January 25, 2010 - Shaun of the Dead

After seeing the first trailer for Shaun of the Dead, I immediately went online to find out everything I could about the guys who made it. I ended up blind ordering their TV series SPACED from Amazon in the UK. We couldn't wait to get our hands on a copy of Shaun to host a special pre-US release party. We did, shortly before we were able to order the official R2 DVD of the film, and it was a huge hit. Like Young Frankenstein, the film was not only incredibly funny, but extremely reverent to the  George A. Romero films that had inspired it - most obviously Dawn of the Dead.

2004 was also the first year Peter and I decided to give the San Diego Comic Con a whirl, and as luck would have it, Shaun of the Dead was getting two US premiere screenings during the event. Through a series of fortunate events, I was able to get tickets to the screenings on both Friday and Saturday nights. On Friday night, Pete and I were invited to sit in those roped off areas (thanks Chris!) that tend to piss the rest of us off when you go to a preview screening and have to sit in bad seats while the premium seats remain empty.

After the Saturday screening, I had the opportunity to meet director/writer Edgar Wright and writer/star Simon Pegg. These were very cool guys who were obviously very excited about the opportunities their little film was offering them - I'd dare say they were among the hottest celebrities at the Con that year. I was able to get pictures with each of them - thanks to Greg Nicotero of KNB for snapping a pic of Edgar and I. Oddly enough, when we returned to San Diego two years later, Edgar was back promoting Hot Fuzz, this time with Nick Frost in tow, and once again, Greg Nicotero was nice enough to snap the following pic (the taking of which can be seen in one of the Hot Fuzz podcasts!).

If you haven't seen it, you're missing out on the funniest film of the last 10 years, and one of my picks for the top ten comedies of all time. And if you have seen it, you already know that it holds up to repeat viewings. We'll see you all on Monday the 25th, as we kick off the mini-zombie marathon in the final week of the 40/40 series.