Simon Pegg: Hollywood’s actions are “a flagrant snub”

Simon Pegg is pissed off, and he has good reason to be. The British actor and writer who has gained fame in America with successful comedies such as Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz has denounced the actions of Warner Bros. TV and affiliates that have shown "a sheer lack of respect" in their appropriation and adaptation of the hit British sitcom he helped create: Spaced.

Neither Pegg, nor co-creator Jessica Hynes were consulted in the process, a move that Pegg considers "an effective vote of no confidence in the very people who created the show".

Pegg acknowledges he has no legal right to involvement in the project, but says he, Hynes and Edgar Wright (the show’s director) are all annoyed to be left out of the sale of the rights to the sitcom to American production companies.

Wright has gone so far as to say he has had "a terrible recurring dream of being burgled in broad daylight (no joke, and no dream analyst required)".

You might be thinking, "But what about The Office? That was a British sitcom, and its adaptation for American audiences has been very successful." Of course, it probably helps that Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (creators of the British version) have been heavily involved in the development of its American counterpart.

The fact that Pegg, Hynes, and Wright have all been snubbed does not bode well for this adaptation.