The rock band Metric posted the music video for ‘Black Sheep’, the song they donated for use by director Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Brie Larson, who plays Envy Adams, performs the song as frontwoman for a band modeled after Metric. Seems like a good time as any to reflect back on this moment when rock music and cinema collided with epic results.
The 2010 film follows garage band bass player Scott Pilgrim, played by Michael Cera. Pilgrim has to fight an army of ex-boyfriends to win the opportunity to date Ramona Flowers. Mary Elizabeth Winstead played Flowers.
The film used real bands as the basis for fictional rock groups playing in a battle of the bands. Envy Adams, a pop star, is an ex-girlfriend of Scott’s. Her group is modeled after Canadian rock band Metric. Founded in 1998 in Toronto, the group is made up of Emily Haines, James Shaw, Joules Scott-Key and Joshua Winstead.
Haines reflected in 2018 that the band in Scott Pilgrim is “flatteringly and insultingly” based on Metric. Director Edgar Wright reached out for a song and the band had an extra track that didn’t fit on their 2009 album Fantasies.
Haines was “super grateful” for the opportunity. She performed an acoustic version in 2018 and The Lightbox Sessions at TIFF.
In addition to being an actress, filmmaker and Fortnite player, Larson also has a background in music. Her 2005 album, Finally Out of P.E. had a single featured on MTV’s Total Request Live. She also toured with singer Jesse McCartney.
Metric posted the Black Sheep (Brie Larson Vocal Version) to YouTube on June 4, 2021.
Meanwhile, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was re-released in cinemas April 30, 2021. Wright shared that this version benefits from Dolby Cinema. He also promised a 4K Blu-ray release with all of the Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision enhancements.
Here is the trailer, as shared by the director in March 2021:
