presentation script

Anthony Stephenson

Presentation Script

PRESENTER: "A hero, characters who, in the face of danger and adversity display courage and are willing to sacrifice everything for the greater good."(Item 18) I'm going to asses how my focus film hero Scott Pilgrim varies from the more mainstream hero's produced by Marvel and DC.

VIDEO CLIP: Scott Pilgrim Trailer (ITEM 10)

PRESENTER: "Scott Pilgrim vs the World, is a mash-up of comic books, computer games, grunge rock and slacker drama" (item 9). "which is different from the darker character's in DC's Batman Begins".

VIDEO CLIP: Batman Begins Trailer (item 11)

PRESENTER: "Batman represents the darker end of the spectrum in this genre of film"

VIDEO CLIP: Iron Man trailer (item 12)

PRESENTER: "Tony Stark Shows a midway level between Batman and Scott Pilgrim he's a charismatic character but still darker than Scott Pilgrim"

PRESENTER: "This kind of genre of course could not exist without original material i.e comic books and a lot of actors read the source material to help get in to the role, others prefer to wear the costume of the character to get into the correct persona. As we can see just by some of the cover art behind me the way the characters should be depicted by their actors and to what degree of seriousness that hero embodies.

PROJECTOR: item 13,14,15 images of Scott pilgrim art

PROJECTOR: item 16, 17 image of Batman cover art and then Iron Man cover art

PRESENTER "As we can see from this it differs the more mainstream studio's fund darker comics and these really differ from the childish fun art of the Scott Pilgrim series and this can be seen in the three film adaptations."

PRESENTER: Another way the Film Scott Pilgrim vs The World differs from my two related films is in its fight scenes. Most major label comics are put across on the big screen as big choreographed, deep, serious, life or death, action packed punch-ups when it comes to fight scenes. It also shows how the hero in my three films have different approaches to dealing with physical conflict and how this is representative of their own situations.

VIDEO CLIP- Batman begins fight scene (Prison Brawl Scene) : item 2

PRESENTER: The stunt co-ordinater in this film uses the Keysi fighting method which is a form of Spanish street fighting and is a well recognized martial art thought the world. This pristine style gives the violent scenes a deep, rough and edgy feeling to them.

VIDEO CLIP- Iron man fight scene(Hostage Rescue Scene): item 3

PRESENTER: This scene shows the other type of action scenes adopted by the main stream studios the more CGI special effects side. This scene show less stunt co-ordination and more animation we can also see that its the work of multi-million special effects.

VIDEO CLIP- Scott Pilgrim fight scene (2nd Evil Ex Fight Scene): 1

PRESENTER: This scene is more comical using retro pow! and thuds! as punches connect using special effects but as well as this their is a lot of stunt co-ordination. The retro words that pop up is an ironic parody of earlier comic book adaptation onto TV as well as the big screen but does not neglect the high intense action the fans love from this genre.

VIDEO CLIP- Look inside trailer: 24

PRESENTER: As we can see from this trailer we can see the effort and preparation it took to pull off these fight scene and how these section scene are a symbolic representation of an build up of emotion much like a musical but instead of using songs to relieve this build up they use fight scenes.

PRESENTER: As well as looking at the movie's we must also take into account the actors and how they put their own spin on the role and also how they prepared for the parts and how they found playing each of them.

VIDEO CLIP- Robert Downy Jr. interview - item 8

PRESENTER: Unfortunately Downy does not go into great detail of the characters persona but does however mention how the film was a working progress till the end 'It was Like we were delivering as we were rolling'- Robert Downey Jr. This can be seen in a positive way in the character and narrative and how the character Tony Stark is a kind of working progress as in he still is haunted by the terror his company has caused and in response is trying to right them wrongs.

VIDEO CLIP- Christian Bale interview - item 7

PRESENTER: From this we can see that Bale found the character dark and an enigma and spoke about the three different personas of Bruce Wayne and how each reveals another level of the character and also shows how his dark past has shaped his gloomy future. Bale stated 'If you don't become Batman you can't play him and, portray the demons he has'.

VIDEO CLIP- Michael Cera interview - item 6

PRESENTER: In this clip we can see Scott is more like an average slacker than any kind of hero. It also shows how no aspect in his life is above average apart from Ramona and also shows us his happy go lucky environment and attitude. 'Scott is a 23 year old guy who's in an average band and lives in his own littel bubble' states Cera. The interview also gives insight into the main villain in the film and how Giddien does not see Scott as a threat even in the early segment of their fight scene. These elements are not usually found in the mainstream hero in this genre of films.

PRESENTER: Also in addition to seeing how the actors interpreted the heros they played we most also look it how the director interprets the characters and if they have struck to the conventions of the stereotypical hero.

