'Free Guy' Director Shawn Levy reveals how he uncovered Jodie Comer's singing talent

Shawn Levy, one of the phenomenal filmmakers of the entertainment industry, recently talked about his latest movie, Free Guy and revealed how he managed to land Taika Waititi in a negative role. He even opened up about how he accidentally uncovered Jodie Comer’s singing talent during an early interview. 

Shawn Levy on how Waititi essayed the role of a bad guy in the film

According to the reports by Variety, when Shawn Levy was asked about whether he knew that Jodie Comer could sing, he stated, “We had a glimmer of it” and added how he and Ryan Reynolds heard her humming and realised that she was “remarkably on pitch and melodic, even though she was just kind of singing quietly under her breath.”. Stating further, he recalled, “We bet on it, and it took a few takes. She recorded it in the recording booth at Capitol Records, the legendary building in Hollywood. I remember the biggest note when I would hear takes was that she was singing “Sweet, sweet fantasy bay-bee.” I said, ‘I said it’s ‘Bay-bah. You have to be lazier with your vowels.”.

He was also asked about what made him think Taika would work as a bad guy in the movie, Free Guy, to which he revealed that he first spoke to him over FaceTime and added that he didn’t know him. He even stated that he only knew that he was the guy from Green Lantern, Thor: Ragnorak and others. “During that Facetime, he must have changed positions in his office 30 times in under 30 minutes; lounging backward or upside down on his couch, dancing on his feet, sitting cross-legged and Zen-like in the middle of the floor. I realized this is a true unicorn of a personality and how perfect for the villain in the movie”, he added. While Praising Taika, Shawn Levy mentioned that he was such a unique, idiosyncratic and delightful individual. 

Shawn Levy also shed light on the idea of using Mariah Carey’s Fantasy in the film and stated that it was an early idea of Ryan’s that it should just be this song mantra in the movie. “I asked ‘Why ‘Fantasy?’ It was because Guy is fantasizing about his dream girl and you can’t listen to that song and not be happy. If we’re aiming to make a movie that’s pure audience feel-good and delight, it was the right song”, he said. 

IMAGE: AP