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!

While it seems like we were just talking about Hot Fuzz appearing at Comic-Con last year, but it's now out on DVD today, and while you'll have to wait until you can get to the store or it arrives in the mail to enjoy it ... you can play the Stanford Shootout game live on the web right now. Can you possibly keep the village safe whilst jumping through the air and firing two guns? Find out right here.

Here are some tidbits from Nick Frost and Edgar Wright at Comic-Con:

• Nick Frost thinks the HD version of the DVD looks 30% better, Edgar Wright doesn't even own an HD player yet.
• Nick, Simon, and Edgar are working on a new movie, which will complete what they're calling the "Blood and Ice Cream" trilogy.
• Edgar used to work in the very supermarket featured in the film, and as a teenager he used to dream of one day coming back and "f*cking the place up."
• The DVD sold a million copies in the UK in four weeks.
• Edgar Wright was asked to direct the first episode of the new Doctor Who series, and he turned it down. Nick Frost is admittedly, "Not a Who fan." So, don't look for him on the show anytime.
• Edgar's Don't trailer isn't on any of the Grindhouse DVDs yet, but will appear on the special multi-disc Grindhouse set that comes out.
• One of the special features on the DVD is "Hot Funk", showing how they made the 'clean' language version of the film, which you can watch after the break.

Although it sounds odd, Hot Fuzz is like watching a classic Agatha Christie novel stuffed into a semi-automatic weapon, and strapped to the side of some of the best comedic talent working today. While you'll see the words 'satire' and 'spoof' mixed in to the majority of reviews, make no mistake -- Hot Fuzz is in no way, shape or form the Scary Movie of buddy-cop action flicks. It is, however, an adrenaline-fueled, balls-to-the-wall cup of simmering tea, served up to resemble everything you love about those big-budgeted run-and-gun movies, but with enough British flavor to have this Yank itching for more.

If you're aware of writer-director Edgar Wright and his creative partner Simon Pegg, then the first question out of your mouth will probably be: Is Hot Fuzz better than Shaun of the Dead? The short answer is, no. But let me explain: Back in 2004, Wright and Pegg followed up a stint on the successful UK TV show Spaced with, hands down, one of the best horror-comedies of this generation, Shaun of the Dead. Though Shaun immediately put the boys on the map across the pond, it took awhile for the film to find a fanbase here in the States. The Brits -- with their devilish dry humor and subtle satire -- often have a hard time generating interest over here. (Case in point: Ask around to see how many folks actually watched the British version of The Office, and you'll most likely find people don't even know one exists.) Well, if there's ever a time to try on a new pair of pants, it's now -- because Wright and Pegg are creating the type of content that we, in America, so desperately need.

When you think about horror film directors, Edgar Wright probably isn't the first name that pops into your mind. Sure, if you made a list of some of the best horror films of the past few years, Shaun of the Dead would most likely be on the list, but Edgar Wright has continued to fly under the radar as a name. In April, all that will be changing for two reasons. First, Edgar's new film Hot Fuzz will be released in theaters, and the early buzz is that it's even better than Shaun of the Dead. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are both in it, and if the trailers are any indication, the buzz is dead-on. If you liked Shaun, then I'm sure you'll love Hot Fuzz. That almost sounds like marketing copy. "If you see one film this year ... then you really need to see more movies."

Secondly, and even more esoteric -- Edgar Wright's trailer for Don't in Robert Rodriguez' and Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse. There are four trailers altogether through the film, one before the feature rolls, and three in the middle, but the one that had everyone talking after the movie was over was Don't. Without spoiling anything for you, Don't is a perfect example of old trailers for foreign films that would come to theaters during the late 60s and 70s. Because they wouldn't want to reveal to audiences that it was a foreign film with accents (even British ones), the trailer would cut just before any of the characters would speak, and would be extremely heavy on narration from the announcer. Wright's trailer nails it, and is the funniest of the bunch. My advice, don't go to the bathroom between Planet Terror and Death Proof, or you'll miss out on a lot of fun stuff.

As much as I wished, I couldn't make it to the U.K. for the domestic opening of Edgar Wright's new action spoof, Hot Fuzz. Apparently the film didn't need me, though, as it earned an amazing $11.5 million in its first five days. It didn't break any records over there, but even if we only look at the film's weekend take -- $8.5 million -- it performed remarkably better than most films, imported or homegrown. The last movie to open to more money was Casino Royale, which made $25 million in its first weekend back in November (Borat also earned a tad more than Hot Fuzz in its debut two weeks earlier).

