ended up with Simon Pegg. So that decision, along
with heightening some of the set pieces,
accumulatively over the process of shooting the film
and editing it, was all about pushing the comedy
wherever we could - keeping it suspenseful and
entertaining as a thriller but also always delivering on
the comedy beat, and having fun with the film.
The film really doesn't take itself seriously. Its very
much a film that has its tongue very firmly placed in
its cheek. It's taking you on a visceral ride and it's
very much set in the movie world, not in reality, it's
very much a construct. That's part of I think the joy of
watching it - the pleasure you'll get from watching it
is just letting yourself off the hook and saying, look
I'm just going to be entertained for 90 minutes, and
my intellect isn't going to be tested too much.
Which can be very nice! Certainly something I
enjoyed about the film, and I think maybe some
people have missed that, that it is a romp in a way.
Yeah, I think it's funny that, people either jump on
board... I liken it to a bit like a tart, or a loud broad
who takes you out on a good night - you might find
her annoying or crazy, but ultimately you have a good
time! And the film is very much that, it's saying leave
your inhibitions at the door and just come along for
the ride. I think some people maybe are expecting
something else out of their movie experiences, or
what they perceive the film is to them, and that's fair
enough as well, but it's clearly a film that is not taking
itself too seriously.
I really love the casting of Simon Pegg. I think it's
always interesting as you've alluded to when
directors use comics in different ways, like Peter
Sellers in Being There, or Jerry Lewis in King of
Comedy. Working with Simon, did he arrive on set
fully evolved as Charlie Wolfe or did you evolve
that character together?
We only had Simon for a very short period. We shot
for him for two weeks. He had this very specific
window in his schedule when he was available and
willing to do the film, so we worked very, very
diligently to make sure that would happen. What I
like about that, working with someone like that with a
finite time makes you very precise with your
communication. So Simon and I had a very simple,
very brief set of email exchanges talking about the
character - very simple but profound notes, about