ANSEL ELGORT IN “BABY DRIVER”

Press release

ANSEL ELGORT, AWKWARD HOTSHOT BEHIND THE WHEEL IN “BABY DRIVER”

Ansel Elgort has quickly amassed an impressive body of work in a very short amount of time as both an accomplished actor (The Fault in Our Stars, Divergent series) and musician. Now, he breaks from the pack as he plays the title role of Columbia Pictures’ U.S. No.1 box-office hit heist thriller Baby Driver (in Philippine cinemas August 02).

Photo credits: Columbia Pictures

Cool but a little naive. Young but with an old soul. goofy at times, but all business when it counts. Thrillingly good at his given task, but not always aware of the consequences of what he does. That’s Baby, a character writer-director Edgar Wright created as a way for moviegoers to live vicariously through a criminal, but also experience the very real fallout of that world.

The Baby we meet at the beginning of the movie – hidden behind sunglasses, dialed in to his iPod playlist, then a hellion at the wheel – is like the greatest gang apprentice ever. “This kid’s a hotshot, but he’s also on the fringes of the gang,” says Wright. “He literally sits as far away from them as he can, because he really doesn’t want to be part of the group. He thinks, wrongly, that he can be a getaway driver but not be a criminal Like, ‘I’m just the courier. I don’t have anything to do with the bad stuff.’ The action scenes are kind of like Baby’s day job, and I think a lot of people that work in a job sometimes shield themselves in a different persona. Then when they’re home, they’re a different person.”

When Wright was dreaming up the role, he envisioned a riff on the strong silent type personified by Clint Eastwood and Steve McQueen, but with the tension that it might all be a front. “You meet him, and he’s a badass in his profession, and then immediately afterwards you start to meet the real kid. It’s an interesting dichotomy, that he’s really good at a job that he should not be doing.”

Though he initially imagined Baby as short – “because I’m short,” he adds, laughing – he says meeting Ansel Elgort made him realize nobody else could play the title role.

“The thing that really charmed me about him was the fact that he’s very musical, and he can play lots of instruments,” says Wright. “One of my favorite scenes with Ansel, he has his headphones in and he’s listening to Dave Brubeck, and starts playing piano on the table. There was something so beguiling and hypnotic about watching a 21-year-old actor play along to some jazz from the ‘50s. Ansel is fascinating in that regard.”

Elgort explains that it was his and Edgar’s mutual love for music that connected them upon their first meeting in LA. “Edgar and I met in Los Angeles and we had lunch, and all we talked about was music,” says the actor. “At the time I didn't even know what this film was about, but we both shared a love for music.”

Says Wright, “Ansel is actually obsessed with music, which the lead character in the movie is. His life is completely governed by music and living to the rhythm of the music he's listening to, and Ansel has a dance background. And also he's a great actor and a nice guy.”

Elgort was excited to take on the role of Baby, explaining, “I loved how eclectic the role was. He’s the getaway driver so I had to learn to drive, he has a deaf foster dad who he signs with, so I had to learn to sign, and his life moves through music so there’s the dance and choreography challenges too.”

In the film, a talented, young getaway driver named Baby (Ansel Elgort) relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. When he meets the girl of his dreams (Lily James), Baby sees a chance to ditch his criminal life and make a clean getaway. But after being coerced into working for a crime boss (Kevin Spacey), he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom.

Baby Driver stars Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Jon Bernthal, Eiza Gonzalez with Jon Hamm and Jamie Foxx.

Baby Driver is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

Ansel Elgort in The Fault In Our Stars

Movie release

ANSEL ELGORT: STARS SHINING BRIGHT

                One of this generation’s most remarkable heartthrob, multi-talented young actor Ansel Elgort takes his most challenging role yet in the most-awaited love story of the year in “The Fault In Our Stars.”

Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

                 “The Fault In Our Stars” celebrates the power of young love in all its magic, power and complexity where Elgort takes on the role of Augustus ‘Gus’ Waters, a teenager who is in remission from his osteosarcoma who met Hazel (Shailene Woodley) at a cancer support group in their community.  Based on the bestselling novel by John Green, the movie is the story of two remarkable teenagers who fall in love and embrace life despite the strong odds against them. Both are smart, funny and sarcastic. When they meet at a support group, Hazel Grace Lancaster is instantly smitten with Augustus Waters. The feeling is mutual. Despite dealing with serious health concerns on a daily basis, health doesn’t dominate life for Augustus and Hazel. Far from it. They are normal teenagers, excited about first love and getting to know each other. It’s clear from the start that there is strong chemistry between this attractive pair. They don’t see eye to eye on everything, but their connection is powerful and they both have a great sense of humor about their circumstances.   

               

                Gus, played by Elgort, is someone who believes in big, heroic gestures.  He’s brash and tough, but also possesses an appealing intelligence.   According to John Green, Hazel and Gus’ attraction to one another stems from the fact they possess a similar wit and intelligence. “There’s a line in the Philip Roth novel The Human Stain, where a character says, ‘The pleasure isn’t  in owning the person. The pleasure is this.  Having another contender in the room with you.’  I think Hazel is someone who doesn’t have a lot of contenders in the room with her, and when she meets Gus she realizes, ‘Oh, this guy can hang with me.’  For Gus it’s the same thing. He’s used to being able to attract women, but he’s never encountered someone like Hazel before.”

                Gus is a complicated figure: he’s a former high school basketball star, and his favorite book – until meeting Hazel – is based on a videogame.  At the same time, he’s an intellectual who enjoys giving long, thoughtful monologues.

Ansel Elgort already had a connection with Woodley, with whom he stars – as her brother – in Divergent.  Woodley notes that this previous onscreen pairing was “a blessing for our work together in “The Fault In Our Stars” because we already knew each other and had this on-screen chemistry, so it was easy to connect as Hazel and Gus. Ansel’s like my brother; he’s so curious about the world and everything excites him.”

“With love stories it’s all about chemistry,” adds producer Wyck Godfrey.  “Shailene dominated many of the actors we had tested with her, because she has that kind of intimidating strength of character.  But then Ansel came in and he had this charisma, exuberance and energy that put Shailene back on her feet a little bit, which is exactly what you want her to feel.”

For Elgort, Gus was exactly the part he was looking for.  Like so many others, he was a fan of the novel.  “Above all, the book is full of beautiful ideas that make you think about life and love,” he notes. 

“The Fault In Our Stars” opens June 5 in cinemas from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.