They sat down to chat to us about the film, and a few other things too…
I was following you guys on Twitter, around the time of the very first press show in London.
Nick Frost:It is nerve wracking.
We have spent so much time on it, and we are connected to it.
In fact, some of them would quite like it to be bad.
It takes a lot.
You have to trust everyone around you.
Simon Pegg:Weve been through it withShaun Of The DeadandHot Fuzzbefore.
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NF:This was my first time, though, [as a writer].
You didnt have Twitter withShaun Of The DeadandHot Fuzz, though?
It had to appeal to a larger audience, and you have to mutate to survive.
We went through a version of thePaulscript that was a lot edgier.
NF:Thats the thing, as well, when youre dealing with a bigger budget.
SP:Unless youre the Coen brothers!
And youve proven yourself over time.
But you do realise that, okay, we have to sell some tickets now.
So, we cant linger on Pauls philosophising too much.
NF:Yeah, and there was a lot of that in the original script.
And there are hints of that in the DVD extras.
They describe him as cantankerous.
That was more like him most of the time.
But that was a creative decision we made that we felt itd be hard to sustain.
We wanted him to be likeable.
We didnt want him to be more human and pragmatic than the humans in the film.
So, he speaks his mind a little more.
We got to a point where we thought, Lets make him more worldly-wise and a bit nicer.
But, obviously, he just wants to get home.
SP:Also, Seth brought his own warmth to the character.
NF:Thats the thing with him, too.
Because Seth is so likeable, he couldnt do anything but make Paul likeable too.
It was theFreaks And GeeksSeth that I thought we got here.
SP:Thats right, yeah.
NF:He made a decision to do that.
He tried to come across as a proactive, laid back person.
I dont blame you.
Hes gone through it point by point, and Ive got one or two of them here.
I hate to be the one to deliver the news to you, but Elijah votes forMac And Me.
So, he says, There is a dance sequence inPaulwhere they dance to crappy music around a campfire.
InMac And Methere is a legendary dance scene at a McDonalds with break-dancing and awesome 80s beats.
It was shameless, corporate takeover.
InPaul, we dance to Marvin Gaye!
[laughs]
Ive got another one.
Paul has special abilities.
He turns invisible, can pass knowledge to others by physical means, and can heal living beings.
SP:Well, were beaten there!
[laughs]
NF:Youre never going to compete with a flat pancake and vagina hands are you?
[laughs]
SP:That guy clearly isnt wasting his education!
And that didnt strike me as an absolutely instant fit, and yet he proved bang on forPaul.
SP:For us, it was as much thatDaytrippersis a great film.
Our initial pitch forPaulwas.
Lets make an American indie movie, but have Gollum in it.Little Miss Sunshinewith Gollum.
With Jeffrey Tambor in the trunk?
And Greg just seemed to fit the bill.
Are you tempted to revisitPaul?
A kind ofCocoon: The Return?
NF:We did talk aboutPauls.
We went and did a press day in Area 51.
SP:They were just outside Area 51.
Youre not allowed in!
SP:We had an amazing brainstorming session and came up with it.
The only thing that would stop us doing a sequel is that its a lengthy process.
Greg, who is a prolific, creative director, was on that film for two years.
It was nine months just for the animation?
SP:That was all the post-production he had to do.
If we started writing it now, it wouldnt be out for probably three years.
You dont have the ageing cast problem, though, such asKick-Ass.
SP:No, no.
I think the thing with Paul is that hes already 300!
You could do Attack The Paul, a hybrid sequel?
He comes down in a shuttle ship because his own ship got blown up.
He arrives in South London…
Do I get story credit here?
[Laughs]
SP:Well talk about it!
I was fascinated by some of the stuff youve put on the DVD about the effects guys.
You were heavily involved, too, going in very regularly to see how things were going?
SP:Wed basically go in and wed be presented with stuff.
Now all those people on that amazing documentary-
NF:There were four hundred people.
On set we had a team of maybe four to five guys.
But they were the main heads of department.
Once it got into post-production, we had a team of four hundred people overall, who animated him.
When we pitched it to Eamonn at Double Negative, he got so excited.
He said, We never get to animate the main character.
We get the background.
We get the monsters.
We never get a character who is this at the forefront of the action.
They really embraced it lovingly, and that shows, I think.
you’re free to see that they all love him.
Theyve looked at him for nine months!
The patience of the film struck me.
If you go into aTransformersmovie, you expect that this isnt going to come together until three weeks beforehand.
Yet, hes waiting six or seven months really just to find out if something is going to gel?
We said that it was like going to the worst hospital in the world!
We had to recreate that with Seth.
How many rounds of ADR did Seth do in the end?
Because theres still a slight improvisational feel to it?
SP:Oh, yeah.
NF:We did a month beforehand, and then a few weeks after we finished.
SP:Five or six sessions of coming back and tweaking stuff.
It was a slow process, because we always wanted him to look like he was there.
I know that always sounds like an obvious thing.
It was important to us for people to forget he wasnt there when we filmed it.
NF:I thinkweforgot a few times.
SP:When I watch it, I kind of think, Was he there?
Do you do that often?
NF:Oh, yeah!
Im always fighting thin air!
[laughs] When given half a chance.
Im eyeing some of it up right now!
How do you feel now, looking back?
NF:Im angry with the air!
$90m around the world is a good return.
Youve got a swathe of enthusiasm behind it.
How do you feel all these months after the event?
SP: I think its set to break $100m next week.
SP:Yeah, it is.
Considering it cost $43m, too, were just delighted.
Universal are going to be very happy with us.
NF:And thats before the DVD sales.
SP:Were delighted.
That must be satisfying to you.
We could have toned down the language a little bit, and maybe we should have done.
We could have got a bigger box office take if wed made it a PG.
But we didnt want it to look like a childrens film.
We wanted people from the off to know that it wasnt a kids film.
Even though they marketed it a little bit like that in certain instance.
NF:I think it would do people who likedShaun Of The DeadandHot Fuzza disservice.
What are you up to next?
SP:Tintinis coming up.
NF:Thats what were doing together.
And weve got an idea were going to work on.
And Edgar and Simon are going to get to work on the third Cornetto.
SP:I say fall because they saw fall when they call me.
Were going to go in the fall.
NF:He means autumn.
Nick and Simon, thank you very much!
Paul is out on DVD and Blu-ray today.
