London, 4th February 2010: An award-winning international cast has joined "BURKE & HARE", the new film from legendary director JOHN LANDIS (An American Werewolf in London, Blues Brothers, Michael Jackson's Thriller). Principal photography commenced on 31st January around London, Edinburgh and Ealing Studios with SIMON PEGG (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Star Trek, Spaced), as William Burke and recent BAFTA-nominee ANDY SERKIS (Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, Lord of the Rings, King Kong) as William Hare, the notorious Edinburgh murderers.

ISLA FISHER (Wedding Crashers, Confessions of a Shopaholic) takes on the role of Ginny, an ambitious young actress and the object of Burke's affections and JESSICA HYNES neé Stevenson (Spaced, Son of Rambow, Shaun of the Dead) as Hare's long suffering wife Lucky. The supporting cast consists of the cream of British acting and comedy talent including: Oscar-nominee TOM WILKINSON (The Full Monty, Michael Clayton), TIM CURRY (Rocky Horror Picture Show), RONNIE CORBETT (Extras), REECE SHEARSMITH (League of Gentlemen), DAVID SCHOFIELD (Pirates of the Caribbean), ALLAN CORDUNER (Topsy Turvey), BAFTA Award-winner BILL BAILEY (Nanny McPhee & The Big Bang, Black Books), HUGH BONNEVILLE (Notting Hill), MICHAEL SMILEY (Spaced) and SIR CHRISTOPHER LEE (Lord of the Rings).

According to Landis: "BURKE & HARE is a very black romantic comedy in the classic tradition of the Ealing Studios' Kind Hearts and Coronets and The Ladykillers".

"BURKE & HARE" is a comedic take on the true story of the 1828 Edinburgh body-snatchers William Burke (Simon Pegg) and William Hare (Andy Serkis). These two Irish entrepreneurs discover that a dead body can fetch a hefty price when the demands of the leading medical professors Dr. Knox (Tom Wilkinson) and Dr. Monroe (Tim Curry) reach beyond that of the local supply.

"BURKE & HARE" is produced by Barnaby Thompson (Dorian Gray, St Trinian's 1+2), executive produced by Nigel Green, James Spring, Paul Brett, Tim Smith and is written by Piers Ashworth and Nick Moorcroft (St Trinian's 1+2). Director of Photography is Oscar Nominee John Mathieson (Gladiator), production designer is Simon Elliott (Bleak House), costume designer is Oscar Nominee Deborah Nadoolman (An American Werewolf in London, Trading Places, Raiders of the Lost Ark) and Hair & Make Up design is by Oscar Winner Christine Blundell (Sherlock Holmes, Topsy Turvy).

Entertainment Film Distributors has taken the UK rights to Ealing Studios' latest production. Ealing Studios International are handling worldwide sales.

An Entertainment Film Distributors and Ealing Studios Presentation of a Fragile Film in association with Aegis Film Fund and Prescience.

Congratulations Peggster.net on reaching 5 years old (fifty in website years). Thanks to all you hitters, posters, moderators and lurkers and special reinforced super thanks to Ms. Harmony Carrigan for thinking the whole thing up and executing it with such extraordinary aplomb.

Love and thanks all round.

Simon (Peggster in Chief)

December's A Month of Sundays turns into A Month of Matinees as Simon Pegg hosts the first of four shows presented by British actors or directors.

Writer, comedian and director Simon Pegg launches A Month of Matinees with two hours of music that's helped to shape his career and personal life. Simon takes us back to the days of being a Goth, which he decided wasn't for him following a painful wardrobe malfunction. We hear of scrapes with Jay Z, Coldplay's Chris Martin walking around with his trousers down and attacking Zombies with limited edition vinyl. The Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz star gives us an insight into the thinking process behind these scripts and where he gets his inspiration from. And yes Trekky fans, Simon tells us what it's like to operate the Starship Enterprise.

The other presenters for A Month of Matinees are Martin Freeman (13th Dec), Edgar Wright (20th Dec) and Bill Nighy (27th Dec).

Source: BBC Radio

Just after I wrote this Edgar sent me the link to his own lovely tribute to the great man. Head on over to edgarwrighthere.com to read it. It's no surprise that we echo each other's sentiments entirely and Edgar has put together a beautifully thoughtful piece, which really sums up our feelings for Edward. I wanted to post my own thoughts nonetheless, since they are personal to me and my affection for the great man is boundless.



Edward Woodward was in my opinion, one of the country's finest actors, a true luminary of the British stage and screen, whom I was lucky enough to get to know in 2006 during production on Hot Fuzz. Whilst hatching our 'straight cop in a crooked world' tale, Edgar Wright and myself had always hoped to secure the services of Mr. Woodward, not least because our story was in no small way a tribute to the inspired 1973 horror/mystery/quasi musical, The Wicker Man in which Edward starred as the ultra pious, Sergeant Howie. A similarity he was quick to point out on his first day in the rehearsal room. I have a very clear memory of Edward's arrival. He was immaculately turned out (as always, it transpired), leaning on his walking stick having negotiated a flight of stairs, somewhat out of puff. Edgar and myself stood up, as one does when a superior enters the room, to receive him with barely disguised geekish warmth, to which he responded with impeccable courtesy, although I'm sure internally, he was reserving his judgement. After all, who were we? A pair of spotty herberts, whose only distinction from the legion of fans he must have encountered over the years, was that we had written a film he had agreed to be in. We chatted for a while, partly to allow Edward to get his breath back, partly because Edgar didn't want to immediately assume the role of authoritarian; mainly because we just wanted to get to know him. It became apparent very quickly that Edward was great company. A true raconteur with a seemingly endless supply of stories from his eventful life and illustrious career. From tales of working with Olivier to meeting the mafia on the set of The Equalizer to an hilariously improbable encounter with another Edward Woodward deep in the Australian outback. We realised quickly that at least part of each rehearsal day should be given over to what we referred to as 'anecdote time' , not least when Edward was joined by the likes of Billie Whitelaw and Timothy Dalton. It was a genuine treat for myself and Edgar to sit back and watch this hugely talented and experienced actor, tell us of his experiences in a world we had ourselves, barely ventured into.

On set, Edward was the absolute model of professionalism. Gregarious, focused and utterly dedicated to giving the best performance he could. The fact that this was an outright, often silly comedy did not in anyway undermine Edward's commitment to the role of Tom Weaver, the Neighborhood Watch Alliance's chief civilian liaison to the Sandford Police Service. It was enormous fun just to watch him bring the character to life. Sometimes as an actor, it's hard to stay in character when you are performing alongside people for whom you have such respect. It's almost too exciting, you want to laugh, take stock, proffer a hug. This was definitely the case with Edward.

My last memory of this kind and endlessly likable man is a very happy one. At a small get together in central London to celebrate the completion of the movie, Edgar and myself had given our heartfelt thanks to the assembled cast, when Edward stood up unannounced and proceeded to entertain the room for a good five minutes, with jokes and sweet sentiments about his time on the film, that left us genuinely touched and beaming with pride. This was after all Edward Woodward; Sergeant Howie, 'Breaker' Morant, David Callan, The Equalizer. It's one thing to meet your heroes, it's another find them the person you hoped they would be. Edward was definitely one such hero.

Simon Pegg 16/11/09