More important for Hot Fuzz is how much better it did than Wright's Shaun of the Dead, which opened in the U.K. to about $3 million and went on to gross only $12 million there in four months. This achievement shows how popular Shaun has become since its video release. Hopefully the same will prove true for American audiences when Hot Fuzz arrives here in two months. I doubt that it will open bigger than its April 20 competition (which includes The Nanny Diaries and Rogue), especially since it is only getting a limited bow, but there should be a lot of interest, nonetheless (I'll be seeing it a few times, I'm sure). It will be interesting to see how American critics respond, too. So far, with U.K. reviews in, the film has a 75% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, despite the fact that many of the positive blurbs appear to actually be slightly negative.

I guess it is fair that people in the U.K. will get to see Hot Fuzz beginning Wednesday -- usually the Brits have to wait a few months behind us for new Hollywood releases. But being fair doesn't make me wish it weren't true. I am really, really looking forward to this movie, as are many of us. It doesn't help that I keep getting teased by more and more promotional materials. Now, Empire has a new internet-only trailer up. I don't want to spoil the trailer for you, but I will say that the trailer won't spoil the movie for you. And yet it tells you all you need to know about the film. Here's what you need to know about the trailer, though: it was personally edited by Hot Fuzz director Edgar Wright and it was scored by Robert Rodriguez (surprising, I know).

The only thing I'm getting worried about now is that the movie is being sold as -- and will actually be -- too much of a parody film. Shaun of the Dead was a comedic zombie movie more than a spoof of zombie movies, and I'd hope that Hot Fuzz could work more on its own than being an action counterpart to Scary Movie and others -- not that I could imagine it would be that humorless. The latest review, from the BBC, claims it isn't as good as Shaun but that it is hilarious and worth seeing more than once (it gets 4 stars, too). If your boyfriend or girlfriend loves Shaun of the Dead, spend the money and fly the two of you to England on Valentine's Day. Otherwise, try to wait with me until April 13.

You could say that the Cinematical team is excited about Hot Fuzz. But you would be making a terrible understatement. Erik and Scott are going to fight mano-a-mano for review privileges. Martha is probably re-watching all the Hot Fuzz video blogs on a daily basis as she counts down the days until April 13. As for me, I might actually need to fly to London next month for the earlier UK release date.

The major worry is that Hot Fuzz will not live up to the hype. After all, it is going to be pretty difficult for the movie to please all of us Shaun of the Dead fans. How many highly anticipated follow-ups have been met with disappointment? And how many have actually been as popular or more beloved than their predecessor? All we can do is try not to overdo it with our expectations and just try to enjoy the damn thing without any unreasonable demands.

Thankfully some early reviews are trickling onto the net, and so far they all seem to agree that if you like Shaun of the Dead, you'll also like Hot Fuzz. Only the first report, posted on Aint it Cool News last November, featured some slight criticisms, although the overall response there was great. Another person reacting from a more recent preview screening claims the movie will certainly be one of his top 10 of 2007 -- a strong claim from someone who also says he doesn't want to over-hype the thing.

Seriously, do I really need to say any more about Hot Fuzz? Everyone here at Cinematical has been dying to see this flick, and I imagine I will have to literally fight Scott Weinberg in some sort of hand-to-hand battle, using the crappiest DVD boxes in our collections as weapons, for a chance to review the pic once it finally hits theaters on March 9. And damn those Brits who get to see it on February 16, as that's when the film slides into UK theaters.

For those of you completely out of the loop (how dare you not know about this film), Hot Fuzz is Edgar Wright's follow-up to the unbelievably awesome Shaun of the Dead. Wright once again enlists the help of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost to head up what looks to be (and the key word here is 'looks') one helluva action comedy -- perhaps the best in recent years. To accompany the two teaser trailers we told you about in October, the numerous video blogs and the film's official website -- Hot Fuzz now has a full-length trailer for all of you to dive right into. After watching said trailer, you'll notice other familiar faces like Timothy Dalton, Jim Broadbent, Bill Nighy and -- wait a minute -- was that Stephen Merchant in a cameo role? Check it out and let us know what you think.

