In anticipation of the release of Edgar Wright's Baby Driver on 28 June, I've been watching the trailer on repeat with a mixture of excitement and wistful recollection. Cars, banging tunes, pretty women, guns.
Credit: Elliot Cardona, courtesy of PosterSpy
It reminds me of my youth - specifically the fact that I spent it watching films with lots of cars, guns, pretty women and some incredibly banging tunes. I did once drive the wrong way down the Kenton Road but it was more an act of utter stupidity than brazen ballsiness and I found the whole ten-second experience terrifying.
So the fact that Baby Driver is nothing like my life is a good starting point, because it looks like a solid two hours of rollicking, action-packed fun, possibly with some nookie thrown in for important character development/good measure.
It's safe to say the film looks to be a cracker, featuring Mad Men's Jon Hamm and Oscar-winner and all-round dude Jamie Foxx, and directed by Edgar Wright, the man who gave us Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Spaced (one of TellyLand's best ever shows) and, by proxy, the talents of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.
Baby Driver stars Ansel Elgort as a talented young getaway driver who uses the beat of his personal soundtrack to guide him as he gets up to all sorts of hijinks - namely helping Foxx et al. steal vast sums of money.
After meeting the girl of his dreams (Lily James), Baby sees a way out of his totally-not-uber-cool-in-any-way criminal lifestyle, only to be roped back in by a creepy, no-good Kevin Spacey, putting his hopes, dreams, life and even his iPod on the line. They always bring you back for one last job. To the tune of Tequila.
With the film due for release sooner than you can say, 'I want to watch this film now, Mum' (actually Jun 28), PosterSpy have put out a creative brief encouraging budding artists to offer an alternative poster for the film, with an emphasis on high-octane action and killer design.
Credit: Adam Stothard, courtesy of PosterSpy
So far, there have been some cracking entries, but my favourite is Alan Stothard's because of its graphic design veneer. Alex Douglas, meanwhile, has gone for a stereo speaker and a steering wheel intersected by a highway with a car driving through it, while the bottom of the poster is festooned with bullets.
Credit: Alex Douglas, courtesy of PosterSpy
Another great entry is creativecardona's, purely for the fact that it has Jamie Foxx looking like an absolute badass, with upturned collar and a look of hardened steel. Again, reminds me of my younger years, when I regularly watched action films featuring badass actors giving out a look of hardened steel, though I am hoping this film is going to be much, much better than Miami:Vice. Monsieurgordon's effort, meanwhile, is a stripped-down affair harking back to the cooler-than-cool movie posters of Tarantino films in the mid to late 90s.
So, if you think you have the requisite artistic tekkers, take a look through the entries and see if you're up to the job.
Remember: all you need is one killer track. However, in this case you probably also need a fairly good artistic skill-set, Photoshop or something similar, and a working internet connection. But mostly it's all about the one killer track. I recommend this version of Tequila, not the Terrorvision one which I originally thought was what they meant. That would make for a very, very different movie. Good luck!
If you're interested in taking part, check out PosterSpy's Creative Brief for Baby Driver here. Even better, you could go and actually see the film by buying tickets here.
Words: Ronan O'Shea
Featured Image Credit: Monsieurgordon