Ready for ShockYa’s first live blog of San Diego Comic Con 2013? We’re in Hall H for the “World’s End” panel and we’ll be bringing you all the details as the event unfolds. Be sure to keep refreshing your page to ensure you’re getting the latest as we post it.
10:10 – Here we go. They just rolled the trailer and now Chris Hardwick is taking the stage to moderate the panel.
10:12 – Now they’re screening this featurette on the Cornetto trilogy so the entire audience is all caught up.
10:15 – Here comes the gang – Edgar Wright, Nick Frost, and Simon Pegg!
10:16 – Chris likens the film to “Dr. Who.” Wright says if you’d dig a movie where Dr. Who was hammered, “The World’s End” is for you. Pegg calls Gary the villain of the film as much as he’s the hero. “There’s a dark sort of truth to him … that explains his dickishness somewhat.”
10:18 – Pegg points out that they were more like their characters when they did “Shaun of the Dead.”
10:20 – Wright recalls having a Cornetto ice cream once. After writing it into the first film, they got some for free, so he jokes that they kept writing it in to get more free ice cream.
10:21 – “When we made Shaun of the dead, we were just lucky to make a film …” Wright recalls their first Comic Con appearance and how that encouraged the team to continue on.
10:23 – Hardwick points out that one of the reasons the films work so well is because they’re friends. Pegg talks about going off to do other films and then coming back to this family “We all came back together and it was like putting on a pair of comfortable slippers or something. Pegg and Frost have been friends for 20 years.
10:24 – Will there be more films beyond the trilogy? Pegg explains that they set a criteria for these three films, but “the next thing we do together won’t have to abide by that,” and, “We want this to be a solid little trilogy.”
10:25 – What could be next? Wright jokes about doing an “Antman” spin-off.
10:26 – They’re discussing the marketing campaign and potential spoilers. Hardwick notes that there’s loads in the film that isn’t in the trailer. Pegg points out that that’s just the nature of marketing. You have to include certain things even though the ideal moviegoing experience is going into one knowing nothing about it.
10:28 – Here come the fan questions. First one is the notorious “Ender’s Game” guy. The joke continues and he starts by asking another “Ender’s Game” question at the wrong panel. But more seriously, he asks if they could make movies faster so he didn’t have to wait so long. “It’s nice to wait and then you won’t get bored with seeing us do the same thing all the time,” Frost points out.
10:30 – Who do you find hilarious? Pegg says, “We’ve been watching a lot of The Lonely Island clips.” Wright goes for “Parks & Recreations” and Louis C.K.. He also says he watched something called “The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler” on the way to San Diego. Frost says, “I like Simon.”
10:33 – How often do you stick to the script? Frost says, “Anything we find in rehearsal that’s funny …” usually goes into the shooting script. He adds that there often isn’t time for improvisation. “There’s no time for it!” Pegg notes that it’s important to come to set with a script that’s nailed down. “When we get to set, there’s no time for F-ing around.” He also says that they’re “very anal” so they’re always hyper concerned about continuity.
10:36 – It’s the Button Lady! She’s wearing this massive cape of buttons. There’s a lot of poking fun about buttons and she’s a little overwhelmed. Everyone’s having fun with it, but she doesn’t seem amused. Finally she says, “My question is for none of you on stage.” Someone on the panel says, “F*ck you, Buttons.” Hardwick jokes that next year Button Lady will have her own Hall H panel.
10:38 – Wright says that Martin Freeman shot for two months, left for New Zealand, and then came back to set the next day to finish his scenes. Wright calls him “a trooper.”
10:40 – Can we turn the movie into a drinking game? Someone says, “If you want to die yeah,” Wright says, “Take a drink every time one of the characters takes a drink.”
10:41 – What has been the most challenging scene for each one of you? Wright calls the film challenging because of all the action scene. He adds, “We really tried to push ourselves with the fight scenes.” Pegg says they created “Pub Fu.” He also says he broke his hand filming. Wright recalls seeing Pegg wincing, but when he asked if he was OK to continue filming, he just said yes. Pegg calls one of the hardest scenes he’s ever shot the part when he shoots his mom in “Shaun of the Dead.”
10:45 – Wright says they shot for three months. “It was pretty tough.”
10:47 – What’s your favorite role so far? Wright says all of his movies are hard to make and he couldn’t pick. Pegg picks Gary. “I had an enormous fun time playing Gary King,” because he isn’t immediately likable. He calls playing Gary his most “personal” experience in a movie. Frost jumps in, “I enjoyed being Ed in Shaun of the Dead …” but it wasn’t a stretch. He calls his character in “The World’s End” more challenging. “It’s nice to play someone smart and angry for once.” Frost’s action nickname is “The Pink Hulk.”
10:49 – Will you ever revisit “Spaced?” Wright says probably not because it’s about the joys of being young. Pegg worries that by doing it again, he worries they’d retroactively spoil what they did. “It could sully the memory of what we did.”
10:51 – They’re not showing a clip because they want us to go in cold, but Mike Relm, a mashup artist, made something that they’re playing -it’s basically a remix of all three films. Very impressive. Worth checking out if/when they post it online.
10:56 – Do you feel like people who aren’t British are getting everything? Wright says, “We just like to teach you Americans new English swearwords.”
10:57 – Wright points out that it’s always great watching a film back for the first time. They shot “World’s End” in chronological order which helped because the characters get increasingly hammered as the film goes on.
10:58 – Button Lady is back! Frost suggests that she might be bullet proof … unless you hit her in between the buttons.
10:59 – What beers would you like to have during a pub crawl? Wright says, imagine shooting in bars all day. You just don’t want a beer so he picks red wine.
11:00 – Do you have tips for aspiring filmmakers? Wright says you have more of a chance to get your work seen now than ever. “Don’t be put off if the first short sucks.” He says many people get frustrated and give up. “Never give up!” Hardwick says, “Ignore YouTube comments. They’re poisonous!” He also jokes and explains the difference between “your” and “you’re” because apparently people tell him – “your” terrible.
11:04 – A girl in a “Spaced” t-shirt has a hard time spitting out her question. The panel is pretty sweet about it. The audience awes. They ask her name, tell her they love her and insist, “Never give up.”
11:05 – And that’s a wrap on “The World’s End!” ShockYa will be back in Hall H for the Sony & Screen Gems panel later this afternoon.