UPDATED: Simon Pegg is out promoting his new movie, How To Lose Friends and Alienate People, and of course he is still talking Scotty. In one new interview he makes it clear that Star Trek is no parody, but in another he has a laugh about the secrecy and even demonstrates his Scotty (well not really). More details and video below.
Pegg Serious About Trek
It has been reported that Simon Pegg supplies much of the comic relief in the new Star Trek, but the geek-friendly actor makes it clear that the film is no parody, telling Canoe Jam:
It was great, it was really incredibly exciting. We all felt we were part of something rather special, dealing with hallowed characters and an amazing legacy and felt a responsibility to do it justice. It’s a serious entry into the pantheon. I think there was some kind of thought going around that it might be a kind of parody or something, going back to the old characters the way we are. But I mean, Galaxy Quest already did that really well. It doesn’t need to be done again.
Pegg also identifies just where in Scotland we can find his Scotty accent:
I had some leeway, and I made Scotty’s accent Northwestern Scottish — just above Glasgow, but pretty Glaswegian. ….[Chris Doohan] played my assistant on the ship. So I chatted with him a bit about his dad. I wanted to do something he would approve of, to do something in his honour, but not to impersonate him in any way.
Pegg tries not to get ‘sued in the face’
On Friday night Pegg appeared on the BBC talk show Friday Night With Jonathan Ross and right off the bat he was asked about Star Trek. Pegg and Ross joked around about the movie, here are a couple of the more interesting quotes.
On his approach to Scotty:
I tried to approach it like James Doohan did when he got the part. Which is say ‘OK this guy is Scottish — he works in space.’ I didn’t try and do an impression of James Doohan.
Regarding Trek secrecy Pegg said he can’t divulge for good reason
I can’t do that, because I’ll be sued in the face…That’s means Paramount will sue my ass off and stick it where my head should be.
Pegg also (jokingly) ‘did Scotty’
See the video (a bit of Trek at the beginning and Pegg ‘does Scotty’ at the end of Part 2)
Pegg does Batman
Pegg may be reluctant to do Scotty, but he has no problems doing Batman
More from Pegg
Here is another interview with Pegg where he talks about How To Lose Friends and Alienate People along with other upcoming projects, including a little bit of Trek (at around the 6:50 mark)
Thanks to the Nĵósnavélin Network 78 for YouTube video
i wish I wasn’t on my iPhone right now to watch the video.
Sue my ass and stick it where my head is lol.
My regular computer is in my office right now, so all I have is my wife’s laptop. I can’t watch it either…Too bad. I always like what Pegg has to say.
I like the transcript format for these sort of things.
Covered Golf buggies make excellent cloaking devices… Don’t miss the picture at 3:12.
Yeah, the Christian Bale Batman voice is kind of funny. I was afraid to bring it up because I didn’t want to get lynched by the Dark Knight faithful. Thank you Simon for doing it first.
Loved the film. Still, goofy voice.
Im having a ham sandwhich
I think it should be noted that Jonathan Ross is a major Star Trek geek. He knows his stuff. He also presented “Star Trek Night” during the last TOS anniversary.
He IS Scotty!!! I can’t wait to see him on screen! Of all the things I am looking forward to in regards to this movie, it is his portrayal that I am the most excited for.
WOW he did an AMAZING Scotty that was DEFF him!!1!!! :-D
I’m so excited. Only seven more Pegg projects and Trek will come out.
Waiting…waiting…waiting…
I am disappointed that Pegg has gone with the West of Scotland accent. Doohan himself based his accent on the North-East of Scotland around the Aberdeen area based on his experiences while stationed in Britain during WW2. As an Aberdonian myself they are very different accents. By the way Glasgow isn’t North-West at all it’s central Scotland and actually more Southern Scotland than Northern.
“I can’t do that, because I’ll be sued in the face…”
’nuff said!
We don’t have any idea how EF’ING amazing this film will be!
Everyone has kept quiet because they want to stay alive….
…get it?
mega-hit! or fear of lawsuits!
I am so happy right now and it’s only about 8 months to go..,.
#11
Yeah who cares.
The Batman voice was perhaps the ONLY flaw in ‘The Dark Knight’….
It was fine, just a bit…distracting.
