Very bloody funny;
On location 'Shaun of the Dead'
Since the success of 'Spaced' director Edgar Wright and actor Simon Pegg have moved on to the big screen to make gory comedy 'Shaun of the Dead'.
Answering their call for volunteer zombies, our intrepid reporter spent the day being scary in Finsbury Park.
Some of the team behind 'Spaced' are currently filming a romantic comedy with a difference. Director Edgar Wright has co-written 'Shaun of the Dead' with Simon Pegg, who stars as Shaun, a slacker whose lethargy is finally challenged when dead people start wanting to suck his blood ie, it takes a zombie to know one. I get a text sometime in April. 'Time for me to pop the big question, will you be a zombie in my film?' it says. Erm, yes, what else would I be doing on a Tuesday?
So come one freezing morning in May I'm driving through the mists of north London at 6.30am, heading for Finsbury Park. The trucks are parked along the north side and James, the man in charge of zombie extras, ushers us towards the wardrobe truck and then into make-up. We have already had a workshop on how to be zombie. It's arms by the side and stagger not arms out in front and if you can drag a leg behind you like it's broken, so much the better. In make-up, our faces are whited out, our eyebags and veins exaggerated, then we are led outside and lined up to have blood and gore applied to our hands and faces. 'There we go, ' says the make-up woman, expertly daubing red globs on to my face from a large pot, 'like you've just had a little snack.' The woman next in line is leaping up and down in anticipation. 'Oooh, I love blood, ' she says. I look around and think she might be serious. The make-up woman doesn't apply her with any.
'You haven't eaten yet, ' she says to her quietly.
We're driven in a minibus to Mount View Road on the slopes of Crouch End. 'Mind the upholstery, please, ' says the driver. 'And if you could avoid scaring the kids on their way to school, we'd be grateful we got a lot of complaints yesterday.' When we arrive, Wright greets us with enthusiasm and points to a field of buttercups. 'You're going to grow to love this field, ' he beams. We all beam back, bloodily. Still in his mid-twenties, Wright looks kind of young to be in charge of this much equipment. It's a big leap from the small studio sets of 'Spaced'. Pegg looks around wide-eyed. 'It feels like we've graduated from primary school straight to university, ' he says.
A man called Shane takes charge of us, leading the zombie massive across the field and putting us in our positions, just too far away from each other to talk. This may be a good thing: there are several people here from the 'Spaced' fan website.
The field, essentially a reservoir lid, is flat and drops off sharply to the south, revealing an incredible view of London under the rain clouds that have suddenly appeared on the wind.
Wet-look gore isn't supposed to dry, and our hands freeze quickly in the cold breeze. Soon we're desperately doing the zombie shuffle to try and keep warm, adding little star jumps for good measure. From his position on the road, Wright must think we're either impressively dedicated or barking mad.
The film starts out as a naturalistic comedy centred around four friends Pegg, Nick Frost (also in 'Spaced' as military mad Mike), Lucy Davis ('The Office') and Kate Ashfield ('A Many Splintered Thing') until a night down the pub unleashes a zombie onslaught. The scene we're filming is this: Pegg and Frost are driving down the street when they suddenly spot the zombies making their way towards them.
After about an hour, Wright is ready for take one.
Everything goes quiet. Shane gives us our pep talk: 'Remember your motivation, people you're dead.' We wait a few more seconds and people start affecting odd poses, shrugging jackets from shoulders and hanging their heads at unnatural angles. 'Background action!' shouts Shane, having got the call in his earpiece. We all stumble towards the road, staring blankly ahead, lolloping, swaying and gurning for all we're worth. Some people add grunts to their repertoire.
'Cut! Original positions, please!' shouts Shane. We return to our personalised patches of trampled grass and await take two. It won't be for a while. The car is on the back of a lorry which has to be backed up before the start of each take. Rather sweetly, Pegg and Frost wave at us from the car each time they are reversed up the road. And when we break for a cup of tea, Pegg comes over to thefence and shouts, 'Hello, zombies!'
It's the most exciting thing that's happenedsince our gore was applied.
There are many long interludes of inactivity but when Wright strolls over from his director pod and says, 'you're looking fucking brilliant', a warm glow of satisfaction spreads over the buttercups. And extras work does have its rewards.
In the afternoon, Wright needs two zombies for a close-up shot. Pegg and Frost'scar is now off the lorry and on the road.
The director wants a couple of the living dead to flail through the bars of the fence before the car speeds away. There's disappointment among the zombies left in deep field, while the chosen two look like they've found Willy Wonka's goldenticket. But Frost can't seem to pitch the getaway revs quite right 'Crap!' shouts Wright good-naturedly after each take .
Late afternoon, I get my big chance at fame. Most of the extras are sent home but three of us are chosen to be reworked into passers-by, running away in terror from the zombies. After a quick change of make-up and wardrobe it takesa lot of scrubbing and about 50 Wet Wipes to get the gore off I'm a London commuter. We're in among the stars now. Pegg and Frost are munching their low-fat snacks ('got to keep trim, ' says Pegg) and discussing the merits of various BMX bikes, flicking through a catalogue, when three schoolgirls run up to them: 'Can we have your autograph?' I'm not sure whether the girls know who they are because soon they're asking me for mine, little realising I'm going to be on screen for all of a nanosecond.
It's 6.30pm. God, it's been a long day. And ultimately, my hopes of eternal preservation by celluloid and the chance to whisper 'that's me' come the releaseof 'Shaun of the Dead' are scuppered by an unexpected hailstorm which pelts us until the light fades. It's a wrap for the day. Well, that's showbusiness.
'Shaun Of The Dead' will be out next spring.