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Baby Driver

Release Date: June 28, 2017 (US)
Director: Edgar Wright
Writter: Edgar Wright
Jamie Foxx as: Bats
Co-Stars: Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Jon Hamm, Kevin Spacey
Runtime: 115 min
Genres: Action, Crime, Thriller
Rated: R for violence and language throughout
Production budget: $34 million (estimated)
Box office: $227 million
Links: Imdb – Official Site

Plot Summary

The movie follows a crime boss named Doc (Kevin Spacey), who coerces a young, talented getaway driver known as Baby (Ansel Elgort) to work for him. Baby relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to shield him from the chaos that surrounds him, but he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom.

Jamie Foxx’s Character

Jamie Foxx plays Leon “Bats” Jefferson III, an impulsive and violent criminal, member of the gang of crime boss Doc.

Photos

Trivia

  • Edgar Wright started writing the film properly in 2007, at which point he connected with then-music supervisor Steven Price who broke down the songs for him. Price went on to score The World’s End and Gravity, winning an Oscar for the latter.
  • In developing the script, Wright interviewed real ex-cons so he had a better understanding of American getaway drivers.
  • The film was originally written to take place in Los Angeles, but he changed the setting to Atlanta when they decided to shoot there instead. He was initially reluctant, but after scouting locations he had never previously been to, he came to the conclusion that Atlanta was actually a better location than L.A.
  • All of the reaction shots in the cars were shot for real, which was incredibly difficult to pull off.
  • The diner was actually a set. It’s not a location that exists in real life.
  • Over 150 cars were used for the film.
  • The original version of the mask scene had two Michael Myers masks and one Austin Powers mask. As it came closer to time to shoot the scene, the Halloweenpeople hadn’t said no yet but, “Their concern was they said the scene was funny and they’d never let Michael Myers, the actual image, be used in a comedic scene. Which is fair enough.” Wright had to rewrite the scene and get Mike Myers’ permission to use Austin Powers masks for all three, to which he agreed. Myers asked Wright to read and perform the scene to him on the phone.
  • Edgar Wright generally doesn’t allow improv on his sets, though he did make a few exceptions this time, namely for Jamie Foxx.
  • Jamie Foxx’s lines “That’s some Oscar shit right there” and “fake ass Louis Vuitton hat” were improvised.
  • Jamie Foxx had a habit of watching takes back on the monitors next to Wright, and when it would be a shot of Jon Hamm, Foxx would turn to Wright and say, “He handsome.” So the line got added into the movie.
  • The “Tequila” scene took three days to shoot and one extra day of second unit, which Wright shot with stunt coordinator Darren Prescsott.
  • There were also inserts in the diner scene of Jon Hamm holding his fork like he’s going to stab Jamie Foxx’s character, but Wright felt it was complicating the scene too much. But you can still see Hamm holding his fork in the wide shots.
  • The character, Bats, gets annoyed when asked if he knew about Barbra Streisand, though in reality Jamie Foxx is close friends with her. Knowing Barbra is close friends with Jamie, Edgar was worried about how she would react. Jamie’s response to Edgar’s worries was “Barbra’s gangsta.”

Trailer