Empire sep 210 Scott Pilgrim vs the world - item 25

PRESENTER: In this article Edgar Wright states "Take a wimpy comedian. Break a skateboard over his head. Give him a flaming sword. Now unleash the worlds most formidable stunt team, whipping up enough Hong Kong-style carnage to give Bey Logan a chubby. Congratulations you've just turned Michael Cera into an action god." he goes on to say how he wanted to create a cheesy Kung-Fu movie but having "A slacker hero" instead of a typical hero.

VIDEO CLIP Christopher Nolan talks about the Batman character - Item 26

PRESENTER: This interview really shows how dark and creature like the Batman is and how much dedication and commitment Bruce Wayne has to been a hero and the serious attitude he adopts. In contrast to Scott Pilgrim the "slacker hero" we can see Batman is the complete opposite form Scott for example, Bruce Wayne is commit, selfless and serious while Scott is lazy, selfish and laid back. This can be seen by the fact Bruce trains hard is fighting for the city of Gotham and spend most his time fighting crime and injustice. Scott however has no goals or aspirations is fighting for a girl he barely knows and dumped his last girl friend for and doesn't take life very seriously.

PRESENTER: during the duration of this presentation i have looked in depth at two films produced by major comic film studies D.C and Marvel and how their stereotypical depiction of a hero varies from a more independent studio which is not as well known for these type of films. In conclusion I have shown that my two related films portray heros as masculine, dedicated and selfless which is a great contrast from my focus film hero who is referred to as a slacker, wimpy and selfish and anything but the conventional heros produced by D.C and Marvel studios.

Annotation catalogue

FOCUS FILM:

Item 1- Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)
Director: Edgar Wright
starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth, Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Ellen Wong, Alison Pill, Mark Webber, Johnny Simmons, Anna Kendrick

Scott Pilgrim isn't a stereotypical hero or anti-hero instead hes a slacker and a lay about which is unusual for comic movies and is portrayed interestingly. Also really enjoyed this film and always have loved Michael Cera acting and thought it was interesting to see him play a confident character like Scott Pilgrim instead he's usual nervous nerdy type casted persona. I really enjoy this film and have read the graphic novels that it is adapted from and it is from this I decided to use this as my main film.

RELATED FILMS:

Item 2- Batman Begins (2005)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring:Christian Bale, Michael Cane, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy

I used Batman as one of my related films as it shows the darker end of the spectrum of comic hero film characters, with Bale playing a dark portrayal of the dark crusader. this film shows how DC studio films are well known for their dark and almost psychotic portrayal of characters.
Item 3- Iron man (2008)
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Robert Downey Jr. Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow

I used iron man as one of my other focus films because it is a stereotypical marvel studio film and shows their laid back comical take on the path of a hero. Marvel always use a witty protanganist in there films in this case it's Robert Downey Jr. as the young charismatic Tony Stark. This is why I have choose this film as it represents the main stereotypical characters in most their films.Interview:

Item 6 -Michael Cera and Jason Schwartzman talk about their Characters in Scott Pilgrim vs The World Web Interview
This was useful because it got the two actors to talk about their characters in the film and what preparation went into the fight scenes and how they found it. I used this because it gave great insight to how the fight scenes came together and how the actors found it.

Item 7 -Christian Bale talks about the three faces of batman
This was a very useful interview because Christian Bale talks about the metal preparation and physical to get into the role of batman he also gives insight into the three roles he plays as Batman and how different they are, from creature of the night, to billionaire playboy, to self righteous martyr and how he portrays all three. I used this because it of how passionately and in-depth detail Bale goes into when talking about the vast persona of Bruce Wayne.

Item 8 -Robert Downey Jr. talks about Iron man

This interview was really useful because Downey went into detail about how he dealt with been iron man and how he worked with the director to help bring the whole film together. I used this to show how Robert Downey Jr. took on the role of Iron Man and how approached the role.

Trailers:
Item 10 - Scott Pilgrim Trailer
This was useful because it gave a brief overview of the characters, themes, narrative and main hero of the film and provided an insight to those who had not seen the film into what its about and how Scott is not a typical hero. I used this to give the audience a brief summary of the film and the main hero Scott Pilgrim and to use it as a start point to draw comparisons between him and the mainstream big label heros.

Item 11 - Batman Begins trailer

This was useful because it gave a dark look into the neo-noir world of Bruce Wayne and how the scared main character becomes a hero and battles the demons he's had since childhood and also how labyrinth like Gotham city is portrayed as. I used this to draw a comparison between batman and my focus film hero and how they vary in personality as well as the environment they inhabit.

Item 12 - Iron Man Trailer
This was useful because it helped give an overview of the film and the main characters within the film it also showed the two sides of Tony Stark and also how he became Iron man and why. I used this to help gave a quick overview of the film to anyone in my audience who may not of saw it and showed them the basic narrative as well as insight to the character.

