Edgar Wright

Infobox Actor
name = Edgar Wright


imagesize =
caption = Edgar Wright at Comic-Con 2008 in San Diego
birthdate = birth date and age|1974|4|18|df=y
birthplace = Poole, Dorset)
deathdate =
deathplace =
birthname = Edgar Howard Wright Jr.
othername =
occupation = Film & television director
spouse =
children =
parents =
website =
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Edgar Wright (born 18 April 1974 in Poole, Dorset) is an English film and television director. He is most famous for his work with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost on the films "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" and TV series "Spaced".

Biography

Wright started directing his own films at the age of 14 when he was at The Blue School, Wells, Somerset (his home county). At the age of 20 he made a spoof western, "A Fistful of Fingers", which was picked up for a limited theatrical release and broadcast on the British satellite TV channel Sky Movies. He then directed a number of television comedy programmes for the UK's Paramount Comedy channel and the BBC, including "Sir Bernard's Stately Homes" and "Asylum", during the production of which he met writer-actors Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes. In 1999 he joined Pegg and Hynes to create "Spaced" for Channel 4. Wright gave "Spaced" an unusual look for the sitcom genre, with dramatic camera angles and movement borrowed from the visual language of science fiction and horror films. Instead of shying away from these influences Wright makes an active effort to show his referencing, adding a 'Homage-O-Meter' to all of his releases, a device that displays each directorial nod he has made during shooting. In 2002, he made appearances as a scientist and a technician named Eddie Yorque during both series of "Look Around You", a BBC programme created by a member of the "Spaced" cast, Peter Serafinowicz. He also made a brief appearance in "Spaced", in which he can be seen, along with other creators of the series, lying asleep in Daisy Steiner's squat as she prepares to leave for her new house.

The critical success of "Spaced" paved the way for Wright and Pegg to move to the big screen with "Shaun of the Dead", a zombie comedy which mixed a "Brit flick" romantic comedy style with homages to the horror classics of George A. Romero and Sam Raimi.

The pair wrote a comedy action thriller, "Hot Fuzz". Production started in March 2006 and the film was released in February 2007 in the UK and April 2007 in the US. It revolves around Pegg's character, Nicholas Angel, a police officer who is transferred from London to rural Gloucestershire, where grisly events soon take place.

Wright has directed two videos for his ex-girlfriend Charlotte Hatherley: "Summer" and "Bastardo".

Wright directed a fake trailer insert for Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's "Grindhouse". Called "Don't", it was a plotless trailer that mocked horror clichés, with lines such as, "If you... are thinking... of going... into... this... house... DON'T!"

Wright has a brother, Oscar, who is a comic book artist, contributing storyboards, conceptual art and promotional pictures for Edgar's films. For example he designed comic book interpretations of the characters of "Shaun of the Dead" and created the animation for the flickbook PC Danny Butterman uses in "Hot Fuzz", as well as the art for the "Plot Holes" features on both the "Hot Fuzz" and "Shaun of the Dead" DVD releases. Oscar also was on set for the "Hot Fuzz" poster shoot to help Edgar out with the design. Oscar also directed the Charlotte Hatherley video for "Behave".

Wright cites Jon Spencer Blues Explosion as his favourite band. Several Blues Explosion songs feature in Wright's film "Hot Fuzz", including one written specifically for the film.

elected works

Films (as director/writer)

*"Ant-Man" (TBA)
*"Them" (TBA)
*"The World's End" (TBA)
*"Baby Driver" (TBA)
*"Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" (TBA)
*"Hot Fuzz" (2007)
*"Don't" (Fake Trailer) (2007)
*"Shaun of the Dead" (2004)
*"A Fistful of Fingers" (1994)
*"Dead Right" (1993)

Films (as actor)

*"Son of Rambow" (2007)
*"Hot Fuzz" (2007)
*"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (2005)
*"Land of the Dead" (2005)
*"Shaun of the Dead" (2004)

Television (as actor)

*"Look Around You" (2002-2005)
*"Spaced" (1999-2001)

Television (as director)

*"Spaced" (1999, 2001)
*"Is It Bill Bailey?" (1998)
*"Sir Bernard's Stately Homes" (1998)
*Mash and Peas (1996-1997)
*"Asylum" (1996)

Upcoming projects

Edgar Wright has been developing "Ant-Man", a live-action film about the superhero, since summer of 2006. He also has numerous projects in development, including "Them", "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World", "Baby Driver", and "The World's End", the final entry in the "Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy".

External links

*
* [http://www.2000adreview.co.uk/features/interviews/2004/wright/wright.shtml 2004 interview with 2000ADReview]
* [http://www.g-wie-gorilla.de/content/view/479/18/ Edgar Wright on "Hot Fuzz"]