THE PEGGSTER.NET CHRISTMAS 2005 Q&A!!!

Being the legend that he is, Simon agreed to field questions from the forum members at Peggster.net to while away some time in between takes of his latest film. Without further ado, here are those questions and their predictably witty, droll, and entertaining answers. (Not that you're predictable, Simon...or anything...um...yeah...never mind. *blush*) You rock, Peggsy - thank you!!!

- If you could have any five people round your house for dinner party (And I mean ANY five, living or dead) - who would they be? And what
would you serve them?

Holy shit that's a big one to start off with. Okay, I'd invite, Stan Laurel, John Lennon, Eric Morcambe (brilliant British comic), Diane Keaton and Nick Frost. I'd order Indian food from Meghna, which a fabulous Indian restaurant in Crouch End, London, which gives you a free bottle of Cobra beer with every order over £20.

- Presuming there was a serious, legitimate reason that you had to give up either acting or writing for the rest of your life - which would you give up? And is that a brutal, unfair question that I should be ashamed of thinking up? (Something tells me it is...)

Writing. Acting is my favourite (or favorite for those of you in the States) by a nose. I love writing, it gives you the freedom to perform your own ideas but if it came to the crunch, I'd be happy to perform other people's. So long as they were good. As good as mine. I'm a control freak!

- Assuming you've played "Shag, Marry or Push Off A Cliff" before - Princess Leia, Dana Scully and Buffy Summers. GO!

I'd 'shag' Dana Scully, marry Princess Leia and push Buffy off a cliff but only because Buffy could cling to the rockface until the judges left, satisfied that I had fulfilled the criteria of the challenge, after which, she would climb athletically back up, to commence a passionate affair with me whilst The Princess was away on diplomatic missions.

- Tell us one cool thing about Hot Fuzz that no one really knows yet. It doesn't have to be major - we're not asking to be spoiled, and nothing Edgar will scream at you for! Go on, go on, go on, then, go on... ;)

Absolutely not. :)

--------------------------------------------------------------------
From Jessica (JessicaDwyer):

- Do you know the bliss that is PSP ownership, and if so what do you think about it?

I do not. I'm waiting for a free one.

- Did you know about the original film Dawn of the Dead action figures that are coming out?

Coming out? I thought they'd been out for a while. I have a Steven and Edgar has the Airport Zombie. Are there new ones? I will investigate.

- Have you seen any episodes of Robot Chicken yet (one of the funniest shows on American television)

Not yet but I will take your recommendation and hunt that clucking bastard down.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
From a group of Russian fans:

- Have you by any chance received a letter from Russia?

Yes I did, I was so thrilled to get mail from Russia. So sorry if you haven't heard from me yet. I basically have to tackle my mail in blocks every few months. You will get a reply soon. Apologies for keeping you waiting.

- Do you think this is an exciting time in your life?

Yes it is. I'm getting to do a lot of exciting things and meet some fantastic people. It's a real thrill ride and I'm a very lucky boy.

- What actors do you most admire?

Paddy Considine, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John C. Reilly, Terry O'Quinn, Martin Freeman, Nick Frost (of course). I could go on but my mind is a little fried today.

- What tricks do you use to help you learn your lines?

They just sort of sink in. Usually when you're shooting, you do what's called a 'line up', when you rehearse the scene, so that the crew can get idea of where the camera will be, what lighting will be needed etc. After the line up the actors generally have at least 45 minutes wait before the shot is ready to go. This is usually the time when the lines sink in. There's no substitute for rehearsing with the others too. It really helps to hear the other lines.

- What can you say about Hollywood, is it the very place where you wished to be?