Item 26-Christopher Nolan talks about the batman
This was an extremely useful item because it give the directors insight into the Batman and shows how intense Bale had to train to get in the right shape for the film. It was also useful because it talked about the dark persona of Batman and Bruce Wayne from both the perspective of the director and the actor. I used this because it showed a great contrast between Batman and the Hero in my focus film in both attitude and persona.

INTERNET:

Item 9 - http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/scott_pilgrims_vs_the_world/
This was useful because it was a great way to describe my focus film in an easy and quick way. I used this because it was a great way to sum up Scott Pilgrim vs the world in one line.

Item 18 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero
This was useful because it gave a basic definition of a hero and what the title of hero embodied. I used it because it was a great way to open my presentation script and acted as a relative opening line.

Item 24- look inside trailer
This was very useful because it gave the directors thoughts on the film and also he's explanation on the surreality of the film and also talks about Scott world and how it changes once he meets Ramona, it also contains quick interviews with most the cast and gives their insight into the film and characters. I used this for the directors insight into this film but also the rest of the casts input about the environment and characters within the film.

IMAGES:

Item 13 - Scott Pilgrim vol 4 cover art
This was useful because it showed were the character first came from and how childish and fun the art work was. I used this to show the hero was never based on a serious character and that its reflected in the film.

Item 14 - Scott Pilgrim vol 3 re-released cover art
This was useful because it shows how the concept of scott pilgrim vs the world is a non-serious one and very light and happy compared to other comics. I used this to show how the adaptation and the book reflect each other.

Item 15- Scott Pilgrim concept art
This yet again shows a happy end of the comic book spectrum and shows that not all heros have to be deep and brooding. I used this to show the original material of the film and how it reflects the humorous side of comic book films.

Item 16 -Batman art work
This shows the original concept of the batman character in the batman begins film and is useful because it shows the much grittier and quite noir side of the typical mainstream hero. I used this because it shows that the Batman was based on a serious character and has mainly been portray as a dark, haunted character.

Item 17- Iron Man cover art
This was useful because it shows a serious side of a main stream hero but without been too dark and dank yet still showing a more deeper front than that of the Scott Pilgrim concept art. I used this because it showed how the original Iron Man character reflected the one played by Robert Downey Jr. and how it is quite a serious character to play.

Item-19 Magazine: Sight and sound Vol.18 Issue 'the perils of strip mining'
This was useful because the article stated how the studios are destroying the original comic book industry with the production of these film adaptations. I did not use it however because it did not mention in any detail my three chosen films and also did not discuss how heros are portrayed in the film adaptations of comic books.

Item 25- empire sep 2010 PG. 70-78 Scott Pilgrim vs the world
This was very useful article because it went in too detail about how the director found making the film but also the cast and went on to mention how they worked with Jackie Chan's trainer as well as the high wire team from the matrix. I used this to give the directors insight into the Characters view into the characters and dimensions of the universe they inhabit.
Unused:

Books:
Item 4- Scott Pilgrim Graphic novel series
Scott Pilgrim is a graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O'Malley. It consists of six digest sizeblack-and-white volumes, released between August 18, 2004, and July 20, 2010; all are published by Portland-based independent comic book publisher Oni Press. This was useful because it showed were the original concepts came from in my focus film and showed a comparison between comic and movie. I did not use this however because it was too similar too the film and was more relevant to draw comparisons from the film rather than the book.

Item5 - Iron Man comic book series
Iron man is a series of comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character debuted in Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963), and was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. This was useful because it helped show the original material the film was adapted from an give an insight to Tony Stark and the personalities he takes on such as the playboy figure he portrays as well as the deep and scared hero in the iron suit. I did not uses this because it wasn't really relevant and did not help me gain insight to the film character.

Interviews:

item 23 - scott pilgrim talks training
This was useful because it featured the main villain and heros actors in the interview and showed them talking through and explaining the film. I did not use this however because the interview digressed quite a bit onto unrelated topics.

Other:
Item 20 - Scott Pilgrim fight scene
This was useful because it gave an insight to the typical action sequence within the family and showed the cheesy and comical way the film dealt with violence and action. I used this because it showed the type of action scene within the film and allowed me to draw comparison.

Item 21 - Batman fight scene
This was useful because it showed the darker and more serious side of a mainstream comic book film adaptation action sequence and how well choreographed it is. This was useful because it provided an opposing action sequences that differed from the one provided by my focus film.

Item 22 - Iron Man fight scene
This was useful because it showed the CGI side of an action sequence and how it differed from the choreographed fight scenes in my focus film and other related film. I used it because it gave a different view on how an action sequence can be shot and how the hero doesn't need to throw blows in order to save the day.

investigation proposal

Title: To look at the comic book adapted films and how Scott Pilgrim the hero in my focus film Produced by an indie label differs from the mainstream Hero produce by marvel, DC Productions.

Frame work: institutional

focus film: Scott Pilgrim vs the world

related films:iron man, Batman begins