extensive coverage of the movie can be seen here.

Poster design by Ignition Print
3D Creative and Print by Virtual Images

Last week, the cast of of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World were in town for the European Premiere of the new movie directed by Edgar Wright. The movie stars Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Alison Pill, Brandon Routh, most of whom were at the press conference.

We were on the Red Carpet for the European Premiere of the movie and you can see our footage here and here.

Over the course of the next few days, we’ll be bringing you one on one interviews with all the main cast of the movie but for now, we have the footage from the European Press Conference provided very kindly by our good friends at Upbeat.

Check it out below and keep checking HeyUGuys for the interviews coming up over the next few days.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is released in the UK this Wednesday, 25th August.

Last night saw Edgar Wright take over Leicester Square as the European premiere for Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World hit London.

Dave and Ben were there for HeyUGuys and spoke to the cast and director and you can see their report here but for the bigger picture, and to see the stars we didn’t get the chance to speak to, our friends at Upbeat provided us with this splendid premiere report.

The film is out in the UK next week, with preview screenings happening right now. So grab yourself a ticket – hey, grab two, and enjoy the footage below.

This evening London’s Leicester Square saw the European Premiere of the new Universal Pictures, Edgar Wright directed movie, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

Pretty much all of the cast were in attendance including Michael Cera, Kieran Culkin, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Evans, Bill Hader, Satya Bhabba, Brandon Routh and Anna Kendrick who we discovered reads HeyUGuys on an hourly basis! Check out the video if you don’t believe me! We also got to talk with Jessica Hynes who talks about Burke and Hare and working with the great John Landis!

Ben (@Montimer) and I (@DaveSzt were there and we also got to chat with Brie Larson who I’m pretty sure could end up in my top 10 of nicest people on the planet. She was so great with the crowd of fans, spent time with everyone and was extremely pleasant with us. Also making an appearance this evening was Macauley Culkin but he was whisked into the cinema quicker than you can say Home Alone!

We got to chat with many of the names above but unfortunately didn’t manage to get any time with Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) himself, but he did work the crown aplenty which is always nice to see. We spoke to Edgar Wright who was joined by his buddie, Simon Pegg. Chris Evans was there too but again, we didn’t get to grab him which was a shame but all you need to know for now is right here on my Captain America: The First Avenger set visit!

Synopsis: Meet charming and jobless Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera). A bass guitarist for garage band Sex Bob—omb, the 22—year—old has just met the girl of his dreams…literally. The only catch to winning Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead)? Her seven evil exes are coming to kill him. Genre—smashing filmmaker Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) tells the amazing story of one romantic slacker’s quest to power up with love in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Scott Pilgrim has never had a problem getting a girlfriend. It’s getting rid of them that proves difficult. From the girl who kicked his heart’s ass—and now is back in town—to the teenage distraction he’s trying to shake when Ramona rollerblades into his world, love hasn’t been easy. He soon discovers, however, his new crush has the most unusual baggage of all: a nefarious league of exes controls her love life and will do whatever it takes to eliminate him as a suitor. As Scott gets closer to Ramona, he must face an increasingly vicious rogues’ gallery from her past—from infamous skateboarders to vegan rock stars and fearsome identical twins. And if he hopes to win his true love, he must vanquish them all before it really is game over.

Anna Kendrick confesses her love for HeyUGuys!

Scott Pilgrim is released in cinemas next Wednesday, 25th August, our review is here and bottom line, go and see it! Check out the premiere footage below.

HeyUGuysLive was at the premiere this evening. Make sure you follow the twitter account for live updates from as many live events as we can possibly get into!

Thanks to OC Remix for the audio used in this video.

With the UK premiere of Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World tonight there’s never been a better time to delve deeper into this film, and there’s a nice behind the scenes video which has just been released.

Focusing on the sound design this video from Soundworks Collection (via Collider) intersperses the widely seen trailer footage with some decent behind the scenes shots, and having seen the film last week (you can read our review here) there’s much to enjoy from Edgar Wright’s film and the richness of detail is evident in this video, as is the dedication of the cast and crew.

Here’s the video, there’ll be pictures and interviews from the premiere tonight so check back for those, and then – go and see the film!

We’re trying out a new format for our Scott Pilgrim review. In honour of most of the characters in the film going head-to-head, toe-to-toe, mano-a-mano, we’re having a bit of a review battle.

In the red corner, we have self-confessed Scott Pilgrim-fanatic, Ben Mortimer, a man who has read the comics (several times), and who has spent the last few weeks rocking back and forth excitedly at the sheer mention of anything to do with the movie.

In the blue corner, weighing in at an impressive set of scales, is Jon Lyus, HeyUGuys editor and Scott Pilgrim neophyte. He’s also not quite as pretty as Ben.

Round One – Who is Scott Pilgrim?

Ben: Scott Pilgrim is like nothing we’ve ever seen before. Except it sort of is. For all the clever computer game references, and little nods to Bryan Lee O’Malley’s comics, there’s something very familiar about Scott Pilgrim vs The World. Between the snowbound setting, the nice-guy lead, the girl with ever-changing hair colour, and the doomed relationships, it feels very much like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. By way of Spaced.

