Picture: Ansel Elgort in The Fault in Our Stars
by Justin Cook
Ansel Elgort, a rising star who had a very successful 2014, acting in such films as The Fault in Our Stars and Divergent, is in talks to play the lead in director Edgar Wright’s next film Baby Driver.
Reports say that the actor, who has had a relatively short career so far, only acting in four films over the course of two years, beat out both Logan Lerman and John Boyega for the part.
Last year, Divergent grossed $288 million on an $85 million budget, while The Fault in Our Stars grossed over $300 million on a $14 million budget. Elgort also starred in the critically panned Jason Reitman-directed film Men, Women and Children, in which his performance received mixed reviews from critics. This year, the actor can be seen in the Divergent sequel Insurgent.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Baby Driver tells the original story of “a getaway driver who relies on the beat of his own personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. But after being coerced into working for a crime boss, he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom.”
Edgar Wright is perhaps one of the more talented directors working today, helming such well-received films as Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Last year, he left Marvel’s Ant-Man, a film he had been working on for years, and decided to make Baby Driver his next project. The project sounds like an absolutely perfect fit for Wright, who specializes in making hilarious, fun, fast-paced movies.
Producing Baby Driver will be Working Title and Nira Park, while MRC and Tri-Star will be co-financing the film.
Other details about the film are currently unknown, but Wright and Elgort are a great start to a film that has a ton of potential.
Source: Variety
Plot Source: The Hollywood Reporter