Trivia / Shaun of the Dead

• Actor-Inspired Element: During rehearsals, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg would improvise things that later got added to the script.
• Awesome, Dear Boy:
  • Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg came up with the film after having so much fun doing a zombie sequence in an episode of Spaced and thinking a zombie film would be fun and easy to do.
  Simon Pegg: "We were powered by naivete in those days."
  • Kate Ashfield likewise signed on because of how "off the wall" the script was, expecting it to be a cult classic.
• Breakthrough Hit: For Edgar Wright.
• Completely Different Title:
  • In Russia, the film was renamed since the pun couldn't really be translated. What doesn't make sense is that they titled it A Zombie Named Shaun, since Shaun is one of the few characters not to become a zombie.
  • In Spain, the film was inexplicably released as "Zombies Party" (in English). To make it worse, the subtitle "A romantic comedy... with zombies" was changed to the very lame "A night... of death". Even though most of the film takes place during the day.
  • In Italy, while Shaun was omitted from the title, the film was released as L'alba dei morti dementi ("Dawn of the Demented Dead") maintaining the reference to Dawn of the Dead and being a pun on "morti viventi", the living dead.
  • In Latin America, due to the original title being impossible to translate accurately, the film was renamed "Dead by Laughter", even though the film isn't entirely a comedy.
• Creator-Chosen Casting: Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg wrote the role of Ed especially for Nick Frost.
• The Danza: Peter Serafinowicz as Pete.
  • Lampshaded in the DVD's outakes of the scene where Shaun and Ed call out for Pete, after they learn that being bitten by a zombie turns you into another - Ed calls Pete 'Peter Serafinowicz'.
• Disabled Character, Disabled Actor: Amputees were used for several of the zombies, most notably a one-armed bridegroom, and a legless zombie Shaun and Ed accidentally run over.
• DVD Commentary: The DVD features numerous commentaries, including one with zombies. In fact, Edgar Wright himself states on the Director's Commentary that his aim is to have "More commentary tracks than The Lord of the Rings". If you include Spaced, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and Baby Driver, he's pretty much done this.
• Method Acting: Nick Frost (Ed) allegedly kept his genitals shaved during filming to create an actual desire to scratch them that the character shows.
• No Budget: The entire movie was made on a budget of 4 million pounds (about 6 million dollars at the time).
• Orphaned Reference: Multiple to Shaun's abandoned lifelong dream of becoming a DJ. These include his DJ pyjama top, his vinyl collection, a poster referring to him as Shaun "Smiley" Riley, and his DJ skills while partying with Ed. However, any direct reference in the dialogue was cut as it became unnecessary to establish Shaun's present status as a downbeat loser.
• Promoted Fanboy: Many of the zombie extras are fans of Spaced. They were recruited through the Spaced Out fan website to be in the film.
• Real-Life Relative: Lucy Davis encouraged her mom Hazel to turn out as a Zombie extra. You have to look swiftly and know exactly where, but you can spot Hazel. Hazel is perhaps better known for her lifelong marriage to comedic legend Jasper Carrott.
• So My Kids Can Watch: Sort of. Penelope Wilton had a teenage daughter at the time and remarks that her "street cred went up" because she turned into a zombie.
• Stillborn Franchise: Pegg and Wright considered a sequel titled From Dusk Till Shaun that would replace zombies with another monster (likely vampires, given the title), but decided against it as they were pleased with the first film as a stand-alone product, and thought too many characters died to continue the story.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The original script called for Shaun to beat Mary and the hulking zombie with a girl's bicycle.
  • The record smashing scene where they keep Prince's Purple Rain and Sign o' the Times and throw the Batman soundtrack was originally written with David Bowie in mind (with Shaun and Ed keeping Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust and throwing the Labyrinth soundtrack). They ultimately went with Prince because they thought it was funnier.
    • Additionally, Pegg and Wright were required to contact the artists to get permission to include their album covers in the scene. Only Sade and New Order gave the filmmakers permission, while Mark Knopfler, Prince, and The Stone Roses did not respond (meaning that their album covers are not actually shown on camera).
  • Had they been unable to get the rights to Don't Stop Me Now, the iconic fight scene would have been set to Boney M.'s "Rasputin".
  • David Walliams was considered for David.
  • Helen Mirren was offered the role of Barbara. She declined, saying that she wanted to play Ed, because he had the funniest lines.
  • Shaun and Ed were going to have a double Oh, Crap! shouting "Pete!" when remembering he'd talked about being bitten the night before. Pegg and Frost proved to be completely unable to do it without cracking up, so instead the scene cuts to Shaun hesitantly calling for Pete.
• Writer Revolt: The long shot of Shaun walking to the shop was disliked by the film's cinematographer, who felt as scripted it was boring and likely to be cut. Edgar Wright then opted to add even more detail into it, determined to make a shot that was "so amazing it was impossible to cut it."
• Write What You Know: Shaun and Ed's friendship is based on Simon Pegg's and Nick Frost's when they shared a flat together.

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