Due to the success of Shaun of the Dead co-stars Nick Frost and Simon Pegg are now international movie stars. The DVD has recently been released in America and its loaded with cool extras like audio commentary, casting tapes, Simon Pegg's video diary and Edgar & Simon's pitch to the studio. I recently got a chance to talk to both Pegg and Frost in New York City.
Check out the official site of the Shaun of the Dead DVD
Daniel Robert Epstein: How was your New Years Eve?
Simon Pegg: I was here in New York. I went to a friend of a friends party on Mulberry Street so I just crashed there.
Nick Frost: I was home in London with half a million people.
DRE: Shaun of the Dead ended up making about $13 million in the US which is really good because I believe Universal paid about five million for it.
SP: It was only on about 600 screens but it got to number four on the charts.
NF: The per screen average was really big.
DRE: Was it ever supposed to go wider?
SP: I think they were always going to release it small.
DRE: Do you know who is going to be financing the next movie?
SP: Working Title because we had such a great relationship the first time. We want to maintain that relationship.
DRE: I heard there will be no movie sequel for Shaun of the Dead.
SP: At the moment it feels like a sequel could potentially spoil the first one. Thats the trouble with sequels, they are all about cashing in and it could retroactively hurt the first one. You watch the first Jaws now and even though its still a great film, you have to believe that the shark is going to end up in the Caribbean fighting Michael Caine in 3D.
NF: Yeah its called The Cider House Rules.
DRE: Nick I read that you are a survival expert and you even hosted a survival type show.
NF: Yeah we did two seasons of it in the UK. I am no means an expert which was the point of the show. We did a show on how to get through a minefield and how to avoid sniper fire. I also did an episode where I got to wrestle an alligator, fly a World War 1 plane and drop a bag of flour onto a picture of Ming the Merciless.
DRE: What would have been the best place for Nick, Ed and the rest of them to stay in Shaun of the Dead, the pub, the apartment or their house?
NF: From a danger point of view I would say the apartment because you could barricade all the doors.
SP: They should have stayed at Lizs.
DRE: But there was no beer there.
SP: And no smokes.
NF: There was an upstairs at the pub but they never went up there.
DRE: By this point you guys have seen Shaun of the Dead many times, how do you look back on it?
SP: With enormous affection and pride. We made the film we wanted to make. Working Title never made us change anything for commercial reasons. To see it now is thoroughly pleasing.
DRE: I got a chance to see Spaced on Trio.
SP: They cut it to shit because they have to fit the episodes into a certain time slot. Apparently in the sixth episode they cut a whole thing out where Nick gives the letter to Sophie.
DRE: Nick you werent an actor before that show, are you very critical of yourself?
NF: Part of me is but you can look at anything and think you could have done a better job. A lot of it is pride because I never wanted to do anything but smoke bongs. To go from being waiter to making a film with my best mates is just amazing. There are a lot of celebrities in England who are the rudest people in the world but its great to go into a work and have people offer you breakfast.
DRE: Simon, I read that you consider Shaun of the Dead to be an apology to all your old girlfriends.
SP: Yeah because the whole pub part of the film is based on real life. This pub became the center of our social life and we never wanted to go anywhere else. My girlfriend at the time really wanted to go somewhere else but she wasnt as bad as Liz.
NF: I think she would have eventually become like Liz.
SP: It was kind of our way of admitting that we were kind of flaky or reticent to take on an adult life.
DRE: Any old girlfriends drop you emails after the movie came out?
SP: Yeah all of them [laughs].
DRE: This is the first English film Ive seen where someone calls someone else a cunt and then they are upset by it. In Guy Ritchie films people say it so much that I figured it was part of daily life.
SP: Its still pretty harsh. But Ed is just so inappropriate. Its still not accepted in polite company. But it doesnt seem to work so well in American mouths while in England its like Ya cunt!
DRE: Its so bad to say here.
SP: Our odd little obscenities dont work here, like bloody just doesnt sound good in an American accent.
DRE: Will an American version of Spaced never happen?
SP: Never say never. We might do another series one day but Nick is too expensive now. I would put my foot down and say that no one should ever remake Spaced. We would rather do another one ourselves that takes place five or six years later. I wouldnt mind remaking The Long Good Friday with me in the Bob Hoskins role.
