Shaun of the Dead, 2004, Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield
Shaun of the Dead is a zombie-themed romantic comedy (or "rom zom com" as it dubs itself), zombie comedy released in 2004. It was written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, directed by Edgar Wright, and stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. It was a critical and commercial success in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
The plot focuses on Shaun, an unmotivated young man who is attempting to get some kind of focus in his life as he reconciles with his ex-girlfriend and settles his various issues with his mother and stepfather. At the same time he has to cope with an apocalyptic uprising of zombies that is causing society to collapse.
Shaun of the Dead was released on April 9, 2004 in the United Kingdom and September 24, 2004 in the United States.
The film proved both a commercial and critical success. In its opening weekend in the U.S., Shaun earned $3.3M, taking 8th place at the box office despite a limited release to only 607 theatres (compared to the usual 2000-3000 for other top 10 entries). In the UK it took in £1.6M at 307 cinemas on its opening weekend and netted £6.4M by mid-May. The film has earned $30 million worldwide in box office receipts since its release.
Critical reaction was largely positive, with the movie receiving a score of 89% at the comparative review website Rotten Tomatoes (with a Cream Of The Crop score of 94%) and a score of 76 out of 100 at Metacritic. In 2004 the magazine Total Film named Shaun of the Dead the 49th greatest British film of all time. In 2005, it was rated as the 3rd greatest comedy film of all time in a Channel 4 poll. Horror novelist Stephen King described the movie as "...a '10' on the fun meter and destined to be a cult classic..." . With positive reviews, the film has acquired a certain cult following among audiences, especially those who were fans of Pegg and Wright's work before the film was released.
Pegg and Wright also scripted a one-off tie-in comic strip for the British comic magazine 2000AD entitled "There's Something About Mary". Set the day before the zombie outbreak as depicted in the film, the strip follows and expands on the character of Mary, the first zombie whom Shaun and Ed encounter (discounting the shadowy figure they were unaware was a zombie, the previous night) and details how she became a zombie. It features expanded appearances from many of the minor or background characters who appear in the film. The strip was made available on the DVD release of Shaun.
George A. Romero was so impressed with Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's work that he asked them to appear in cameo roles in Land of the Dead, the fourth part of his "Dead" series. Pegg and Wright insisted on being zombies rather than the slightly more noticeable roles that were originally offered (as revealed in a DVD interview).
In 2006, the National Entertainment Collectibles Association announced that they would be producing action figures based on the film as part of their Cult Classics line that features fan favorite characters from various genre films.
Upper Deck Entertainment released a card for the popular World of Warcraft Trading Card Game in 2007, an ally named "Shawn of the Dead" , with the power of bringing back allies from the enemy graveyard.Wikipedia
