Edgar Wright describes Glasgow as the ideal film set during The Running Man Q&A at GFT

Edgar Wright described Glasgow as the ideal film set during a Q&A session at the Glasgow Film Theatre.

Speaking to audiences on Wednesday after an exclusive screening of the Running Man, which was extensively shot in the city, the director explained how the production made use of the city’s contrasting architectural styles.

Areas of the city centre were shut down in November to shoot the highly anticipated reimagining of 1987 cult classic, with camera crews and rusty cars, and dystopian sets deployed on locations including Hope Street, Renfrew Street and St Vincent Street.

The movie featured several Glasgow spots, including Union Place lane near Glasgow Central Station, the SEC Armadillo, the OVO Hydro, and the Alea Casino.

Edgar Wright praised the city © Eoin Carey via Supplied

Wright said that Glasgow was so “practical” for complex shots, with many key locations situated close together.

“The stuff we shot in Glasgow used the brutalist concrete architecture of the 60s, the more modern buildings looking down Bothwell Street, and then the sandstone buildings as well, so it was great,” he said.

“The city is so helpful when it comes to blocks.

“Some of the stuff we’re shooting is really complicated, finishing at night, car chases, the whole motorcycle with Glen hanging out the trunk, and it’s literally around the corner.

“It’s kind of crazy that everything is within walking distance of the cinema.

“That’s one of the things that made me feel really guilty that we hadn’t had a screening here, because you can literally triangulate the locations around the cinema.”

Those attending the exclusive screening at the Glasgow Film Theatre were treated to a Q&A with the Baby Driver director, an exclusive message from Running Man star Glen Powell, and an old sketch from the last time Wright filmed in Glasgow – featuring Simon Pegg in Prestwick Airport.

Wright admitted to the audience that despite it being “freezing” during the shoots – his favourite shot from the Running Man was filmed on Bothwell Street during sunset.

“My favourite shot in the film is when Glen crosses Bothwell Street disguised as a businessman. There’s a traffic jam and the sun is going down as he goes to the robotic mailbox, and we shot that as the sun was setting.

“The two coldest locations were outside the Armadillo and the Hydro.

“Katy O’Brian is sliding over a pink convertible in a crop top and it was so cold I thought I’d lost the circulation in my legs.”

“When Glen comes out and a big plume of breath appears, that’s no CGI Titanic, that’s real Clydebank breath.”

Despite the scale of the scenes filmed across the city, Wright said the production spent only a short time shooting in Glasgow.

“It was exciting to shoot here, but we only shot here for ten nights, which seems crazy when I think about what we managed to achieve in that time.”