Hollywood is an industry as well as a place. 'Hollywood' the industry is the most prolific centre of movie production in the western world, so to be given the opportunity to work within that environment is very exciting. As a place, Hollywood, or rather Los Angeles is a great fun but I don't think I could live there. It's huge and spread out and you have to drive everywhere. It's kind of like a gigantic theme park. I love going because I've made lots of friends there in the last few years but I'm always happy to came back to the relative sanity of the UK. I could very happily live in New York, but for me, L.A. is like an expensive swimming pool, it looks great, and it's fun to dip in but if you stay in too long your skin goes all wrinkly and you smell of chlorine. Hang on, that metaphor went wrong...

--------------------------------------------------------------------
From Kirsty Walker:

- Simon, I would very much like to know if you have any plans to release Hippies or any of your previous unreleased material on DVD ? I would love it if you did.

I'd love to release Hippies Kirsty but it's not my decision. It's up to the BBC and they don't really seem to have their finger on the pulse when it comes to more culty shows. If I could release it myself I would. Boo hoo.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
From Kristi Walsh (nctibby):

- Do you have any desire to do the obligatory Shakespearean role? I'd love to see your take on Benedict or Mercutio or even Iago.

I did some Shakespeare last year actually in a show for BBC 3 called From Bard to Verse. I did a couple of speeches from Hamlet and one from Macbeth. I love a bit of Shakey. He had a lovely way with words. Like Morrisey but beardy and wearing a ruff.

- What are your areas of expertise in the Pub Quiz?

I'm good with cultural trivia, contemporary music, movies, TV, theatre etc. Nick is amazing with Geography. He has an uncanny ability to recognise flags and relate the finer details of the pan-national, African political infrastructure. He's also good on football.

- We know how proud you are of your home improvement projects, and the new Hoover that you bragged about on the "Shaun of the Dead"
commentary. When you actually have time off, do you have any home improvement projects in the works?

I want to build a lovely Heroine room, so that all my friends and family can shoot up in a comfortable and plush environment without having to do it in the loo. It was my Granny's idea. I also want to replace some of the furniture in the master bedroom so that it's more in keeping with the aesthetics of our mahogany sleigh bed. (One of those is untrue)

- Did JJ Abrams give you some freedom to create your Mission: Impossible 3 character or did you have to stick to the script? Granted, the man writes great scripts.

I love JJ. He is like a great friend that I'd never met before. We had really good fun on set and he was really cool with letting me improvise if I felt the need. The script was great though and didn't really need me to add waffle to it. We came up with some stuff together on set and that was huge fun. Prepare for Benjamin Dunne. Never has a cardigan been so devastatingly alluring. ;)

--------------------------------------------------------------------
From Beverley Matthews:

- Hi Simon, hope you are ok and not too tired with all your work recently, please make sure you rest too and eat properly! So happy for you with your recent successes I bought you a present I will send to you this week just cause I loves ya!

Why thank you Bevs. I will take your advice with regards R&R and also have a nice warm bath in all the lurve.x

- When you first heard about the Peggleggs, what did you think, and as you have got to know some of us have your opinions changed?

I was totally blown away. I think it's ace. It's nice to be a jumping off point for people to hook up and become friends; to be a point of reference for people to come together and discuss things they're into, of which me and my work are ultimately only the catalyst. I feel honored. I know Nick feels the same way about the Frostitutes too. Rock on!

- If you could ask us Peggleggs anything what would it be and why?

Okay, what was the first horror movie you ever saw and how did it affect you?

-------------------------------------------------------------------
From TwistedZombieQueen:

- What is your fave food?

That's a really tough question. I think it would have to be a Diavalo Pizza from Papa Del's on Archway Road in London. Or peanut butter. Or smoked salmon. Or...

- What's your fave song?

Again with the absolutes Queeny! Is a man not allowed to have taste in flux? To enjoy the ebb and flow of multi-preference, as it washes different pleasures onto the shores of my perception? (TwistedZombieQueen shakes her head with a frown). Okay, I'll give you three of my all time favourite songs (although I have many). "Tomorrow Never Knows" by The Beatles; "Here Comes Your Man" by Pixies; "Starálfur" by Sigur Rós.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
From Rachel Fuller:

- How does it feel to meet cinematic wonders like Romero, Rodriguez, Tarantino, etc? And is Tarantino aware of the homages to his movies in
Spaced?

