Video:Nick Frost Interview - Paul
with Rebecca MurrayNick Frost and Simon Pegg wrote and star in the buddy roadtrip comedy 'Paul' which follows a couple of alien-loving Brits who set out to explore America's famous Area 51. At the film's premiere, Frost talked about writing the film with Pegg.
Transcript:Nick Frost Interview - Paul
Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the American Premiere of Universal Pictures' Paul.
Nick Frost - 'Clive Gollings' in Paul
I've seen it and I know that I've missed half the references in it.
Nick Frost: "That's all right."
Is it?
Nick Frost: "Absolutely. I'd like to think that you could watch it never having seen another film ever and enjoy it as a road movie with an alien. I think it would be wrong to exclude people, just because you don't understand the references. But if you do get them, that's a little treat for you."
When I walked out I was confused because I couldn't figure out who Keith Nash was. What was that reference?
Nick Frost: "That was not a reference. That's just a character name."
That is so weird. We thought it had to be a reference.
Nick Frost: "It's funny when people think, you know, doing a film which is heavily referenced and then they start finding references that aren't there, you know? They start finding references that aren't there. That's fine, I guess, if people are going to make up their own story about things then good. That's something else that's out there, you know?"
This is the first film that you two have officially written together?
Nick Frost: "Absolutely, yeah."
How did that process go because you've worked together so much?
Nick Frost: "Yeah, we have. Well, you know, we're mates. We've been mates for 18 years so it's a chance to hang out together. We have a big office in London and we have our desks pushed together, there's a big monitor on the screen and we bang it out line by line."
Does it flow easy when it's two people collaborating on it?
Nick Frost: "It does and it doesn't it. It's like any job. Sometimes you just can't be on. We'll come in, we'll kick around for two hours on the internet or on Twitter or reading the papers and then we'll say, 'Let's go see a movie,' and we'll go home for the day. Peter Greenaway said that writing is like owning a shop. As long as you own that shop each day, it's not up to you whether or not customers come in. Do you know what I mean? The shop needs to be owned. So, you know, the flip side of that is other days we'll get in there and we'll start work at 9am and we'll be writing all day until 5pm. You just have to take it easy. I suppose one of the good things about being self-employed is that you can do that. We touched hands there - it was electric. You can do what you want to do. I think a lot of people would use the term organic, but I'm not sure. Probably just 'lazy' is the correct term."
In your other two films - Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz - you are the sidekick. In this film, you are not. You are equal and in some cases the leader in Paul.
Nick Frost: "Well, I think it's important to mix it up a bit. I wouldn't want people to watch it and think, 'Oh, it's this again.' I think that would be really upsetting. So, you know, if we do stuff in the future again, it's going to be different again. We may not both be in something. We could both write it, he could star in it and I'll direct, or I'll produce and he... We'll mix it up. I think that way there's a certain longevity that potentially comes with that kind of career, and people may hopefully not get bored of it. We want to make films like an event. We want to make films that people want to watch, and if you do it all the time - the same thing - people don't want to watch it. I completely get that."
But there has to be the third film of the Blood and Ice Cream trilogy.
Nick Frost: "Yeah. Edgar [Wright] and Simon are going to write that hopefully later on this year and, touch wood, we'll be shooting it next year."
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