In a series of recent interviews promoting his latest film, Run Fatboy Run, Simon Pegg also talked more about his (now complete) time on Star Trek. The new Scotty again expressed his intent to honor (but not imitate) James Doohan. Pegg also revealed who visited him on set, what he was not able to pinch from the set and who is doing his Scottish accent coaching. He also again showed off his inner geek.
Pegg tells Vancouver’s Straight.com that it was his intention to honor Doohan and not imitate him.
I didn’t want to do an impression of James Doohan because it would seem that it was me just making fun of the character. I think those guys created some of the most significant characters in contemporary science fiction and this film is in deference to that. I didn’t want to just go of and pretend to be James Doohan. I wanted to be Scotty in his (Doohan’s) honour.
Pegg also emphasized the important role his wife playing in his performance.
My wife is Scottish and I would hope that some constant proximity to a Scot would enable me to play the part. She was on-set a lot and I would come off-set and say, ‘Did that sound all right?’ She was the yardstick and she wanted me to play a west Scotland character rather than one from eastern Scotland because she is from Glasgow.
Hot Fuzz Reunion on the 1701 + One Ring to geek them all
Pegg tells MTV.com of another set visit he had. His friends and frequent collaborators Nick Frost and Edgar Wright came to see him when he was on the set of the Enterprise bridge. Pegg admitted to feeling “pretty self-conscious” when they dropped by. The self-described geek also revealed a few items used in the film which he wanted to keep as souvenirs.
I would have loved to have taken a phaser or a tricorder or even my Starfleet Academy ring but sadly they hold onto that.
Pegg’s Geek Cred
And if you needed any more proof of Pegg’s geek cred, here are a few quotes from another recent story. Nick Frost tells The New York Times that his relationship with Pegg began with a Star Wars reference during a dinner:
[Simon] made the noise of a little droid in ‘Star Wars.’ It was such a little specific thing, and I’d never heard anyone else do that before. It was like he was talking my language. We both understood each other perfectly.
The Times also described Pegg and Frost’s next project, called Paul:
[Paul is] about a pair of geeky British friends (naturally) who travel to a comic-book convention on the West Coast; unlike their other films, this one has Mr. Frost as the dominant one and Mr. Pegg as the sidekick.
Pegg even believes in life on Mars, it seems. He tells The Guardian:
I’ve been reading The God Delusion, and I love [Richard] Dawkins’ idea that, given the sheer amount of galaxies out there, even if the chances of there being life on a planet is a billion to one, that means there are still over a billion planets out there with life on.
For even more Pegg, read yet another interview at ComingSoon.
Run, Fat Boy, Run starring Simon Pegg opens nationwide this Friday
Sounds cool…gotta love a fellow geek.
First?
Pegg sounds like he really had a ball working on Trek. I’m glad to see that he wears his fandom on his sleeve.
Star Feelt Academy ring?? Anybody got an Idea what this could be? I have never heard of this before in Star Trek
sorry.. Star FLEET Academy
Pegg is going to rock out at cons with the fans. Love the story about the droid noise.
To succeed in projects one must have fun. That’s why Pegg’s comedies are so beautiful to watch: seems like that Frost, Pegg and the crew are really having fun.
The same stands for Trek. No matter how Star Trek is iconic and serious and deep: the actors must have fun.
Starfleet academy magic rings when the crew bring them together they gain super powers lol
A ring? Scotty is secretly the Green Lantern?
@5… easy on the Rechtschreibung, here, buddy. Being that picky they could think you are a german!
And regarding the rings, as far as I remember, Bones always sported his academy ring…
Pegg and Frost, I just adore these guys… most of the maxi singles they threw at them zombies in Shaun I own myself ;))
@10 I hope they don’t care :-)
Hmmm….that’s the second reference to a “ring” that’s come out recently. Someone who was at the toy fair in the UK mentioned over at TrekBBS that one of the products was “Spock’s ring,” and now Scotty has one….
You know, I think #8 is right!
Can you imagine Simon at a convention? It would be a blast! It’s great to know that the Trek movie has attracted such a friendly presence. I can’t wait to see him interact with fans.
If only Pine had said it this way he’d have come under a lot less fire…
Pegg, Wright and Frost on the bridge of the Enterprise? The sheer awesomeness alone is enough to make my head explode.
My guess is it was the mouse droid. I do that little song-type noise sometimes.
Yes, all the bridge crew have rings… and when they join them up it creates a giant, fiery, battle robot. Then they go back in time.
Being from the East of Scotland, and knowing many ‘Glaswegians’ from the West of Scotland personally, I am curious to see just WHAT kind of ‘Glasgow’ accent Simon’s wife ‘okays’…as there are a few variations…
I hope we don’t end up with something sounding like ‘Spud’ from ‘Trainspotting’ after all…
4 I think that means that Scotty’s a Starfleet Academy graduate.
or did scotty win it in a barfight or card game or something?
both kinda sound equally possible to me. :P
I’m shocked (or skim read badly!) nobody has mentioned the accent not being east coast aberdeen!!
Too bad about the God Delusion thing, the only delusion involved is that there is not one.
I don’t like the choice of Pegg as Scotty. Nothing personal against him, but I could easily see him playing Scotty as comic relief.
