class=”alignleft size-full wp-image-45379″ title=”edgar wright” src=”https://www.heyuguys.com/images/2010/09/edgar-wright1.jpg” alt=”” width=”220″ height=”150″ />In the first of a series of three articles, we will take a brief look at the hot properties of Hollywood – the director, leading man and leading lady respectively – who I believe are on the cusp of becoming the “next big thing”, the future Spielbergs, Pitts and Jolies.
The contenders to become the next icons of cinema must all have shown extraordinary promise over the last few years, and will need to have had a few sizable successes under their belts. When considering who will be occupying the director’s chair, one name comes to mind: Edgar Wright.
After directing a few music videos and short films, Wright’s first big success was helming the 1999 cult series Spaced, his first collaboration with go-to funnymen Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. He came to the attention of the mainstream cinemagoer with the trio’s first feature film, Shaun Of The Dead. After the massive success of his off-kilter zombie comedy (zom-com?) he, Pegg and Frost turned down all sorts of lucrative offers from the states to stay in rural Britain, crafting their equally excellent follow-up Hot Fuzz.
Most recently, he directed the comic-book adaptation Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, and has become the veritable darling of Hollywood. He was at Quentin Tarantino’s house while Inglourious Basterds was being written, hearing the notorious director act out various parts from the script (including Hitler). Sam Raimi offered Wright the job of directing Drag Me To Hell, but Wright insisted Raimi do it, as he was a huge fun of Raimi’s pulp-horror roots. Spielberg has taken him under his wing, bringing him on to co-write his new Adventures Of Tintin movie.
Like Robert Rodriguez, he directed a fake Grindhouse trailer entitled Don’t. After all that, Wright still has multiple projects in the pipeline; his Ant-Man adaptation for Marvel, comedy horror Them, and a final collaboration with Pegg and Frost tentatively titled The World’s End.
With these credentials, it is hard to argue a case against Wright. He has been taken in with open arms by his peers and offered projects beyond his wildest dreams. The only reason he has not evolved into household name status is that he still has relatively few feature films to call his own, and two out of three are known to the general public as “Pegg and Frost” films.
Regardless, his hyperkinetic directing style and boundless enthusiasm have won him an A-list audience and a devoted following. It is only a matter of time before the general public catch on.
