Shaun of the Dead holds a special place in the pantheon of classic zombie horror movies, a spoof on the horror genre that is as funny as it is genuinely brutal. The spoof, known for its British humor and wit, was one of the many reasons for the film's success. However, the film's star, Simon Pegg, recently shared that while they never changed their true vision for the movie, they altered one joke to better appeal to American audiences.

Shaun of the Dead was the first film in what became known as the Cornetto trilogy, three comedy films directed by Edgar Wright which included Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World's End. All three films starred Pegg and Nick Frost, who have been longtime collaborators of Wright's since starring in his hilarious sitcom, Spaced. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Pegg was asked how Pegg and company managed to maintain the film's British charm and wit, while still appealing to other markets.

"It was a vindication of our intentions, which was to make a film that was exactly that: very, very British," Pegg said. "We didn’t make any concessions to sort of transatlantic-ism. A lot of the British rom-coms would do that. I remember watching Notting Hill, which is a film which I absolutely love, by the way. It’s such a great movie. But it starts out — aside from all the whiteness of Notting Hill, which was a bit embarrassing — but the first scene, it winds up on a stained glass window of Beavis and Butt-Head."

"We didn’t make any concessions to sort of transatlantic-ism. A lot of the British rom-coms would do that."

The classic horror comedy never veered from being British-centric, but Pegg mentions that they changed a joke in the movie that may have been confusing to American audiences. "We wanted to make a film that was culturally specific. We made one concession. … We never even thought that it would get a release in America," Pegg said. "But I remember talking to Edgar Wright in the writing room, and it was the scene when Ed (Nick Frost) and Shaun [Pegg] discover Mary (Nicola Cunningham) in the garden — the first zombie they encounter. And she turns around, and you expect Shaun to say, 'Oh my God, it’s a zombie.' And Shaun says, 'Oh, she’s so drunk.'”

Pegg would further elaborate on changing the joke, saying, "Initially, in the script it said, 'Oh my God, she’s pissed.' And in America, pissed means annoyed. I remember saying, 'You know what, if people see this in America, they’re not going to get that joke, and the joke is paramount to Edgar and I.' To avoid confusion, Pegg and Wright changed the word "pissed" to "drunk" so that the joke would land better for American audiences.

Will Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg Work Together Again?

Wright and Pegg haven't collaborated since the last film in the Cornetto trilogy, The World's End. The hilarious alien invasion movie marked the end of an era between the two, though both are enjoying very successful careers doing other projects. Pegg has become a mainstay in the Mission Impossible movies, as well as playing Scotty in the Star Trek films. Wright has branched out into other genres, such as his latest film, Last Night in Soho, a mystery thriller starring Anya Taylor-Joy.

Though both are enjoying successful careers apart from one another, fans would surely be excited for a reunion of some sort. Pegg said while the two are busy with other projects, they are by no means done collaborating, it just depends on when the time is right. "There’s something always in the works with Edgar and I. Since Shaun of the Dead, our lives have changed dramatically. We’re both busy into the distant future," Pegg said. "The biggest challenge that we have right now is finding a moment to get together and spend six, seven weeks, to get our first draft out and come up with the idea. But we’re constantly looking for that. Edgar came over to my house last year and stayed for the week, and we just sort of talked about films and what we want to do next. We just need the time to do it. So it really is a question of when, not if."

Whether a future project would be similar to their work in the past remains unclear, but their partnership has always created magic, and it would be a joy to see them work together again.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter