Years before his Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy (“Shaun of the Dead,” 2004; “Hot Fuzz,” 2007; and “The World’s End,” 2013) and also years before “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World,” writer-director Edgar Wright had a film in his head. It started when he first heard the song “Bellbottoms” by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in 1995. “When I heard the track, I started imagining this car chase. That was the seed of the idea.”
It took over 20 years before that film turned into reality and now, “Baby Driver,” which he named after a Simon & Garfunkel song, is out. And “Baby Driver,” which he first pitched to studio execs as “a car chase film driven by music,” is both a critical and commercial success.
“If I wasn’t involved in ‘Baby Driver,’ just as a film fan, I would be thrilled an original movie is doing so well in the box office. I have nothing against franchise movies, some franchise movies this year I’ve really enjoyed, but there’s a lot of it and it dominates the market. When an original movie breaks through, it’s really important for the industry. I’m very proud of the movie and I’m so happy that it’s connecting with audiences in a big way,” he said.
You’ve had this film in your head for a long time, how does it feel to finally have the rest of the world see it?
I can’t quite believe that it’s actually out. It’s extremely gratifying. Three weeks ago, we had no idea how it was gonna do. For it to open and do well, it’s fantastic.
Do you ever pinch yourself when you realize how far you’ve come?
I felt like that after “Shaun of the Dead” came out. With George Romero dying yesterday, I remembered vividly when we’d finished that film, we had sent it to George to watch it because we wanted his blessing. He called me and while talking to George and him loving the movie, I remember thinking that was the day the world got a little smaller. In a nice way. My proudest moments are getting to meet your heroes through your work and also getting to travel the world and share your movies in different countries. You never get blasé about it. I’ve been extremely fortunate. I always treat each job like it’s my last. I think, “Oh, aren’t I lucky to be working in film. Let’s try and make every film as good as it can possibly be.”
Is it true you strapped yourself onto a car to shoot those car chases?
Yes. (In) the command van where you watch all the monitors sometimes the satellite link-ups crap out and you’d be sitting there watching nothing. Eventually, I said I want to sit on the rig with the camera system and be sort of strapped in. That’s what I did. Then I could watch it on a hardwired monitor and I could look through the wind screen and see the actors. It was pretty crazy driving backwards at 70 miles an hour, and then you’re just out there in the heat all day. It was arduous but it was worth it.
Did you really make a decision that there would be no green screen?
Yeah, I just felt like if I’m gonna do a car chase film, I’m going to try and shoot a bunch of car chases and be out there with the actors to make it more exciting and vivid.
How was working with CJ Jones?
It was a joy. Working with a deaf actor makes you want to be a better director. He’s reading your lips and you realize that 40 percent of what you say is just nonsense. (laughs) He was an amazing and warm performer.
It’s an amazing cast, can you talk about the casting choices?
You approach the best people for the job and hope they say yes. In the case of Jamie Foxx and Kevin Spacey, that’s absolutely what happened. It’s a very music-heavy film. The supporting cast, an idea that I had was to have as many musicians as possible in big and small parts, whether it’s Flea or Sky Ferreira. That was a really fun thing to do.
What was it like working with Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx?
They’re both legends. Whenever Kevin and Jamie were in the same shot, I’d whisper to my cinematographer Bill Pope, “It’s a double Oscar shot!”
Any favorite moments from the set?
One was so amazing and bizarre. Every time we’d be resetting the car for the car chase scenes, Jamie Foxx would play his iPhone and start DJ-ing tracks really loud. At one point, Jamie put on “Give It Away” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and I saw at the back of the car Flea playing the air bass to his own track. I was thinking, “I cannot believe I am witnessing this.”
What’s the best thing someone has said about “Baby Driver”?
William Friedkin, who directed “The French Connection,” said he thought it had the best car chases he’s seen in years, and that is the only review I needed. That was nice.
The 35 songs from the movie have been a part of your life for a really long time. Do you still listen to them?
I do. I was listening to the soundtrack on the plane and I was like, “Why am I listening to my own soundtrack?” I’ve heard these songs so many times but it’s absolutely true… I get excited listening to them again.
Thank you for putting them together. We wouldn’t think of putting these songs in one playlist.
Listen, if I gave the world nothing else other than Blur leading into Focus then I did my… Blur leading into Focus! That’s good! I just thought of that. Okay, that’s it. That’s what it’s all about. I have to pretend that was the idea the whole time. (laughs)