NickFrost Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The above is not much, but it's enough to start the impatient and eager anticipation for Paul. You know, the alien comedy that's reuniting Simon Pegg and Nick Frost; the one that will hopefully be a cross between the brilliance of Spaced and the comedic awesomeness of Hot Fuzz. The image, which you can see in all shapes and sizes over at Collider, is a photo of a poster hanging up on Stage 41 at Hollywood's Universal Studios.

From left to right, we've got Blythe Danner screaming in a granny dress, Pegg rockin' an Empire Strikes Back t-shirt, Frost with the boom stick, and Kristen Wiig running to catch up. One can only guess that they're facing an alien or government invasion. As we already know, the comedy centers on Pegg and Frost's science fiction geeks who, after going to a comic-con, decide to make a pilgrimage to Area 51 -- the notorious alien hotspot in Nevada. On their journey, the end up running into a real alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen).

Does the image whet your scifi comedy tastebuds, and make you want to go back and rewatch all of Spaced until the movie hits in 2010? (If, of course, you're not already doing just that in honor of the show's tenth anniversary.)

So many comedians don't really play well with others. They're mostly scene-stealers with little regard for anyone who gets in their way. So it's always a treat to find some that click together. If they click, their connection usually passes on to the audience. Two mega-comedians, Adam Sandler & Seth Rogen, team up for the first time in this week's Funny People. It remains to be seen just what kind of chemistry they'll have, or if it deserves to be repeated, but in any case, it's a good time to revisit some of cinema's greatest comedy team-ups. [Note: I thought I would stay modern and therefore exclude Martin & Lewis, Laurel & Hardy, Fields & West, Abbott & Costello, Hepburn & Grant, Hepburn & Tracy, etc. Just because it goes without saying.]

Steven Spielberg's The Adventues of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn started filming with so little fanfare that I've nearly forgotten all about it ... but I doubt you diehard Herge fans have. Now you'll have a date to circle on the calender as Variety reports that Tintin will be hitting theaters on December 23, 2011, pitting it against Warner Bros Happy Feet 2 and Disney / PIXAR's The Bear and the Bow. (It may be two years away, but you can offer your box office predictions now if you like!)

At least, that's when it'll be hitting theaters on this side of the pond. Paramount and Sony plan to release the film in Europe first, as befitting its heritage and fanbase. There's no specific dates set, but they're eying a fall dates of late October and early November depending on what part of Europe you're in. If you're very wealthy, you could hop on a plane and catch it a few weeks early.

Variety also reports that the film will be released in 3-D. I guess that's a sign I've lost track of this project as I wasn't aware that was ever in doubt, but apparently the two studios have been debating that the past few months. Now after viewing dailies, they've decided that 3-D "would offer the best rendition" for the film ... and frankly the recent ginormous 3-D successes like Monsters Vs. Aliens probably helped convince them of that.

So, there you are, Tintin fans: December 23, 2011 in 3-D. Excited?

He was a monster; now he'll play an alien. Seth Rogen, who voiced the part of a translucent blue Jello-thing in Monsters vs. Aliens, will take on the challenge of voicing the titular character in Greg Mottola's Paul, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. According to Variety, Paul is an escaped alien that science fiction fanatics Pegg and Frost discover in the legendary Area 51.

The article specifies that Rogen will only provide the voice, so I imagine the alien will be a CGI creature, but wouldn't it be fun if Roger played the part in person, and then the special effects people alienated his face and body, converting him into a bizarre, weird alien? (Just a thought.) Also joining the cast are some familiar -- perhaps too familiar -- comic personalities: Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, and Jane Lynch.

Paul is a road trip movie, so it's likely that Bateman and friends will be playing cameos. I am excited that Pegg and Frost will be teaming up for the first time since Hot Fuzz, in a movie based on a script they wrote together. And Superbad proved that Mottola could spin comedy gold out of a very good script. I'm just hoping that the end result fully reflects the deft, fresh, satiric vision of Pegg and Frost, and that Paul will be a fitting counterpart to the brilliance that was Spaced, their British TV series. Maybe Rogen will be the cherry on top.

When you've had trouble getting financing, had to move to a new company, and lost your lead actor, things don't bode well. So, how do you increase confidence in a film about Tintin? You grab Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, naturally. Ohhhh yes, folks!

Variety has confirmed that Pegg and Frost have been cast as Thomson and Thompson -- the mustachioed and bumbling detectives. While they might not be completely identical like the almost-matching men from the comic, I would love to see Simon and Nick dressed up as the pair. This whole deal might be performance capture, but maybe, just maybe, some promo material could be live action? Or maybe a brief live-action short to accompany the film? Please? (If you haven't already guessed, I'm a rabid fan of Hot Fuzz.)

Production is supposed to start in a month, but we're still without our star -- the one who will have to fill Thomas Sangster's shoes. With Pegg and Frost attached, along with Andy Serkis as Captain Haddock, who could hold their own? Freddie Highmore?

Well, we have some good news and some bad news to report during this glorious summer weekend. Which do you want first? Since I always pick the bad news first, we'll go with that: Apparently, Quentin Tarantino is having some trouble getting some of his potential Inglorious Bastards cast members to sign on the dotted line. Not only has David Krumholtz dropped out (and replaced by Samm Levine from Freaks and Geeks, so says AICN), but unfortunately the same has happened with Simon Pegg.

Over on his MySpace page, Pegg has told fans that he will no longer be co-starring in the Tarantino WWII flick, but will instead (and here's the good news) reunite with Nick Frost for a film called Paul (first reported wayyy back in September of 2007). This time, however, Edgar Wright will not be behind the camera, as Pegg said Superbad's Greg Mottola has taken over directing duties. Paul will follow two comic book geeks (Pegg and Frost) on some sort of road trip across America. No word yet on who'll be replacing Pegg in Bastards, though I can name more than a few Brits who'd do a bang-up job.

