The people behind the American-set, British-made black comedy tell us what happens when the stars of 'Spaced' and 'Friends' collide.
The people behind the American-set, British-made black comedy tell us what happens when the stars of 'Spaced' and 'Friends' collide.
Imagine Richard Pryor turning up in a Carry On film. Or Del Boy and Rodney guest hosting 'Saturday Night Live'. For all the comic connections between the UK and the US, certain overlaps are just too unlikely. So where does that leave a combination of David Schwimmer from twinkly TV global phenomenon 'Friends' and our own cult hero Simon Pegg from 'Spaced' and Shaun Of The Dead? The duo have teamed up for black comedy Big Nothing, a small-town Midwest-set crime caper that happens to have been shot in, er, Wales. And the Isle of Man.
"I thought they would be a good pair because they come from very different backgrounds, cultural backgrounds, type of humour," explains the film's young French director Jean-Baptiste Andrea. "I thought it would be interesting to put both of them into unknown territory, as opposed to just doing their own thing the way they do normally."
"Back in the day, 'Spaced' used to be on after 'Friends' [on Channel 4] and you couldn't get two more different shows," agrees Pegg. "Culturally speaking, for a very few geeky types like me, it's odd to see us in the same movie. That said, I guess working in all types of comedy, you're still doing comedy and the rules of timing and what have you still apply, so I don't know if it makes that much of a difference."
In Big Nothing, Schwimmer's struggling writer Charlie finds himself forced to take a menial call centre job, only to be enticed by his colleague Gus (Pegg) into a "foolproof" blackmailing scheme that only proves how foolish the pair are. Before you can say "Fargo", they're embroiled in an escalating case of blackmail, mistaken identity and multiple murder.
"It's all subconscious influence, I guess," says Andrea. "The Coen brothers have this very unique tone, although we tried to push it a little bit more towards comedy and towards the dark towards the end, but not in a conscious style of 'Let's write a Fargo-style script'."
Next page • "What other job allows you to put an axe through the head of Tom Cruise's ex-wife?"
Your Comments
Post your comment
Please note: In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in to Channel 4:
Sign In Here or Register Here
Comments closed
Comments are closed at the present time
Comments
Thank you for your comment!
Your message will be reviewed and the best ones will be published below.
If you intended to make an official comment to Channel 4 please contact us.