There are few movies more anticipated by the Cinematical staff than Hot Fuzz. Why? Because Hot Fuzz is Edgar Wight's follow-up to Shaun of the Dead, of course, and most of us -- if not all -- are huge fans of Shaun of the Dead. We're obviously not the only ones, either; the production didn't make 15 video blogs for nobody. In fact, they couldn't make 'em quick enough to fulfill my needs. Last week, when the two teaser trailers were unleashed, it only made me hungrier. Well, we still have to wait until February to see the finished product, but at least the updates keep coming strong. What's new this week? The Hot Fuzz website. Sure, it's just a simple site featuring the blogs, the trailers and some stills, but hey, I'm not greedy. Besides, can't you enjoy a photo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost chasing a giant goose for quite some time?

Now, I will admit I'm a little wary about getting too excited, because it just isn't possible for a movie to live up to the expectations I have. So, I'm trying really, really hard to control myself. It is pretty difficult, though, whenever I take another look at the picture of Pegg and Frost with ice cream cones. Doesn't it remind everyone else of a particular scene from Shaun?

[via JoBlo.com]

Yes, I'm excited about Hot Fuzz. So sue me -- Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost made a pretty freaking awesome start with Shaun of the Dead, and everything we've been hearing about (and from) their follow-up -- an action-comedy about "two mismatched cops who team up in a West Country backwater" -- has been awfully promising. Though the movie isn't huge enough (not yet, anyway) to merit the coverage granted to things like Spider-Man 3 or whatever Quentin Taratino is up to today, Rogue Pictures offered those lucky enough to attended its ComicCon panel last weekend a glimpse at some Fuzz footage. And, if Moviehole's reaction is anything to go by, the movie is well-worth our excitement: They describe the footage (revealed in the form of trailers, and scored with the Lethal Weapon 3 soundtrack, no less) as "quite simply, gold." Woo hoo!

And, for those of us who live really far from San Diego, the folks at Solace in Cinema have pulled together all the images they can find from the movie (ComicCon-related and otherwise) in an effort to make the months and months (and months) until the movie's March 9 release a little easier to handle.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! The BBC has decided to produce comedies! Oh yeah, and Hollywood is planning to make some blockbuster action films, too. No, but really, BBC Films is on the search for some funny new talent with which to start new relationships. In a joint venture with the BBC's television production department, BBC Films is hoping to find this talent, nurture them on TV and then eventually work with them on feature film ideas. Basically they're looking for "the British Steve Carrell," to one day star in "mainstream comedy feature film hits."

Honestly, I don't know what the BBC is talking about. Haven't they been doing this, less intentionally, for years? Let's see, there was Monty Python. Oh wait, BBC Films didn't make their movies. Okay, so I'm not that familiar with BBC television comedies since then and before The Office, but seeing as how Ricky Gervais will probably get wooed by Hollywood, perhaps BBC Films does have a fresh idea. Especially since the funniest British TV talent cum movie talent, Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, came out of Channel 4. Anyway, I am always open to more comedies, particularly British comedies, but the British Steve Carrell? That's like EMI Records in the 1960s looking for the British Monkees.

So, I've been controlling myself lately and not posting about every single new video diary (they're up to nine already) that pops up on Working Title's Hot Fuzz page. I hope you people have appreciated the peace, because it's over -- this particular entry is far too funny and demented to pass up. Nick Frost in spandex shorts? Check. Vegetables being mangled? Check. Unnecessary crotch shots? Check. Obligatory "I can't quit you" joke? Please. Do you really have to ask? Yep, this time we get to watch Frost and Simon Pegg "working out," in order to keep their fitness at the high level required by such an active film. Of course, in their case, "working out" seems to consist primarily of wearing matching outfits, hanging around in a trailer, lifting small weights, and flexing their genius comedy muscles. Why are you still here? Go watch it!

Oh, and there are just 269 more days until the movie comes out.

[via Twitch]

Look, I'm really sorry to keep bugging you with these. Each time I post one, my intention is to make it the last time -- I mean, I've pointed them out, and you can go check for yourselves, right? But they're just so damn cute (If you're a macho sort of fellow who is scared of that word, think "charming." They're charming.) that I can't help it.

Someone mentioned in the comments when I posted a roundup of the 300 video diaries that, despite being informative, they're so damn boring that you can hardly stay awake. The Hot Fuzz vlogs (is that what the kids are calling them these days?), however, are the complete opposite: they're basically devoid of information, really short, and utterly irresistible. It's like magic! The only potential problem here is that they're putting tons of pressure on the movie (which, by the way, comes out in only 317 days) to live up to their high standards.

Anyway, this time we get to see Simon Pegg and Nick Frost just basically hanging out and being friends. And yet, it's great! It's magic, I tell you!

[via Film Ick]