Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg are huge nerds. That should be obvious to anybody who's seen any of their collaborations, from cult sitcom Spaced to last year's sci-fi comedy The World's End, all of which are packed to the gills with obscure pop culture shout outs and joke about Kia Ora crows. They're also bloody hilarious, and very smart: seeing their writing process is particularly fascinating, something fans got a glimpse of in the special features of Shaun Of The Dead. Before they get to the first draft of a script, they map the whole film out on a board of sheets of paper, where they nail down the plot, characters, themes, all that jazz. It's also the place where they figure out all the hidden Easter eggs, recurring jokes and other clever stuff that pushes the Cornetto Trilogy - that's Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World's End head and shoulders above your usual Brit comedy. They're not just uproariously funny, they're also incredibly smart and densely packed scripts which include jokes and references you don't get until your second, third, fourth, even fifth watches. Then there are the parts which are so cleverly concealed behind the more "obvious" jokes that you never even noticed they existed. Did you know Nick Frost spoils each film before it even has a chance to start? Or that Shaun Of The Dead directly follows on from Spaced? Or how to tell the twin Bill Baileys apart in Hot Fuzz? After you read the ten things you didn't notice in the Cornetto Trilogy, you will. How's that for a slice of fried gold?
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
