Simon Pegg is set to make horror funny again. THR reports that the Shaun of the Dead star has joined the black comedy Burke and Hare, which follows William Burke and William Hare, two 19th-century grave robbers and murderers who got rich selling the corpses of their victims. Andy Serkis will play Hare, Pegg will play Burke. The movie is not a remake of 1971’s Burke and Hare, which played the events for more dramatic effect.

Pegg has been using his Twitter account to update fans of the movie’s progress, which has already begun rehearsals.

1st day of Burke & Hare rehearsals at Ealing Studios where I once held off a legion of zombies with an old Winchester rifle. Happy days.

Pegg has been busy finishing up the comedy Paul, about two comic book geeks who meet an alien while driving across America, as well as meeting with Burke and Hare cast.

Continue reading Simon Pegg Joining Burke and Hare

Isla Fisher, Andy Serkis and Tom Wilkinson have joined the cast of Burke and Hare, a horror comedy that marks John Landis’ return to feature directing after more than 10 years.

The project is based on the true story a pair of British serial killers, William Burke and William Hare, gravediggers who sold the corpses of their victims to a medical college for dissection during the 19th century.

Serkis, best known for his work as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings movies, will play Hare opposite Simon Pegg’s Burke.

Fisher (Confessions of a Shopaholic) will play Pegg’s girlfriend, an actress looking for a patron who might or might not be an accomplice to the murders.

Wilkinson (Valkyrie) will play Dr. Robert Knox, an anatomy lecturer looking for fresh corpses.

The movie begins shooting January 31 in Edinburgh and London, bringing Landis back to the scene of his 1981 hit An American Werewolf in London. The Twilight Zone director’s last narrative feature was 1998’s Blues Brothers 2000.

Source: Reuters