Scott Pilgrim vs the World: 10 Kickass Pieces of Trivia

Edgar Wright brought Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novel series to life in stunning, vibrant detail in Scott Pilgrim vs the World, which hit cinemas in 2010. Michael Cera starred as going-nowhere-fast musician Scott, who in order to win the love of his life, Ramona, must defeat her seven evil exes. Here are 10 kickass facts about the film…

1) The league of evil Matthews

When asked about where he got the idea for his comic book series Scott Pilgrim, the author, Bryan Lee O’Malley said that when he first started dating how future wife, she revealed that she’d gone out with three men named Matthew. This gave O’Malley the idea of, ‘the league of evil Matthews’ which eventually developed into the concept we see in the film.

2) The Legend of Zelda theme song

Lots of sounds and themes from video games can be heard throughout the film. For one particular theme – The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past – director Edgar Wright had to write a letter to gaming giant Nintendo to ask for permission. Not only did they let Wright use the theme, built they also let him use a few other sound effects from the game.

3) Stacey’s name badge

Anna Kendrick appears in the film as Scott’s sister Stacey. The film is based on a comic book by Bryan Lee O’Malley, who based that character on a real person from his life, also named Stacey. Real Stacey lended her name badge to the film’s costume department so that Anna Kendrick could wear it onscreen; creating one of the most paradoxy easter eggs we’ve ever unearthed.

4) Landing the parcel in the bin

When Scott gets a parcel delivered, he throws it over his shoulder and we see it land directly in the bin. With so many computer generated effects used throughout the film, you might think they would’ve just digitally edited the scene to make that happen. However, Edgar Wright insisted it was done for real. So Michael Cera tried again and again to land the shot. It ended up taking 33 takes.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World Fight — *Universal*

5) Mary Elizabeth Winstead memorised a whole lot of tea

After bringing him back to her place, Ramona offers Scott some tea, before reeling off 16 different types of tea. Although the crew offered to write the teas down for her on a piece of paper off-camera, Mary Elizabeth Winstaed refused and was determined to remember them all in order unprompted.

6) Envy Adams’ band is named after a retro Nintendo game

Envy Adams, played by Captain Marvel herself Brie Larsson, performs in a band named The Clash at Demonhead. But that isn’t just a cool sounding name made up by Scott Pilgrim’s writer – it’s actually the name of a Nintendo game from 1989!

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7) Edgar Wright’s brother created the 8-bit logo

Edgar Wright’s brother Oscar worked on the film as the concept designer and storyboard artist, and he created the 8-bit Universal logo that we see at the start of the film. It was only a first draft, but was included in the first rough cut of the movie that went out to a test audience. The audience loved the logo so much, that the first draft stayed in the finished film.

8) Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life

Bryan Lee O’Malley wrote 6 Scott Pilgrim graphic novels. The working title of the film was named after the first graphic novel; Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life. However, at some point, the final title shifted to the name of the second volume; Scott Pilgrim vs the World. We think they made the right choice.

9) Edgar Wright got approval from three excellent directors

After putting together a rough cut of the film, Edgar Wright showed it to three of his friends – esteemed directors Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith and Jason Reitman. All three directors gave the rough cut a lot of praise.

10) Larson got in character by watching the Adult Video Awards

Brie Larson, who plays Scott’s ex (and lead singer of the Clash at Demonhead) Envy Adams, had an unusual way of preparing for her role. She watched the presenters of past Adult Video Awards ceremonies. She felt that they had a vanity and confidence about them that would really work well with her character, Envy.