Sonic Youth Rock Criterion; Schwartzman Hearts ‘Pilgrim’; Levi Turns Down ‘Thor’; Gilliam Has Rules

Edgar Wright is certainly getting some high profile love for his forthcoming comic adaptation, “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World.” First up was Jason Reitman, who after being shown thirty minutes of footage, hit Twitter with oodles of praise. Now, cast member Jason Schwartzman has seen the first twenty minutes and is adding his voice to the choir. Speaking to MTV, Schwartzman said, “I saw the first 20 minutes of it and I’m very proud to be a part of it. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen in my entire life.” If you’re thinking this is just a cast member doing the nice guy thing of pumping up the project, think again. Schwarztman says the first twenty minutes don’t really involve his character, and as such was only stuff he read in the script: “I hadn’t seen any of that stuff they shot. The whole thing was a surprise. You read the script and you imagine it, but then to see it…” He also goes on to say that a lot special effects were done in camera, which sounds pretty cool to us. “It’s really funny, it’s really emotional, there’s a lot of romance—but the action sequences, I’ve never seen scenes quite like these,” he said. “They’re really beautiful.” We’ve been getting some flack for being “too negative” lately, so we’ll just say that we’re looking forward to his, and if the unfinished film is already garnering this kind of praise, our expectations are riding pretty high.

-The NBC action comedy star of “Chuck,” Zachary Levi said he had to turn down a role as Fandral (who is that? Gandalf’s cousin? Fanboys we need your help on this one) in Kenneth Branagh’s “Thor” because of obligations to the show. “Thor” shooting in January 2010 is old news, but because of a recent Twitter post by Production Weekly, nerds with short term memories have turned it into a brand new story all over again. Maybe Dominic Cooper took his role, they look similar enough.

-Only Orson Welles has had his films fucked with more than Terry Gilliam, but even he didn’t have the persistent bad luck which seems to befall every project the former Monty Python member embarks on. However, having been into the lowest trenches of Hollywood madness one can reach without going certifiably insane, Gilliam is the perfect guy to be giving advice to would be filmmakers with stars in their eyes.

In the latest issue of MovieMaker magazine, the director offers 23 cheeky rules for directors to follow including: 2) Take only the jobs you have control over. 16) Remember that studio executive’ opinions are based on the fear of losing their jobs. 20) Spot welding or plumbing are sensible alternatives to moviemaking. You can read the full list over at JoBlo.