While this was a little unexpected, it certainly wasn’t unwelcome. Eternal Sunshine was an exceptional study in the breakdown of a relationship, and while Pilgrim has little of the depth of Gondry’s film, it covers much of the same territory, with a great deal of skill.

Jon: To me, Scott Pilgrim is all about Edgar Wright. I’ve not read the comics, though I plan to, and only had the numerous trailers and posters to go on. The film arrives on a massive wave of buzz, fueled recently by successful Comic Con screenings, and the internet is the perfect place for this film to whip us all into a frenzy.

When talking to people after the screening the word I kept using was ‘fun’, and there was a signature post-Pilgrim smile on the faces on almost everyone I saw. It was not the second coming as some had predicted, but it is so refreshing to see a film (almost) reach the hype and hyperbole it arrives with. Visually arresting, whip crack funny and rich in geekery there’s much to like with Scott Pilgrim. It is a vibrant and exciting film, Ben likened it to Eternal Sunshine, to me it was more Nick & Norah’s Infinite Combo.

Round Two – And what about his world?

Ben: It’s actually quite interesting that Scott Pilgrim vs The World feels so shallow, because the comics certainly don’t. In adapting the story for film, Wright and co have stripped out a lot of the more complexity. In particular, the theme of coming to terms with one’s past, which is so central to why the comic works, has been reduced to something much more simple and less satisfying.

This lightness is something of a problem for the film, as there are moments where it seems to lose its audience. There was one point in particular, an overblown, computer generated ‘battle’ that simply left me cold. Which is a shame, because in some places the film really does connect. Particularly when Ellen Wong’s Knives Chow is on screen. While O’Malley’s Knives was something of an ancillary character towards the end of the books, Wright makes her very much the emotional heart of the film. Even in very brief scenes, she seems to bring the audience back into the movie, and the fact that she likes Scott, who essentially spends the film behaving like a bit of a whiny dick, makes us like him. It also doesn’t hurt that Wong steals just about every scene she’s in.

While Knives’ character arc is greatly expanded from the comics, and much improved, other characters suffer in the adaptation. The complexity of Scott’s relationship with Kim is only hinted at and Julie Powers is reduced to comic relief. Envy Adams gets the worst treatment, however, as she becomes much more one dimensional, and essentially just another evil ex. Which is a shame, because it would have been fairly simple to develop her into a far more fully fledged character.

Jon: This is Michael Cera’s show, and his tumultuous love life is ably assisted by a great supporting cast. Stand out for me was Kieran Culkin, whose deadpan smarts steal the show more than once. The kinetic style suits the overblown imagination of Scott Pilgrim, and Bill Pope’s cinematography is incredibly seductive and Wright’s visual embellishments work perfectly to accompany us through the lovelorn fantasy world of Scott Pilgrim.

At its heart Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is a love story, and Cera and Winstead need to get us engaged in their tryst, and this is where all the sound and fury seemed to count for nothing, I knew what I was meant to feel but their attraction didn’t seem real and while this won’t spoil the film in any way it misses an emotional beat for me which may have been easier to accomplish in six volumes of a comic book.

While I had no reference point for the various compositions which may have been lifted directly from the comic, the invention and the thrill to be had in Wright’s direction was tangible. Scott Pilgrim’s world is a fun place to spend time.

Round Three – Fight!

Ben: Although a few elements of the comic have been cut in the adaptation, it is, for the most part, incredibly faithful. Many of the shots in the film are directly inspired by frames of the comic, and throughout the movie Wright includes many of O’Malley’s visual jokes. It’s also a pleasant surprise how close most of the characters feel to their comic counterparts. With the exceptions already mentioned, every character feels spot on. Cera is essentially still playing Cera, but it works for Scott, and the exes, despite their lack of screen time, each work perfectly, all performed by actors at the top of their game.

This fidelity makes Pilgrim work, but it is also it’s biggest failing. Many of the jokes from the comic seemed to fall flat, whether this was due to an over familiarity with the material, or because they simply didn’t suit Wright’s style is unclear, but this was a problem that ran throughout the film. In contrast, the moments where Wright moved away from the source material were some of the film’s best. An early scene with Scott and Knives playing on an arcade machine is funny, cute and a great set up for later events, and a visual joke involving a shoelace is the film’s funniest moment.

Jon: Playing Scott Pilgrim to the Comic Con faithful may seem like an ostentatious show of confidence but that is the perfect audience for the film. Geek-literate film fans who have played some Nintendo in their time will eat this up, and fans of Wright’s previous film will also find much to enjoy. The soundtrack is pitch perfect and gets the blood pumping throughout, even if the romance flits about like a stoned butterfly with heavy lidded eyes muttering the word ‘whatever’ and never truly engages.

Those looking for more dimensions in their protagonists may find the rapid fire witticisms a little too unreal to fully immerse themselves into, and in adapting the comic book Edgar Wright made almost universally good choices and delivers a film which is as exciting an experience visually as any this year. It sits alongside Kick-Ass as another balls out action comedy, which wraps up its cliches in its fist and delivers a dizzying punch to the senses.