DRE: Edgar mentioned that Spaced might be released by Anchor Bay.
SP: We looked into it but there are music copyright issues.
DRE: Have you guys gotten to go on a lot of Hollywood meetings?
NF: I was here for about eight days recently just seeing with studio heads who wanted to meet me.
SP: At the moment I havent done much of that because weve got the next film coming up.
DRE: Nick, do you think they will make you use an American accent like the sitcom Mark Addy is in?
NF: Id rather not but if they hand me a bag of cash and a voice coach Ill do it.
SP: Im impressed with Americans who can do a good British accent like Gwyneth Paltrow and Rene Zellweger. Usually people just end up sounding Australian Righty tighty.
DRE: [bad cockney] Shine your shoes, then.
NF: Jack the Ripper killed another whore.
SP: Right it always goes back to Victorian England.
DRE: Simon I broke the story that you wanted to play Rorschach. How is that going?
SP: I read the script.
DRE: Do you remember which version of the script it was?
SP: I believe it was when Darren Aronofsky was still attached. I dont know if it would happen but it would be great. A few things have come up because of Shaun such as being in George Romeros Land of the Dead.
DRE: Have you seen a cut of it yet?
SP: We saw some rushes and I think its going to be good. He certainly has advanced that world. Hes taken up right where he left off in Day of the Dead.
DRE: How is the script for Hot Fuzz going?
SP: Were just trying to write it now. We havent had much time to sit down and tackle it but its still taking shape.
DRE: How was putting together the DVD of Shaun of the Dead?
SP: Were big fans of DVDs and we wanted to make it a worthwhile disc. There are a few bits on the American DVD that arent on the others like the casting tapes.
This isnt on the DVD but they made a documentary about us appearing in Land of the Dead. A documentarian was with us for the first time we met George Romero and he had his EPK crew with him so it was like the scene in Man Bites Dog when the two film crews meet.
DRE: Are you guys married?
SP: I am this year.
NF: Im not.
DRE: You must have had a good time traveling around the country then.
NF: Are you asking us if we could have gotten laid? We didnt but we could have.
DRE: Have you guys heard of SuicideGirls?
SP: Yeah its really gorgeous Goth chicks.
NF: Are they killing themselves?
SP: No theyre just horny babes.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Check out the official site of the Shaun of the Dead DVD
Daniel Robert Epstein: How was your New Years Eve?
Simon Pegg: I was here in New York. I went to a friend of a friends party on Mulberry Street so I just crashed there.
Nick Frost: I was home in London with half a million people.
DRE: Shaun of the Dead ended up making about $13 million in the US which is really good because I believe Universal paid about five million for it.
SP: It was only on about 600 screens but it got to number four on the charts.
NF: The per screen average was really big.
DRE: Was it ever supposed to go wider?
SP: I think they were always going to release it small.
DRE: Do you know who is going to be financing the next movie?
SP: Working Title because we had such a great relationship the first time. We want to maintain that relationship.
DRE: I heard there will be no movie sequel for Shaun of the Dead.
SP: At the moment it feels like a sequel could potentially spoil the first one. Thats the trouble with sequels, they are all about cashing in and it could retroactively hurt the first one. You watch the first Jaws now and even though its still a great film, you have to believe that the shark is going to end up in the Caribbean fighting Michael Caine in 3D.
NF: Yeah its called The Cider House Rules.
DRE: Nick I read that you are a survival expert and you even hosted a survival type show.
NF: Yeah we did two seasons of it in the UK. I am no means an expert which was the point of the show. We did a show on how to get through a minefield and how to avoid sniper fire. I also did an episode where I got to wrestle an alligator, fly a World War 1 plane and drop a bag of flour onto a picture of Ming the Merciless.
DRE: What would have been the best place for Nick, Ed and the rest of them to stay in Shaun of the Dead, the pub, the apartment or their house?
NF: From a danger point of view I would say the apartment because you could barricade all the doors.
SP: They should have stayed at Lizs.
DRE: But there was no beer there.
SP: And no smokes.
NF: There was an upstairs at the pub but they never went up there.
DRE: By this point you guys have seen Shaun of the Dead many times, how do you look back on it?
SP: With enormous affection and pride. We made the film we wanted to make. Working Title never made us change anything for commercial reasons. To see it now is thoroughly pleasing.
