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Edgar Wright Turned Down Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Baby Driver’ Song Request

Wright knew exactly which song would be perfect for one of the movie's most important music moments.

Baby Driver Ansel Elgort

“Baby Driver”

TriStar Pictures

As 2017 winds down and we begin to look back at the year in movies, Edgar Wright’s “Baby Driver” will no doubt be one of the biggest highlights. The action-crime film earned $107 million domestically, becoming Wright’s highest grossing film ever stateside, and critics went absolutely crazy for it. IndieWire even named it one of the 25 best action movies of the 21st century.

The film, starring Ansel Elgort as a getaway driver whose budding romance with a diner waitress becomes jeopardized when he’s forced to help out on one last heist, is currently available on DVD and Blu-ray, where Wright’s director’s commentary is chock full of awesome tidbits that provide some extra color about the making of his film. One such fact is Tarantino’s involvement with “Baby Driver.”

According to Wright, Tarantino read the script and offered up Dave Edmunds’ song “Deborah” as a track the director could use for Baby Driver’s romantic interest, played by Lily James. One of the best scenes in the movie is when Baby meets Debora and the two reminisce about song’s that share the same name of the latter. Wright felt Tarantino’s Dave Edmunds pick wouldn’t work, as the character in the song is a “complete bitch.” “I thought, hmm, I don’t know if I want to use this one,” Wright says on the commentary.

The director opted instead for “Deborah” by T. Rex, which you instantly realize was the right decision when you watch the scene in question. Wright ultimately thanked Tarantino in the credits for “Baby Driver” for his general support, including giving him advice on car chases.

Watch the scene and listen to Tarantino’s song request below.

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