It never gets tiring. It's a real joy to hang out with the people who have inspired you, particularly when they are such great human beings. QT got Spaced and really liked it. Why wouldn't he? He's a geek too. GEEK POWER!

- Do you suffer from writers' block? If so, how do you conquer it?

Sometimes writing can be tough if you run into creative or logic problems. You beat it by going for a walk or straining so much that your brain hurts. When me and Jess were writing Spaced, we handed in an episode that wasn't very good. Edgar told us as much and we agreed. With not much time left before we started shooting, me and Jess went to the cafe next to our office and wrote the synopsis for S2E5, one of my favourite episodes. It just fell out of our heads over coffee. So on reflection, you can strain your brain all you like but nothing beats a change of scene.

- In January's Empire Sam Toy reminded us all of yours and Nick's idea to bring Dangermouse to the big screen. Has this idea gone any further, than just well, an idea?

That actually started on the press tour of the US when we realised that it's impossible to mention anything these days without it being picked up on. We decided to start a rumor and see how quickly it got back to us. I think we started the rumor in Miami and it met us two days later in Detroit. A few people have said to us, "you should definitely do Danger Mouse", so who knows? Maybe the fiction will become the truth in a bizarre reality reversal type fashion.

- Does marmite really make you violent?

I love marmite. Particularly on very buttery white toast. Mmmmmmmm very buttery white toast with marmite.

- Is there any chance of a PeggLegg commentary on the SOTD SE DVD?

That's a very good idea. IF we do an SOTD SE DVD, there will be new commentaries on it. I will put that to the production department.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
From Athena:

- What other profession besides your own would you like to attempt? And yes I did steal that question from James Lipton. I don't think he'll mind though.

I would love to have gone into special make up effects. I've become really firm friends with F/X wiz, Greg Nicotero and I love the world he lives in. Last time I was in LA, me and Greg went to the KNB workshop at about 1am after we'd been out for the night and it was so much fun. Like being let into the best toy shop in the world when nobody else is there. Greg took a photo of me in Jaws's mouth. What a lark. So yeah, I'd like to do that.

- Anyway, you rock Simon. Keep up the good work! :)

No, you rock Athena. x

--------------------------------------------------------------------
From Barbara (Vienna), a.k.a. mcbabsi:

- Do you speak any foreign languages? If so, which?

Non. Je ne parlez Francais pas.

- Are there any subjects where you wish you'd paid more attention in school?

Oui. Francais.

Actually, I do wish I'd paid more attention in languages. I'd love to be able to converse in a different tongue. If I had infinite wishes, once I'd sorted out the world and my hairline, I would wish that I could speak French, German, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Greek. Hell, I'd wish I could speak all languages, it's a fantasy, why limit myself?!

--------------------------------------------------------------------
From David Grant:

- Can you give any advice to aspiring comedy writers on how best to get their ideas down on paper and how to stay original?

Staying original is down to you buddy. That can't really be taught. I guess the trick is, don't be obvious, don't pander to any assumed notions of humour and don't copy anybody. Be inspired but Do what makes you laugh. In terms of getting your stuff read. Stand up is a great way to try stuff out and hone your comic abilities. If that's not your cup of tea, just be tenacious. Send stuff out. Keep sending stuff out to production companies. Don't give up. Be bullet proof. Go get 'em.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
From Jade (feckless_dykey_prostitute):

- Which do you think is better, Spaced or Shaun of the Dead?

Spaced and Shaun of the Dead aren't really comparable, in that they are different beasts, that mean different things to me. For a start one is a TV show and one is a film. I know that's obvious but it really became apparent to me in the writing process. Writing a film is not like writing 3 episodes of a TV show, it's very different in terms of the dramatic structure, and the resources at you disposal. I love them both for different reasons. I'm very proud of them and I am heartened by the responses of people such as yourself. Bless you Prozzie.