It would be my guess that these rings would be another marketing device , like Spock’s IDIC from the 60’s. Imagine it , Spock, Scotty, Bones, Sulu,and Chekov call off the emblems on their rings and summon Captain “Planet” Kirk!
25.
Earth, wind, fire, hair piece! By your powers combined, I am Captain Kirk!
According to lore, J. J. Adams has the master ring:
Three Rings for the producers under the sky,
Seven for the writers in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to do sequels,
One for the director on his dark throne,
In the land of Hollywood where the shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them,
In the land of Hollywood where the shadows lie.
I bought my academy class ring a couple of years ago at The Star Trek Experience. You can still get them on eBay.
http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/WrestlingCentral/Ring-GoldRed.jpg
Pegg has revealed that there will be phasers and tricorders in the movie. Why weren’t these spoilers flagged?
Ring and Ring? What is ring??? I know no such thing as a ring!
The coolest trinket I picked up at the Star Trek event in Long Beach was a silver Star Fleet Academy ring. They had them for both men and women (and Vulcans too) and they look great.
#29 Brian
I’d have been shocked if ‘phasers’ and ‘tricorders’ WEREN’T in this supposedly ‘TOS’-era Movie…so not really ‘spoilers’.
What I REALLY want to know is…is their production design somewhat the same as the ‘classic’ ones ?
Re: #27 – Decker’s Stubble, I thank you for what will undoubtedly be the single best laugh I’ll have all day; maybe all week!
#8 and #22
Great interview! However, I was under the impression that Scotty was from Aberdeen not Glasgow. Maybe I was mistaken.
Could Pegg be any more awesome? This guy rocks!
If Pegg reads and believes Richard Dawkins’ “The God Delusion” (an astonishing rant that is brazen in its ignorance of Christianity and Judaism, filled with strawman arguments and some amazing, almost cartoonish concepts of his object of contempt) he will believe in anything.
Except God.
I wonder if McCoy will have his pinky ring?
Decker’s Stubble#27- LOL! Great cadence, but now you’re treading on Harry’s ground… although if both of you hooked up to do a trilogy it would win at least a couple awards.
#36… true, it’s amazing to me so much energy and effort is expended at trying to debunk something they don’t believe in.
#36 US Taxpayer Dude
Surely SOME ‘apples and oranges’ opinions are better left off a Star Trek site? I might not like him as ‘Scotty’, but it doesn’t make him a bad ‘un.
Oh, and I have it under good authority that they are flight rings from the Legion.
I like this guy, and from watching him in Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the dead I have no doubts he will do a great job.
I know nothing of Scottish accents, but I hope Pegg’s at least sounds somewhat similar to Doohan’s. Like I said, I don’t know enough about the different regions of Scotland, but I do know that if Picard is ever recast, I’d hate to hear the character played with a Cockney or Liverpool accent.
Chris Pine should take a cue from this guy’s approach:
“I didn’t want to do an impression of James Doohan because it would seem that it was me just making fun of the character. I think those guys created some of the most significant characters in contemporary science fiction and this film is in deference to that. I didn’t want to just go of and pretend to be James Doohan. I wanted to be Scotty in his (Doohan’s) honour.”
If Pine had said something similar I’d rest easier.
Since neither is doing an impression of his predecessor, what is the difference?
Pine has said he has great respect for what Shatner brought to Kirk, and told Bill in a letter that he is not going to imitate him. He should not. That is for SNL, Mad TV, and standup comedians. Pine basically said the same thing, except that he added his inspiration from Harrison Ford’s portrayals of action heroes.
I think you should rest easy, if for no other reason, then because whether we like their performances or not, you and I still have our DVD collections.
Interesting tidbit about the Starfleet Academy ring. I don’t think we’ve seen any characters with those before, have we?
I know that jewelry wasn’t allowed on TOS although De Kelley insisted on wearing his wedding ring. Has anyone ever spotted his ring in an episode, or is it hidden like James Doohan’s missing finger. I wonder if Simon Pegg tried to match that trait.
Kirk: Report Mr. Scott!
Pegg: Hey me mukker! Naething muckle ‘hoppenine. Guid cheerio thee nou. Ooot.
Kirk: Whatthedevil???
Gorn: Wanna borrow my universsssal transssslator?
Decloaking . . .
Star Fleet Academy ring! It has the cha-ching of a merchandising tie-in.
We’re all already standing in line.
Denise will you accept this ring as a symbol of our Trek devotion?????
Recloaking.
#42
“If Picard was ever re-cast”? What a disturbing thought!
I suppose there are a few really good contemporary actors around today who could pull it off. Like that guy from the X-Men films. :)
Actually, I’m an amateur actor, in my 30s, and I come from the same place as Stewart, with a very similar way of talking. Maybe I will be the next Picard? :D
The way I see this movie…. our beloved original characters are the real Trek… and the new actors are playing them in a movie based on their adventures.
I can buy it better looking at it that way. Leave me to my fantasy approach.
Wow, he really is one of us. He does the Mouse-Droid sound. This guy just solidified my confidence that at least he will be doing his best. I can’t wait for this movie. For the first time I’m aggravated they moved the movie opening up.