KO!…?

Ben: It is particularly telling that the film really finds its feet when it gets to the point where Wright ran out of comics to work from. While the ending isn’t quite as satisfying as its more complex comic counterpart, it is still the best section of the picture, and while Scott Pilgrim vs The World was certainly good fun, and a decent film, if Wright had been a little more willing to move away from the source material it could well have been perfect.

Jon: This is a very funny film, as we’ve come to expect from Edgar Wright, and its quality lies in the confidence Wright showed in his actors, his own ability and the source material. If you’re attracted by the trailer then you’ll love every second, and if you accept that this film is centred around the imagination and ego of a young, awkward man then you won’t mind the broad brushstrokes applied to the female characters in the film.

I enjoyed the visual thrill and laughed a lot, though it never took my heart and gave it a good beating, it still a lot of fun. There’s that word again.

The Edgar Wright directed adaptation of the Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World graphic novel series hits theatres this week, to a huge wave of anticipation from the Internet movie community. The comic series in question has achieved huge cult acclaim, as has helmer Wright thanks to his work with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.

When the first trailers were released for Scott Pilgrim, the web went into meltdown, with millions of hits accumulated in just a matter of minutes. Demand crashed servers as excited fans watched the video multiple times. For some, the wait has been almost unbearable since then and excitement has reached fever pitch. Surely, then, Scott Pilgrim is heading for huge box office success?

Well, no, probably not. Because whilst it is easy to be blinded by the furore over the release of the film seen online, from the point of view of the average mainstream movie-goer, there is very little to get excited about. We know all about the movie, we’ve followed its development, and it has been one of the most talked about films of the summer amongst us movie bloggers. The reality, however, is that those not all consumed by movie and comic fandom, those casual cinema patrons who only take in the TV and press advertising, have absolutely no idea who or what Scott Pilgrim is.

Back in April, the countdown to the release of Kick-Ass ended, and we all expected it to be the surprise hit of the year. We had followed Kick-Ass from day one, we had lived through the trials and tribulations of director Matthew vaughn as he struggled to find a distributor, and most of all we were just damn excited about the movie. The box office numbers, though reasonable, came as quite a shock to us when we realised the outside world just wasn’t interested. Many blamed the marketing campaign, but the sad truth is, the general public just didn’t understand what it was.

Kick-Ass was not a failure. It made a healthy profit by the end of its run, and a sequel appears to be in the works. It just wasn’t familiar enough to the popcorn audience. The costumes were cheap looking, the trailer looked silly, and they didn’t recognise the actors. In short, the general public didn’t get it. These were the reasons for the lack of interest, and i can’t help but worry that the same fate will befall Scott Pilgrim.

It is a cult rather than mainstream graphic novel, and there have been no TV shows or movies previously to bring the character to the attention of the masses. The trailers, though a delight to fans, are incomprehensible to someone who doesn’t know the property, and are in danger of just looking stupid. Again, there are no big name actors involved, and the lack of box office stars and a recognised franchise are not good signs for the financial success of Scott Pilgrim.

Lets face it, there is a lot of love for Michael Cera, but even though he has appeared in mainstream films like Year One,  he really wasn’t the name star of that movie, and it wasn’t exactly a glowing recommendation of any of the actors involved. Parts in Superbad and Juno probably stand him in better stead, but even those films were very much targeted at a niche market. Of the rest of the principal cast, Anna Kendrick is possibly the most recognisable after roles in Up In The Air and the Twilight movies. Mary Elizabeth Winstead has a diverse filmography, but hasn’t really headlined any major movies. Others, like Jason Schwartzman and Chris Evans are better known, but aren’t prominent in the marketing. All in all, if you mention any of these names to the average man on the street you’ll probably get a blank expression.

Failure is a strong word, and i don’t think Scott Pilgrim will actually be considered a failure any more than Kick-Ass was. I think it will have a lower opening weekend than Kick-Ass did. With a pretty low budget considering, though, it will certainly cover costs, and probably make a decent profit. I just worry that expectation is too high, and people will once again be shocked if it only enjoys very modest success financially. Based on the buzz and early reviews it is a great film, and it will be a great shame if only a small percent of cinema audiences check it out. It does have competition this weekend in theatres, with women most likely to see Eat Pray Love and men probably more drawn to Sylvester Stallone and his Expendables. This leaves only the discerning film viewers to go for Scott Pilgrim, and unfortunately they seem to be more and more of a dying breed.

I hope i am wrong, and Scott Pilgrim enjoys the numbers it deserves. It could be a surprise hit, but in a world where M Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender can receive a 7% Rotten Tomatoes rating and still make over $40m in its first weekend, i think the genius of Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim may well be overlooked, despite its infinitely better 76% rating. We shall see in a few days how it has fared on its first weekend of release, and i would welcome the chance to eat humble pie if the worldwide cinema audience prove my cynicism unfounded.

Bazmann – You can follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/baz_mann