- Are you thinking of doing any more stand up? You were really good on Comic Aid. (see forum name LOL)

I did notice the name and it made me laugh. Me and Jessica came up with that sketch, one hour before we went on stage. We were going to do Spaced 3 in 3 minutes but it hurt too much. Needless to say we love each other and didn't mean a single one of those insults, apart from the comment about According to Bex and possibly the one about me being podgy and balding.

- Do you have any fight scenes in MI:3? If no, would you like to have had a couple and look a bit more macho than you already are?

No but I do help Tom out of a scrape. I won't say anymore than that in case I get shot by Paramount. My character's a lover not a fighter.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
From Robb aka TheDeadWait:

- What's your favorite non Zombie Romero movie?

Martin is a fabulous little vampire flick shot in Pittsburgh between Night and Dawn (the films not the times of day, that would be impressive). Check it out.

- Favorite time of the year?

Christmas. I'm a big kid at Christmas. I'm actually in the Isle of Mann at the moment shooting The Big Nothing and I'm not back until the 23rd of December. I'm seriously considering getting a tree for my hotel room. I don't want to miss out.

- Any favorite Jedi from the Prequel Trilogy?

Sith probably because it has some connection to the originals. I wish George would have let me do a pass on it though. I think he really missed a few tricks particularly with Threepio's last line. After Captain Antillies orders the memory wipe, surely Goldenrod should have turned to Artoo and said "did you hear that?' that way the last thing he says in 3 would have been the same as the first thing he says in 4.

- Favorite character from The Walking Dead comic?

I like Rick obviously but I also like Tyrese for his badassness and Hershel because he's a grumpy farmer type and I love those guys.

- Favorite Pizza Topping

See above. Hot stuff. Jalapenos, peppers, shit like that. My tummy is a rumblin'.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
From Kathryn:

- I have read in my local paper (The Cheddar Valley Gazette) that you may be filming Hot Fuzz in Somerset, near my village.

I think that story has appeared in every town in the West Country we've scouted Kathryn. We definitely want to film in the area but there are no definite plans yet. Keep your ears open.

- My question is: Would I, as a local be able to get involved in any way? I would love to help out if i could!

Well, if we wind up shooting in that area, you're very welcome to come down to set and say howdy doody.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
From Erik Post:

- Mr. Pegg, now that you're a huge international star, can you tell us anything about the more interesting work offers you've no doubt received from across the pond? Does anything in particular stand out, or have they pretty much ignored you (and, if they have, shame on them!)?

I have an agent in the States now and a pile of scripts to read. At the moment, I'm concentrating on getting these films in the can and my acting up to speed for Hot Fuzz. I don't really want to work away from home that much if I can help it, unless I can take my wife with me.

- Can you tell us anything about your purported appearance in Mission: Impossible 3? Did you have to get scanned for Thetans to even come within 5 miles of Tom Cruise?

I had an excellent time. Tom was a thoroughly decent bloke and didn't mention Scientology once. He was my height, very friendly and a great sport. I came away, very impressed with him. Can't say too much about the role cos it's all hush hush. I can tell you Ethan Hunt would be lost without Benji though.

- After Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, and the forthcoming Hot Fuzz,do you ever worry that some might unfairly paint you and Edgar as one-trick ponies, quite adept at the knowing, pop-culture-referencing genre spoof, but with nowhere else to go? I don't necessarily agree with that myself, but someday the question may be asked by someone who does.

No, never. I've only produced written collaborations on a large scale twice, with two different people, so being accused of being a one trick pony at this point would be a little mean spirited, not to mention faintly twattish.

- You and Edgard proclaim Shaun to be the world's first 'romzomcom,' but what of such films as Bob Balaban's My Boyfriend's Back (1993) or Peter Jackson's Braindead (1992)? Especially the former, in which a young high school fellow is tragically killed, but miraculously comes back from the dead -- as a flesh-eating zombie -- to keep his date for the prom with the girl he gave his life to protect...

