Good News: Shut Up!

The man.

If you don’t already know who Scott Pilgrim is then you will by the end of the Summer.

The final volume of the video-game-reference laden comic is due out next month and a much hyped movie starring Michael Cera (Superbad)/directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz) is on the way in August.  Furthermore a 8-bit/16-bit game from Ubisoft is due out as well.  At first it might sound like your typical over saturated multi-media summer block buster campaign but I strongly believe that’s not the case.  So let’s take a look at why this is going to kick ass.

Our good friend  Angel mentioned Scott Pilgrim to me about a year ago or so.  Maybe longer than that.  Either way, for whatever reason, I dismissed it and didn’t think twice about it.  A couple months later I found myself in Barnes and Noble where I stumbled across the first volume while figuring out how to burn a hole in my pocket.  On a whim I bought it and I was floored.  I read it as fast as I could in one sitting and like some horrible addict I needed another fix right away.  That week found me plowing through the rest of the series like a fat man driving a bus with vengeance.

What was it about this comic that I loved?  Maybe it was because I related so much to Scott Pilgrim (my friends, also fans, teasingly said that I am, in fact Scott between the things I say, my love life, and having played bass in awful bands) – or maybe it was the myriad of video game references.  It could also have been that the plot was never boring and it always had an incredibly kick ass sense of humor.  The comic was fresh, as a 20-something I could relate to everyone in this book, and it was packaged and paced perfectly.  This made reading through the series a breeze.

Of course after I hit the cliffhanger end of volume 5 I was in need of a fix and with the realization I couldn’t have the ending until months and months later I was crushed.  The news of the final volume and movie gave me hope but I was a bit worried.  I heard Michael Cera was supposed to star in it and that was bad news given the fact that he was type-cast as himself in every movie since Super Bad.  No matter how much I loved Arrested Development I was cursing whoever made this casting decision, but then there was a catch.

Edgar fucking Wright was slated to direct.  My faith was suddenly restored, and even moreso when Brian Lee O’Malley himself commented on whether or not Michael Cera was “being himself” in the film.  O’Malley’s comments that “Michael Cera is kicking ass” made me feel the anticipation for this again.
The excitement for this project didn’t end there.  To ramp up the stakes the game was also announced.  An oldschool 8-bit/16-bit stylized sidescrolling beat ‘em up?  The source material is PERFECT for this!  Who better to do the visuals for this dream game than Paul Robertson?  If you are somehow unfamiliar with the man in question please take a minute to skip to the videos at the end of this article and give his video “Pirate Baby’s Cabana Battle Street Fight 2006″.  Anyone with a heart for 16 bit games of old will fall in love with this video.

I feel like a giddy TV Pitchman when I say this, but does it get better?  Hell yes!

New York’s own Anamanaguchi will be providing the music for the game.  Once again, if you’re not familiar with these cats, get your asses over to their website where you can hear their latest release “Dawn Metropolis.”  I couldn’t think of a better band to feature in this game.  I’m excited about Metric doing music for the movie but this is far more killer (sorry Metric!).

All of these little things, I feel, will come together in a beautiful way – these individual works of art (the 6th book, Edgar Wright’s interpretation, and the game with its killer visuals and music) will set it apart from other Summer movie campaigns that make you want to smother yourself.

The nail in the coffin for me was the teaser trailer (and subsequent full trailer) – so I will let Edgar and co.’s work speak for itself.  Here are the trailers, Paul Robertson’s video, and some Anamanaguchi if you’re a virgin to these experiences (it’s okay, we’ll still love you.)  If you like what you see get on it at amazon.com and pick the damn books up!

Teaser Trailer:

Official Trailer:

Paul Robertson’s Work:

Anamanaguchi:

Official Site

Dawn Metropolis