|
Feature by: Jack Foley
THERE can be no greater validation for a movie, than receiving
a nod of approval from the man who inspired it.
Yet this is exactly what happened to Shaun of the Dead creators,
Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, after receiving the ultimate accolade
from original zombie luminary, George Romero, after he had been
shown a print of the film.
"It was validation beyond all that we could possibly wish
for," recalled Pegg, at a London press conference held to
mark the film’s recent UK premiere.
"He viewed the film, in America, on Friday, and then we
were given his phone number and called this hero of ours, the
man who invented the contemporary modern zombie (not the running,
shouting one, but the shambolic slow one, we all love), and he
really, really enjoyed it. It was a real joy to hear him talking
about how much he liked our film.
"It's a bizarre thing to say, but it was amazing, because
daddy approves, and what more do you need? Everything else is
a footnote."
Adds Wright: "I think he was genuinely very flattered that
we'd kind of, within a comedy take on it, taken a very reverential
approach to his films, and he really loved it. That was the icing
on the cake really."
Pegg and Wright were inspired to write the film after an early
episode of their television series, Spaced, in which Pegg’s
character was trapped in the game, Resident Evil 2, fighting off
zombies. But it is also born out of their passion for the genre,
and their admiration for the zombie phenomenon.
Rather than being an out-and-out horror film, though, the duo
decided to take a comic look at what might happen if a zombie
holocaust hit London, particularly given the introverted nature
of city folk, who frequently fail to notice what’s going
on in the world around them.
"Much of the film is about the way in which city people
can live their lives and ignore each other, and ignore people,"
explained Pegg.
"I mean, you can walk past someone who is dying in the street,
as we often do every day, in London, and just kind of step over
them. So in some respects, that's one of the things the zombies
represent, in a way."
Adds Wright: "It is not so much us attacking other Londoners;
it's rather us kind of commenting on ourselves. One of the inspirations
for the script, when we were writing it, was that I remember not
having read a paper for two weeks, and then feeling utterly stupid
when I was watching the TV and burning cows, and not really knowing
what was going on, and having to ask somebody what exactly foot
and mouth was.
"A lot of people walk around in their own little bubble
of their own little problems and don't really see wider things
going on. We just thought that having Shaun do that with a zombie
apocalypse was like the ultimate end of that joke - that he can
walk around on a Sunday morning, with a hangover, and not really
spot the living dead."
|
 |
The ensuing movie has been earning rave reviews for the writing
duo and seems to have further fired the public’s imagination
for the genre, particularly in light of recent successes such
as 28 Days Later and The Dawn of the Dead remake.
And while both Pegg and Wright confessed to being a little depressed
when they first heard that other zombie films were in the works,
while writing, they now believe that the rush of films has probably
worked in their favour.
"While we were initially cheesed off with the other films,
it has turned out to be great timing," explains Wright. "They
have worked as an excellent primer for younger audiences who maybe
haven’t seen the original movies.
"In fact, the Dawn of the Dead, in particular, works as
a brilliant set-up, in that every time someone shoots a zombie,
they shoot it in the head first-time, even though they've never
used a gun before, while in our film, Shaun shoots someone in
the head after, maybe nine attempts.
"A lot of the comedy in the film was born out of that literal
'what if?' approach, in terms of we've seen hundreds of American
genre films, and played a lot of PlayStation games, so it was
always sort of 'what would I really do if I woke up on Sunday
morning, had a hangover, and there were zombies outside my door'.
"We're not equipped to deal with it in the same way that
characters in American films, that have guns under their beds,
or are expert marksmen and stuff, so we wanted to do a genre film
where you'd have a pretty ill-equipped hero as you're lead, you
know."
Pegg also believes that the new-found popularity of the zombie
genre has much to do with the fear factor which has crept into
modern life.
"Art always reflects where it comes from, and these are
concerns that are with us at the moment, I think.
Horror films in the early 80s, for instance, like The Fly, were
all about body horror, and fear of viruses and stuff; now it seems
to be that we are frightened of each other.
"The greatest threat we face today is a fear of ourselves,
or the enemy within. It is a fact that we are the greatest threat
to each other now, and nowhere has this been more relevant than
the in the idea that, suddenly, in this city now, we could all
be killed at any moment.
"Without noticing, we're in a situation where we are under
an enormous threat."
Given the reaction to the film, which contains its fair share
of gore as well as laugh-out-loud hilarity, it is little wonder
to find that both Pegg and Wright have developed a taste for the
big screen.
Pegg, especially, believes that cinema is the way forward for
harnessing creativity and concluded the press conference with
some well-chosen words on behalf of the UK film industry.
"I think TV is becoming less and less the domain of art,
as the creativity is becoming less and less important. It's a
bit more about people being on TV, and I think the opportunity
to make good, creative drama, or comedy, is diminishing.
"Film remains entirely about that, however. You can't put
Big Brother on the cinema, and thank God for that! So it would
be nice to do more films ourselves, and it would be nice if our
film industry was able to be a little bit more prolific.
"Obviously, money and what have you is a factor; but it's
certainly not about lack of talent or ability, because we have
very rich comedy and dramatic talent in this country, as we do
with producers, directors, set designers and every aspect of film.
We're all here. We're just waiting for an opportunity."
Hopefully, Shaun of the Dead will provide a springboard for it.
|
