Edgar Wright’s rom-zom-com is a bloodstained love letter to the undead genre.
But when Wright and Pegg first conceived of 2004sShaun of the Dead, it was the longest of shots.
It really was quite unusual at the time, says Kate Ashfield, the films female lead.
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They called it a rom-zom-com.
You think: Ive never heard of one of those before.
EDGAR WRIGHT(director, co-writer): My parents didnt have a VCR.
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I was obsessed by zombie movies without even seeing them, through reading magazines likeFangoria.
WRIGHT: I was like, We should do a zombie film.
The initial title wasTeatime of the Dead.
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PEGG: We didnt want to parody zombie movies.
We wanted to make a zombie movie.
We wanted to parody the rom-com.
Courtesy of Nira Park
[Love Actuallywriter-director] Richard Curtis is a lovely man.
But we pitched it as Richard Curtis shot through the head.
WRIGHT: Around 2000, zombies were not as ubiquitous as they are now.
PEGG: They kind of went quiet afterThriller.
Everyone had seen zombies [dancing], and it took the wind out of their scary sails.
We didnt find out about28 Days Lateruntil we were way into the writing process.
I was like, Oh, were fed!
Eventually my relationship with her ended, and I got Nick in the deal.
NICK FROST(Ed): We moved in together in 95.
PEGG: He is the funniest person Ive ever met.
I said, Stop working in the restaurant and come and be in this TV show.
And he was like, Uh, okay.
WRIGHT: Simon and Nick had detailed zombie-apocalypse plans.
They can tell you exactly what they were.
[Laughs]
FROST: Obviously, youd arm yourselves with swords, knives, machetes.
A knife doesnt run out of bullets.
PEGG: The Shepherds was a pub within two minutes walking distance of our house.
To say we were regulars would be an understatement.
Nick was the one that said, You should go to a pub in a zombie apocalypse.
Youve got food and drink, and the doors are really heavy.
That was the genesis of the Winchester.
But alternate casting options were considered.
WRIGHT: If you hadnt seenSpaced, you didnt know Nick.
FROST: I blew mySpacedmoney in, like, six weeks and went back to waitering.
We said, If you want to make a movie with us, then its them.
BILL NIGHY(Philip): The script was one of the best Id ever read in my life.
WRIGHT: Oh, thats very nice.
Some people just didnt get it.
Im not embarrassing her by saying this, because she says the same thing Penelope Wilton initially passed.
Helen Mirren was offered Barbara.
She said, I would only do the movie if I got to play Ed.
FROST: She would have beenamazing.
WRIGHT: Kate Winslet was briefly interested in playing Liz.
PEGG: We had tea with Kate Winslet.
She was like, Yeah, okay but no.
I didnt know either of them.
They said, Were writing a zombie romantic comedy and wed love for you to be in it.
And I said, Great!
I dont know what that is!
Then, a year later, there was a script, and it was fantastic.
PARK: We did quite an early read-through, and Simon and Nick were just brilliant.
Shooting began in the spring of 2003 on the streets of North London.
Wright filmed two complicated one-shots of Shaun visiting his local store on the first day.
PEGG: I think Edgar wanted to show the crew that he wasnt fing around.
WRIGHT: A lot of people thinkShaun of the Deadwas my first film, but its not.
I made a goofy Western [A Fistful of Fingers] when I was 20.
I felt withShaun of the DeadI was getting a second chance to make my first movie.
I left nothing to chance.
I really prepped the sh out of it.
But as the shoot progressed, the support really increased.
PEGG: I remember that very well.
It was a Jag a green Jag.
They would both do their Al Pacino impressions, which were impeccable.
FROST: The more Bill laughed, the more we fed about.
PARK: We made the movie for 4 million [approximately $6 million].
That was a proper beg-borrow-steal shoot.
At times, it definitely felt like a student film.
WRIGHT: We saved by encouraging fans ofSpacedto be zombies.
I think they got paid a pound.
We pushed their fandom to the limits.
[Laughs] I think some of them were pissed off because of the long hours.
But we couldnt have done the movie without those fans.
To create buzz,Shaunwas screened for a group of horror directors.
The Zombie King himself, George Romero.
WRIGHT: They screened it for him at some cinema, with a Universal security guard.
I got the call and George goes, Oh, its wild, man.
PEGG: I apologized to him that Bills character [reanimated] too quickly.
George said, You know what, Simon?
WRIGHT: It was like the movie was for an audience of one and he liked it.
WRIGHT: We ended up outgrossing28 Days Laterin the U.K., which was bananas.
PARK: It was made with real love, and that rubs off when you watch it.
WRIGHT: Eating a Cornetto was my odd hangover cure.
PEGG: I jokingly wrote a treatment forFrom Dusk Till Shaun, which was a sequel.
Edgar thought it would be funny to do the film again, with vampires.
It was all just pub talk.
WRIGHT: I would like to work with them again, of course.
PEGG: Its just a question of sync-ing up our respective diaries.
FROST: When it happens itll happen, and itll be great.
Or people will hate it.
The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles is hosting a special outdoor screening ofShaun of the Dead, Oct. 26.
Learn more atthe Theatres official website.
Watch the trailer forShaun of the Deadabove.