“Stop, I have a throat infection!” LOL.
I admire Pegg’s loyalty and professionalism to his duty and contract. He’s a stand up guy. I admire that. And… I understand the need for secrecy. I’ve felt for some time we find out too much and too many little secrets are divulged. However, would it be so wrong and really hurt things if we got just a little taste of his accent? I’ve always thought Doohan was the most underrated of all the original cast. How Pegg “pegs” Scotty is important to me. That’d be a nice tease that would subplant a need for a trailor right now. At least for me.
And I agree on the Batman voice. It was silly and distracting. “Cookie Monster”. That’s funny.
simon is a scream, he’s great in anything… and everything i’ve seen him in is great. hopefully trek wont be the exception.
i wasnt on board right away with him filling monty scott’s red shirt, but now i very much look forward to his go at it.
Go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2yv8aT0UFc for a good Batman/Joker parody.
I agree about Bale’s voice, it sounds like a midget with a lot of mucus.
British TV seems a lot more interesting than here (US). Mainly I’ve just seen clips of talk shows. I’ve never seen the one here with Pegg, but right away I thought the cheesy/funny band & singers was great. Not long ago, I youtubed Dame Edna’s talk show, and watched interview clips with Sean Connery, kd Lang, and Deborah Harry. I nearly peed myself. :)
#18: The YouTube parody is funny but only for about thirty seconds. The remainder simply repeats the gag without adding anything.
#20
I was born in Scotland but raised in Canada for the most part.
In the 1990’s however I moved back to Scotland (Glasgow) for 3 years and there were only 4 tv channels to watch and AMAZINGLY I was never bored. Unlike here where I’m constantly surfing through crap.The shows in Britain were always intelligent, engaging and entertaining.
Their documentaries were stupendous. I think it’s because on the whole, British people do not suffer fools gladly, so any kind of really crap TV show wouldn’t last long.
The brilliant show Fawlty Towers is a classic example. They only made 12 episodes because they figured they had already gone as far as they could with it. In the US or Canada they would have dragged it out for 10 years like Frasier or something.
:-)
THIS IS A DISASTER I CAN’T BELIEVE IT PEGGS SCOTTY ACCENT SUCKS SO MASSIVE I CAN’T BELIEVE THESE PEOPLE ARE SO CLUELESS ABOUT THE BASICS OF STAR TREK THIS IS A DISASTER
Actually it’s pretty good…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PDdXJoBwBo
Star Trek – The Begining?
What is the time stamp for the “scotty voice”…?
#23……Uhu, what?
If Scotty coughs like that in the movie, we’re in for a real treat. :D
#18, Driver,
That Batman parody was fantastic! Thanks for sharing the link! :)
#22
Sadly it’s all changed now Spockboy. with few exceptions there’s plenty of crap TV now, reality and otherwise in the UK. They only made 12 Fawlty towers because two people were writing it. Cleese and his wife. You have a team of about 20 writers on a show like Frasier.
7-
Must you persist in using the term geek to characterize Trek fans? It’s not a badge of honor, just one more reason why non-fans…never mind.
With fans like this…
How ‘gruff’ and ‘broad’ Simon’s ‘Glaswegian’-style accent ends up will the benchmark of how his ‘Scotty’ will turn out. I sure hope it doesn’t end up so ‘brogue’ as to be in Rab C. Nesbitt territory!
That would turn this whole thing into pure parody….
#32. Burr. The Scots accent is a burr. The Irish accent is a brogue.
You know, I don’t think it much matters which specific Scottish accent Pegg is using, as Doohan’s (despite his influences) wasn’t really all that geographically accurate, anyway. Not exactly an echt Scots accent to begin with.
I do think we can trust Pegg to nail the essentials of Scotty’s character — the humor, the humanity, the sense he might pop off at any moment. And it sounds as though he was determined not to spoof him, or Doohan. That’s the key.
#32. Of course I meant to refer to #31, not my own posting.
#32 Trek Nerd Central
To be equally pedantic, both terms are not as mutually exclusive as you mention. Even a quick check on Wikipedia should confirm this.
