Video:Simon Pegg Interview - Paul

Transcript:Simon Pegg Interview - Paul

Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the American Premiere of Universal Pictures' Paul.

Simon Pegg - 'Graeme Willy' in Paul

Are there more ideas like this floating around, where you just write them down on paper bags and they stay on your radar?

Simon Pegg: "Oh yeah, there's loads of them knocking around. We've got lot a few years-worth of films ready to go."

How do you know which ones can actually expand into a feature film?

Simon Pegg: "I think like with this one it just sort of stayed around for seven years. It just stayed on our pin board and we just liked it. We always wanted to make it because it just felt like it had some heart and some legs. It could be what it is which is a very, very fun adventure. Very funny, and a tribute to all the films we grew up watching and love. You kind of get a feeling about things, really. You know when it's going to work."

You talk about tributes to other films. Is there stuff that we're not going to get? I've seen it, and I'm sure I missed half the references. Is there one that you think nobody is going to catch on to?

Simon Pegg: "I don't know. I don't know if it's that important, really. I mean, they're in there but it's not like the whole film is about that. There's a story and there's characters; you don't need to get any of them, really. It's just every now and again you'll go, 'I recognize that thing. It's from ET,' or whatever. And a lot of the time people see things that we didn't put there. It's just kind of like they just assume that it's a reference, and it's not."

Is Keith Nash a reference to someone?

Simon Pegg: "No."

You guys say his name three times.

Simon Pegg: "No. We just like the name Keith Nash. We just thought it was a funny name. Well, it's not a funny name, it's an ordinary name and had some comic value."

How difficult was it to act opposite a CGI alien - because you had some things there?

Simon Pegg: "Yeah. It was made easy because we had Joe Lo Truglio, who is in the film playing Agent O'Reilly, he was doing Paul's lines so we had someone to act with. It wasn't like there was nobody there. We had things to look at for eye line, but we also had Joe's sort of comic spirit there to give us the energy to be like we were performing with something that was there. So it was easier than you think, you know?"

Is it difficult to write for American audiences and American comics, or is it the same as when you're doing your British comedy?

Simon Pegg: "It's pretty much the same. We find the same things funny, you know? What's different is the reference points, the little things that change. We're big fans of American comedy. I think we understand it and I think Americans, you know, might think something's British but it's not, it's just a different accent. We find the same things funny. Falling over is funny in any language."

What's happening with the third film of the Blood and Ice Cream trilogy, because you've got so many other films in the way?

Simon Pegg: "Hopefully me and Edgar [Wright] are going to get a chance to write it this year. That's what we really want to do. We've been talking about it the last couple of weeks, about finding at least a few weeks to start. So, you know, it's very high on our priority list at the moment. We want to get on with it because it's been a while since we did Hot Fuzz so we want to crack on."

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