Simon Pegg is, like nearly everyone else in the film industry, over in Cannes promoting a new film. While doing the rounds for How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, Pegg revealed his next project to IGN.

"I just finished a script with my writing partner Nick Frost, and that is called Paul, and we're going to shoot it later this year or early next year. It's a road movie set in America about two British comic book geeks that get into an adventure across America. Write what you know as they say." I think it sounds downright charming -- and you know their geekiness will be excused all over this fine nation simply because of their accents.

Pegg has a director in mind for the film, but refused to reveal the name, saying only "It's someone really cool." Start guessing!

He also gave a bit of an update on the third installment of the Cornetto Trilogy, The World's End, rumored to be a sci-fi doomsday piece. "Edgar is off doing Scott Pilgrim and then we'll get back together and do our third one together, provisionally title World's End. But that was a premature announcement from Universal, and it's probable that the title will change."

Pegg, Frost and Wright have to be three of the hardest working guys in the business these days -- and there isn't a single project they develop that I doubt or sneer at. And even when there's not much to report, I know you readers out there will get all wound up too.

I have a really cheap DVD player that I was able to convert to "region free" by entering one of those 1-2-up-down-3-4 codes, which means this news is only slightly less awesome for me -- but it's freakin' GREAT news for anyone who loves Shaun of the Dead / Hot Fuzz and has yet to experience the very first experiment from sirs Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, and Nick Frost. Now, in most cases I wouldn't cover TV shows (mainly because TV Squad does such a kick-ass job of covering TV shows), but seeing as how most of America "met" these guys through the movies, I figure it's news worth doing at Cinematical.

I'll keep it brief: The two-season Spaced set will be released on Region 1 DVD by BBC Video. Release date is July 22. (One certainly hopes that none of the music has been altered. Allegedly, "music rights" is the reason it took so long for Spaced to make its North American debut.) For those who have yet to experience the blissful magic of Spaced, here's a recap that makes it sound like a moronically conventional sitcom. (It's not.) "Two young 'grown-ups' pose as a married couple in order to rent a very attractive flat." (Yep, that's it.) Mr. Pegg's fantastic co-star is Ms. Jessica Stevenson (now Jessica Hynes), and the supporting cast features Julia Deakin, Mark Heap, Katy Carmichael, and (of course) Nick Frost -- all of whom you'll love after about six episodes.

I'm no horror buff, but I do love the zombies. Well, I love the idea of zombies. I'm not really that interested in watching all the low-budget zombie movies, all the Italian zombie movies, or all the non-Romero Living Dead movies. But it's funny, I was looking over Ryan's recent Cinematical Seven of reasons he doesn't care for zombie movies, and it dually serves as my own list of reasons I like zombie movies. Or at least those zombie movies that apply. Primarily, I like zombie movies for the first reason: the symbolism.

Shaun of the Dead may be a comedic zombie movie, and it may not have any political undertones or serious social commentary, as do Romero's films and other prominent examples of the genre, but it does permit a scholarly subtext reading nonetheless. And because I'm a scholarly sort of gent (or maybe really I just like to over-analyze everything), I'm going to take this opportunity to look at this deeper level of the movie. Sure, I could just write about why I think the movie is one of the most hilarious I've ever seen, but that would be boring; plus, I respect that some people don't have the same sense of humor as me.

Shaun's symbolism comes in the form of the romantic story. The movie, often referred to as a "rom zom com" (romantic zombie comedy), actually serves as a sort of cinematic relationship guide, comically instructing us about dealing with commitment issues. Look at the order in which the members of Shaun's party are killed (killed dead, not undead): #1: his stepfather (Bill Nighy); #2: his mum (Penelope Wilton); #3: the other guy who loves his girl (the underrated Dylan Moran, who must be seen in Run Fatboy Run); #4: his roommate (Peter Serafinowicz); and finally, #5: his immature best friend (Nick Frost). These are the people that have to die in order for Shaun (Simon Pegg) to devote his full attention to Liz (Kate Ashfield). In real, non-lethal terms, they are the people Shaun has to let go of before he can fully connect in a relationship.

Fans of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz (i.e. pretty much everybody) rejoice! The stars of those films, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are teaming up again for a movie called Paul. Pegg and Frost are writing the screenplay, but this one will not be a full Shaun/Fuzz reunion, as director Edgar Wright is not involved. The director for Paul has yet to be chosen. Pegg tells MTV Movies Blog the film is "a road movie about two British geeks in America," and it will be shot here in the U.S. Sorry, I know that doesn't tell you much! The film will not have the usual Pegg-ripping-on-Frost dynamic they've perfected. Pegg says, "No, it's different actually. I'm the bitch in this one. This time Simon's the bitch!"

For my money, Pegg is not quite as hilarious as his British comedian compatriots Ricky Gervais (I bow to The Office) and Steve Coogan (just now getting into It's Alan Partridge and loving it), but he does make me laugh. He's becoming a major player in the states, starring in the new romantic comedy Run, Fat Boy, Run (you can read James' not-quite-a-rave-but-not-quite-a-pan review here), and co-starring in the upcoming How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. I loved Shaun, and was on the fence with Hot Fuzz until the glorious shoot-em-up finale made me a believer. Speaking of Pegg and Frost, does anyone have any idea how to get their television program Spaced on DVD here in America? I know it's online here and there, but I detest watching anything longer than two minutes on my computer. Thanks!