I realise non-Scot James Doohan’s version was not ‘area-specific’, and a little ‘flowery’, and was fine at the time that TOS was initially made. However, I was one of those who originally hoped that the makers of this particular 40-year later incarnation would feature an ACTUAL Scots actor (rather than an English one) , where an ‘accent’ wouldn’t have needed to be ‘put on’ and ‘forced’ in ANY way at all….
I’m not really expecting any of Rab C’s stronger inflections, but that Johnny Depp ‘Englishman’ accent in ‘From Hell’ still makes me nervous about how this ‘Scotty’ could yet come across….
I would have loved Simon Pegg to have given us a snippet on the Johnathan Ross show to put my fears at rest….
32
Well said. Here’s a little story:
I was in Scotland last year and the Provost of Linlithgow asked me if I was “trying out for the role of Scotty”. I told him that I was too old for the part and that my Scottish accent wasn’t all that great. He replied, “Then you would be perfect”. I asked him what he meant by that, and he said” Well, your Father’s accent wasn’t that good, but it didn’t matter, we loved his character and found his accent endearing”.
PS That being said, I think Simon nailed it.
If Mr Doohan’s son thinks Simon Pegg has nailed it then that’s good enough for me and should be for everyone else!
I’m Scottish (Glaswegian) and I don’t know anyone who didn’t love James Doohan’s original Scotty.
Just the fact there is a Scottish character in a film is usually thrilling enough for us Scots.
Mel Gibson was pretty bad with the accent in Braveheart but just about everyone in Scotland loves that film.
Simon Pegg has been excellent in just about everything else he has done so I’m very certain that he’ll be brilliant in this part (even if he is English).
And remember Simon pegg is married to a Scottish woman… there aren’t that many Englishmen who can do that… ; )
35
That’s awesome, Chris! Always love hearing stories like that, which add to the overall picture we have of him. I shared this before on the site here, but back in college about the time STIV was coming out, my dad and I were pleasantly surprised to see him coming off a flight in Burbank, apparently from a convention. Got shake his hand and he thanked us for being fans with that huge smile of his…but I remember his voice being “normal” and not in character, which was cool :)
Pegg’s GREAT, I can’t wait to see him and you in the movie!
#34. “Pedantic”? Ouch! And you’re slinging Wikipedia at me!
#35 & 36. I should have also said : a) Lovely story, and b) that’s terrific news from Doohan the Younger. Thanks for the always-gracious input.
Accent, schmaccent.
Scotty’s emotions are what matter: pride in the Enterprise, wistfulness whilst drinking, weakness for lasses, loyalty to his Cap’n, and above all–his ability to turn on a dime and start a bar fight.
The handful of times Scotty assumed the con while Kirk and Spock were away… he was brilliant. I don’t think you can understate his importance as a surrogate Captain.
Really looking forward to Pegg.
Ross’s show is popular in the UK. And Ross is a fairly big Star Trek fan. When it comes to marketing Trek XI here, the team should seriously consider sending some representatives: perhaps Nimoy and Quinto. Also I’m glad to here that Pegg’s accent is going to be a bit more realistic, dare I say more convincing, than what we are used to.
Jeffries#42- Good point about Scotty’s command preparedness. Doohan could give one chills when facing down a pig-headed ambassador or a Romulan captain while surrounded by Romulan warbirds.
It is heartwarming to read anything Chris Doohan writes here. Another reason we all look so forward to the movie – seeing Scotty’s son on board the Enterprise.
I always thought Pegg’s performances had a kind of frankness, down-to-earth-ness and cynicism. I also think these are characteristics of Scotty, so Pegg should have a big part of Scotty ready-built-into his performance. But I also think of Scotty as big-hearted, which I have never associated with Pegg’s normal roles.
Still, I trust Pegg. He is a fine actor and I’m sure he worked overtime to perfect the role and do the fans proud. He knows he’ll be watching this film several times per year for the rest of his life (probably)!
I actually thought his ‘Scotty cough’ was good. Even if he wasn’t really in character, when he coughed, I was ready to believe it was Scotty.
And, hey, anyone who shares that mystical universal bond of detesting The Phantom Menace is OK in my book.
“It has been reported that Simon Pegg supplies much of the comic relief .”
I thought Scotty was too much of a bafoon in the movies. I was hoping the new movie would redeem him.
Comic relief doesn’t necessarily mean buffoonery.