Bryan Lee O’Malley’s guitar-slinging Canadian comic book hero Scott Pilgrim came into the world in 2004, and after a series of five award-winning graphic novels (and a 6th debuting on July 20th) Scott Pilgrim makes his big screen debut with Canuck cult actor Michael Cera in the lead, Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright at the helm, and a cast that includes Kieran Culkin, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and indie favourite Jason Schwartzman!
Twitch’s Todd Brown is a longtime fan of the comic, as well as one of the many Torontonians who are stoked about seeing their neighbourhoods proudly depicted onscreen (without being disguised as unnamed US locations!). We were able to get Todd to divulge some insight as to the many film locations, with a little help from the Acts of Minor Treason blog’s “Pilgrim-age” through the locations in all the books!
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Shortly after he finished Hot Fuzz, I got a message from Edgar Wright telling me he was coming to town. There was already a bit of buzz about a Scott Pilgrim feature but I don’t believe it had been officially announced yet. Everybody still thought Edgar’s next film was going to be Ant-Man, but he was coming to Toronto to have Scott Pilgrim author Bryan Lee O’Malley show him the real locations that Scott Pilgrim was set in.
You see, before drawing the books, O’Malley went around the city and took polaroids of all of his locations so that things would be accurate. The images are actually so accurate that I recognized a neighbourhood that appears through a bus window in Book One as the neighbourhood where I lived at the time and, sure enough, when Ramona delivers a package to Scott later in that book and I saw the address on the package, it was just around the corner from my place and looked EXACTLY like the drawn version. The Scott Pilgrim books are a surprisingly accurate portrait of Toronto as it really is – or was when the photos were taken – and Edgar wanted to capture that same sense of the city in the film version.
The goal going in was to use as many natural locations as possible and – as someone who lived in the city and saw his crews everywhere while shooting – he absolutely did. Where they made exceptions and built sets it was either for logistical reasons (i.e. closing a public building for a couple weeks to shoot a fight sequence just wasn’t going to happen) or to capture the authentic look of buildings that had changed since the photos were taken and the books drawn. The best example of this is Lee’s Palace, the music bar where many of the rock shows take place, a building that used to have one of the most iconic interior bars in Toronto and a very distinctive facing, both of which have been changed dramatically in recent years. I saw the Lee’s set that Wright had built and what we’re getting in the film is an exact duplicate of Lee’s as it used to be, right down to the wear patterns on the tile floor.
There are some fictional locations scattered through, some that were created specifically for the film, but Scott Pilgrim the book is an incredibly geographic sort of experience and Scott Pilgrim the film should be exactly the same. Bizarrely enough it took a guy from England to make a film that shows some love for Toronto.
- Todd Brown
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This is not a comprehensive list of locations used in the film, but it’s a start!
Scott & Wallace’s apartment
This house on Alberta Street is where Scott + Wallace live – the exact address of this house is in Book 1 but out of respect for those who live there we’re not going to publish it here!
Bloor & Bathhurst Pizza Pizza
558 Bloor St. W
There are a million Pizza Pizzas in Toronto, but this one acts as a hang-out place in the story.
Honest Ed’s
581 Bloor Street West
A giant bargain shop at Bathurst and Bloor which the Acts of Minor Treason blog hilariously refers to as “a place of existential horror and incredible deals”. Central Tech, the school from cult film Class of 1984 is right across the street from here too.
Wychwood Library
1431 Bathurst St.
This is the first place where Scott encounters Ramona Flowers (in real life), delivering a package to the library.
The Second Cup on Queen West
(image copyright mad5l5in5)
This location is right near the Wychwood library branch, and was close to where author Byron Lee O’Malley lived when writing the comics. Stacey Pilgrim works here.
Hillcrest Park
Hillcrest Park, perched atop the Davenport escarpment at the south perimeter of the Hillcrest neighbourhood, offers a spectacular view of the city skyline and Lake Ontario. Scott and Ramona go on one of their first ‘dates’ here.
Cabbage Town
At the turn of the century, this area was home to many immigrants who grew vegetables in their small front yards, giving the area its name.
Sonic Boom
A really big record store in Toronto where Scott breaks up with Knives.
Lee’s Palace
A Toronto institution, Lee’s Palace is where the bands play (they also go to Sneaky Dees in the books, but apparently not in the film).
Casa Loma
The site of one of the evil-ex fights, with ex-skateboarder/actor Lucas Lee.
The Baldwin Steps
Scott challenges Lucas Lee to a skateboard competition on the rails on the Baldwin steps, a large staircase leading up the former shoreline of the ancient Lake Iroquois to Casa Loma from Spadina Avenue. Lucas at first claims that riding down the rails is “impossible”, but would rather take on the challenge than lose face.
Also – if you want to check out the locations from the comics that aren’t necessarily in the movie, Ben Spigal – a PhD student in the U of T’s geography department – has made this handy map of all the locations. Check it out HERE!
And here’s a Flickr gallery of more location images from mad5l5in5 HERE
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SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD plays on July 27th in the Hall Theatre. More details on the film page HERE
Visit Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O’Malley’s website HERE