We never 'proclaimed' that SotD was the first ever romzomcom, we invented the term as a joke and the publicity people at WT and Universal exploited it as being some sort of innovation. The two films you mentioned are by no means the only or the first. The Evil Dead series has RZC elements, as does Return of the Living Dead Pt 3 and if you really want to go back, you could argue that James Whale's The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) is the grandaddy of them all.

- Finally, if you could remove one thing from the world, forever, what would it be?

Passive aggressive questions? ;)

--------------------------------------------------------------------
From Kate Woods:

-Would you rather swim in a swamp of Nick Frost's sneeze mucus for 1 hour, or spend a year sewn to the side of Edgar Wright's head? The answer to this question could change my life entirely. *stands by best friend with needle poised*

I could not possibly spend a year sewn to Edgar's head. His hair is too bushy and he gets up too early. I'd take the Nick snot any day.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
From Louise:

- Hello Simon :o). I know that when you were growing up you loved zombie films and sci-fi, but who were your comedy heroes? And what comedies/comedians do you like today?

My big comedy heroes are Laurel and Hardy, Woody Allen, Morcambe and Wise, Monty Python, The Comic Strip, Vic and Bob, Coogan, Chris Morris, Bill Hicks, the list goes on.

These days I love Arrested Development, The Simpsons, The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm. I need to get out and see more stand up. I'm a big fan of Dylan Moran's work as well as Bill Bailey and a rather splendid comic by the name of Andrew Maxwell.

- (P.S. I don't know if you remember me, but when I met you at the SOTD graphic novel signing I told you my friend had had a sex change! She says hello!)

Hello back. Hope she's well and rocking some sexy outfits.x

--------------------------------------------------------------------
From CazBag:

- As you've accomplished so much so far in your life (live performances, radio shows, created an ingenius TV series, superb film, perfoming in big hollywood movies, got married to a lovely lady, etc) ...Are there any ambitions/plans you have for the future?

Not bad for a one trick pony eh? ;) I just want to keep on doing good stuff Caz. There are obviously still hundreds of people I'd love to work with and similarly hundreds of projects to work on. I ain't done yet.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
From David Khattak (wisejoeyd):

- You may be aware of your admirers of both sexes so; gay followings, yay or nay?

Yay, yay and thrice yay. I don't understand straight guys who aren't thrilled at a bit of gay attention. Although, the pressure to be buff and wear good shoes does elevate.

- (A refreshingly pants question there which was probably best not asked!) I was also going to ask about whether or not he felt the need to step in and vet Nick's sitcom offers or whether he's now a Level 1 Scientologist....

Not at all. In the last 12 years Nick has gone from being my funny best mate to a hot property. I am so proud of him and love him very much. He's his own man now but his room will always be ready for him if he wants to come home and do his washing.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
From Harmony Carrigan (Oh wow, my turn ...)

- What are you thinking RIGHT NOW?! (be honest)

Aw it's Harmony's questions.

- Do you rely a lot on stuff that you learned at university when writing or acting, or is it mostly instinctual?

A bit of both. University was a great technical training but there are certain things which are instinctive. Nothing beats experience though, it enables you to develop what instinctive abilities you may.

- I think I'm studying pretty much the same thing as you did. When I finish university, can you get me a job? ;-)

Of course.

- When you were younger, did you ever make your own short movies, or plays, at home? If so, any that you are proud of to this day?

Oh yes. Me and Nick made a series of short films. Who could forget the french language, art slasher movie, IL SLASH MON GUTS, or the terrifying journey through a house ravaged by an antacid remedy ANISEED DU PERIL. We might put them on a DVD one day.

- Hope you enjoyed the questions ... except mine, those were bad, I think. hehe. Talk to you later, Simon! - Harmony

Thanks everyone. That was fun. I'm here all month, try the fish.

S
xxx

<< Back