Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
I’m a big fan of all things SPACED. I think Edgar Wright is a wicked funny director, and I think his cast rules. When I was asked to help SHAUN OF THE DEAD with its efforts to get zombie extras, I did so gladly. And now, that effort has paid off. Read, and you’ll see how...
Once upon a time,
On a TV channel far, far away there lived a beautiful comedy show called SPACED. On this show lived Simon Pegg, Jessica Stevenson and it was all directed by Edgar Wright. This show was clever, funny and erm, funny. And they all lived happily ever after.
Kinda...
TV wasn’t big enough for lil’ old Simon Pegg and he had designs on the slightly bigger, slightly longer and supposedly silver tinted screen.
Fast forward a few years and on this very website an advert was posted asking for poor devils who had a lot of spare time on their hands to come and help become a zombie army of the living dead.
And so I applied.
And so I was accepted.
And so I was to have a great time.
To cut a long story short (“too late!”) I, and a couple of hundred others, spent a lot of time, caked in blood, painted pale and groaning deeper and heavier than any fat over weight porn star. Ah, the life of an extra.
It was during this time that I got to see a lot of what Shaun Of the Dead (SotD) was to become. Now, I’m not one for spoilers. My opinion is that the more I know about a film before I see it, the less I have to enjoy when I pay my 7 quid or so. Call me old fashioned, but when I see a film, I like to be surprised and not know in advance how it ends, who gets what and if Charles Dance is the bad guy. So, if you want SotD spoilers, go somewhere else because I’m not about to spill any beans. Or any other kind of pulse.
So, in a nutshell, SotD is a Romantic Comedy Zombie film or ROMZOMCOM, if you like. It’s written by Simon Pegg (who also stars) and Edgar Wright (who also directs the film wonderfully – from what I saw at least) and it also features the many colourful talents of Nick Frost (TV’s Spaced), Kate Ashfield (TV’s Crime and Punishment), Dylan Moran (TV’s Black Books, The Actors), Lucy Davis (TV’s The Office), Bill Nighy (Underworld), Peter Serafinowicz (Voice of Darth Maul – Star Wars Ep 1) and Penelope Wilton (Calendar Girls).
It’s funny, exciting and, best of all, it’s gory... and in a zombie film, isn’t that the most important thing?
And so on to the interview. On the Unofficial Official Spaced Website, Simon Pegg agreed to field some questions from the Zombie extras (or, as we became known, the ‘Zombage’ pronounced ZOM - BARGE) and give his thoughts on the whole production experience. I thought I’d chance a severed arm and, if you pardon the crap pun, pick his brains a little. Luckily, he was kind enough to oblige me with a little interview and I tried not to ask too many stupid/annoying/kiss ass questions. You can judge below if you think I did...
BEHOLD! The Simon Pegg/Shaun Of The Dead mini interview.
(To steal and change something Peter Cook once said: “It’s a rather long introduction but rather a small interview...”)
Simon Pegg: Sorry to take so long getting back. I've been away, getting myself back together after the war. My answers are thus...
Gannon:
1) What inspired you to sit down and decide 'I want to write a romantic comedy zombie movie'? Also - how did you find the writing process?
SP: I wrote a scene for the first series of Spaced, way back in 1998, at a time when I was immersed in the computer game, Resident Evil 2, about my character Tim being well, immersed in the computer game, Resident Evil 2. Tim however, ends up physically playing out the game amid a lounge full of zombies. Edgar and myself are both fans of the zombie genre and when it came to shooting the scene, we found ourselves in undead heaven, swiftly concluding that it would be enormous fun indeed to produce something that entirely concerned zombies. Shortly after that we began kicking ideas around for what would eventually become Shaun of the Dead.
The writing process was fairly straight forward. We went from source material to flip chart draft, to index cards, to scripting to successive re-writes. We argued twice, the biggest went as follows. Simon: "Oh fuck off!" Edgar "No you fuck off!" Other than that it was sweet.
2) Were you worried that the idea would be hard to sell?
SP: No, because after Spaced, people were constantly asked in for meetings about making a film. We simply took advantage of the wave of interest created by the TV show.
3) The cast is wonderful, with many familiar faces from SPACED, what did it take to get these people involved?
SP: Small acts of sexual deviation. Crutting and some pig flicking. Otherwise basic mudskipping and oral.
4) To many people's relief, you have decided to not shy from the gore (I know you are keen for the film to be an 18). Was it important to you to make this kind of film without pandering to a broader audience?
SP: We just don't want the film to be bloodless. We would hate to comprimise the film's overall effect for commercial appeal. Having said that, if the board of censors see the film and deem it a 15 as it is, then fine. The more the merrier. It's actually the profanity that secures the 18 Cert. Gore is much more acceptable these days.
5) Are you worried about the BBFC, do you think their scissors will be out for SotD?
SP: Maybe for the language but I'm not so worried about the gore. The film is a fruity red but it's glorious rather than gratuitous.
6) Now that filming has just finished, what are your thoughts on the experience as it is your first film in a starring role?
SP: It was extraordinary. Very taxing and emotionally draining but looking back, it was the best experience of my working life. I was living the dream. The first day I walked through a crowd of Zombies, all of whom were moaning and staggering and generally being dead, it was a quite wonderful. I couldn't have felt more euphoric if I was flying a TIE Fighter.
7) (WARNING: SMASH HITS – Crap UK teeny pop magazine - QUESTION) What influences from other Zombie films have you incorporated into SotD?
SP: We adhered entirely to the Romero vision. We wanted the film to be a companion piece. A 'what happened in Crouch End?' moment. The comedy in the film arises entirely from the human story. The Zombies are utterly faithful to Romero's 'Dead' trilogy. No "Brains" no dancing, no puking up blood and running.
8) With genre films seemingly released in batches (slasher films in the wake of Scream etc) what are your thoughts on the recent batch from Resident Evil, 28 days Later (kinda) to the Dawn Of the Dead remake?
SP: Synchronicity. We ain't worried. Resident Evil came and went. 28 Days was not a Zombie film and Dawn of the Dead may even be good for us.
9) From what you have seen of the early edited footage, how are you feeling about SotD so far? (Personally, from what i saw, it looks pretty damn fantastic... there is a problem with some UK films in that they look like they have filmed for TV, there is NO chance of that with SotD)
SP: We premiered a teaser trailer at the Fright Fest in London last weekend and the audience went nuts afterwards. It made us feel good. I've seen a rough cut of the whole thing and I'm very excited. It looks bloody marvellous. We've made a Zombie movie for chrissakes!
FINALLY
10) What’s next for you AND what are you most proud of in SotD?
SP: Next, me and Nick Frost will be writing together for TV. After that, we have some more film ideas to develop. Doing SotD made me realise that film is kinda where I wanna be. So, I'll be doing my best to remain there.
Cheers,
Simon
G: Thanx!
And that dear fiends, is that…
I’m sure over the coming months, there will be spoilers and pictures and reviews aplenty to fuel your brain holes, but for now, that’s your lot. With the above interview, I tried to ask questions that remained relevant to the film but more about the creative process than anything else. I’m personally really proud of the fact that I was given the opportunity to be involved in this film. I hope it has every success and that it kicks a whole bucket of arses in every country it is shown. I’m extremely excited about it, and quite frankly, you should be, too…
Gannon out!
Thanks, man. I think as this film gets closer to release, I’m try to get Edgar to sit down to talk about the film and share some exclusive goodies with you, the AICN readers. I’m certainly looking forward to it.
"Moriarty" out.