DRE: I got a chance to see Spaced on Trio.
SP: They cut it to shit because they have to fit the episodes into a certain time slot. Apparently in the sixth episode they cut a whole thing out where Nick gives the letter to Sophie.
DRE: Nick you werent an actor before that show, are you very critical of yourself?
NF: Part of me is but you can look at anything and think you could have done a better job. A lot of it is pride because I never wanted to do anything but smoke bongs. To go from being waiter to making a film with my best mates is just amazing. There are a lot of celebrities in England who are the rudest people in the world but its great to go into a work and have people offer you breakfast.
DRE: Simon, I read that you consider Shaun of the Dead to be an apology to all your old girlfriends.
SP: Yeah because the whole pub part of the film is based on real life. This pub became the center of our social life and we never wanted to go anywhere else. My girlfriend at the time really wanted to go somewhere else but she wasnt as bad as Liz.
NF: I think she would have eventually become like Liz.
SP: It was kind of our way of admitting that we were kind of flaky or reticent to take on an adult life.
DRE: Any old girlfriends drop you emails after the movie came out?
SP: Yeah all of them [laughs].
DRE: This is the first English film Ive seen where someone calls someone else a cunt and then they are upset by it. In Guy Ritchie films people say it so much that I figured it was part of daily life.
SP: Its still pretty harsh. But Ed is just so inappropriate. Its still not accepted in polite company. But it doesnt seem to work so well in American mouths while in England its like Ya cunt!
DRE: Its so bad to say here.
SP: Our odd little obscenities dont work here, like bloody just doesnt sound good in an American accent.
DRE: Will an American version of Spaced never happen?
SP: Never say never. We might do another series one day but Nick is too expensive now. I would put my foot down and say that no one should ever remake Spaced. We would rather do another one ourselves that takes place five or six years later. I wouldnt mind remaking The Long Good Friday with me in the Bob Hoskins role.
DRE: Edgar mentioned that Spaced might be released by Anchor Bay.
SP: We looked into it but there are music copyright issues.
DRE: Have you guys gotten to go on a lot of Hollywood meetings?
NF: I was here for about eight days recently just seeing with studio heads who wanted to meet me.
SP: At the moment I havent done much of that because weve got the next film coming up.
DRE: Nick, do you think they will make you use an American accent like the sitcom Mark Addy is in?
NF: Id rather not but if they hand me a bag of cash and a voice coach Ill do it.
SP: Im impressed with Americans who can do a good British accent like Gwyneth Paltrow and Rene Zellweger. Usually people just end up sounding Australian Righty tighty.
DRE: [bad cockney] Shine your shoes, then.
NF: Jack the Ripper killed another whore.
SP: Right it always goes back to Victorian England.
DRE: Simon I broke the story that you wanted to play Rorschach. How is that going?
SP: I read the script.
DRE: Do you remember which version of the script it was?
SP: I believe it was when Darren Aronofsky was still attached. I dont know if it would happen but it would be great. A few things have come up because of Shaun such as being in George Romeros Land of the Dead.
DRE: Have you seen a cut of it yet?
SP: We saw some rushes and I think its going to be good. He certainly has advanced that world. Hes taken up right where he left off in Day of the Dead.
DRE: How is the script for Hot Fuzz going?
SP: Were just trying to write it now. We havent had much time to sit down and tackle it but its still taking shape.
DRE: How was putting together the DVD of Shaun of the Dead?
SP: Were big fans of DVDs and we wanted to make it a worthwhile disc. There are a few bits on the American DVD that arent on the others like the casting tapes.
This isnt on the DVD but they made a documentary about us appearing in Land of the Dead. A documentarian was with us for the first time we met George Romero and he had his EPK crew with him so it was like the scene in Man Bites Dog when the two film crews meet.
DRE: Are you guys married?
SP: I am this year.
NF: Im not.
DRE: You must have had a good time traveling around the country then.
NF: Are you asking us if we could have gotten laid? We didnt but we could have.
DRE: Have you guys heard of SuicideGirls?
SP: Yeah its really gorgeous Goth chicks.
NF: Are they killing themselves?
SP: No theyre just horny babes.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 25 of 37 COMMENTS
violentsound:
Loved this movie to death and prob want it buried with me in death. Great work, amazing interview!
zombiebyte:
Awesome interview.