Respectively, stalled-out sci-fi novelist Clive Gollings and his Rip-off, man that's his life story, down to his gig as Stevenįrost and Pegg (Scotty!) are Paul's ideal chaperones: They are, Should there ever be an actual alien invasion. Moving pictures and literature in order to get people used to his image, Wound up in government captivity, Paul's likeness was marketed via As he explains, after he crash-landed on earth in 1947 and Rail-thin frame - because, as it turns out, he's the original pop-cult Paul looks like everyĪlien throughout popular culture - bulbous noggin, wide-screen eyes,

In this case, the alien is a shirtless, foulmouthed, dope-smokingĪss-flasher named Paul, voiced by Seth Rogen. It's the difference between parody and tribute - between Spaceballs and So subtle they almost don't matter, but which are so evident theyįinally render Paul lightweight and less than essential, unlike ShaunĪnd Hot Fuzz, which entertain no matter how many times you see them. Consider Paul the ultimate modern-comedy crossover, as damp a dork's dream as when Superman teamed up with Spider-Man or when Captain Kirk met Captain Picard in Star Trek: Generations, among the approximately 382 films referenced in Paul.īut Wright's absence is notable for reasons Greg Mottola instead directs Paul, and he's an escapee from Judd Apatow's stable, having done several Undeclared episodes leading up to his Superbad night out with Jonah Hill and Michael Cera, whose Arrested Development Mottola also worked on. Note the one key missing element: Edgar Wright, who directed and co-wrote with Pegg both the 2004 zom-com Shaun of the Dead and 2007's Hot Fuzz. Paul is not the third installment in the so-called Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy featuring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, though there are indeed servings of both.

Simon pegg. nick frost. seth rogen