The document provides details about the 2011 sci-fi comedy film Paul including its director, cast, release date and box office performance, the process of writing the screenplay and creating the CGI character of Paul, how social media and marketing were used to promote the film, and extras included on the Blu-ray release such as commentary, bloopers, and behind-the-scenes featurettes showing the filming on location and creation of Paul through special effects.

1. 2011
Cast:
Director:
Simon Pegg; Nick
Greg Mottola
Frost, Seth
Rogen, Jane
Lynch, Jason
Bateman, Jeffrey
Tambor, Kristen
Wiig, Sigourney
Weaver,

2. Your task:
• To create an information booklet for your
folder on ‘Paul’.
• DEADLINE: Friday 18 November

3. Release date and opening:
• Monday 14 February 2011 (In 2007, Universal released Hot Fuzz on
14 February).
• 4 whole days of previews, boosting its opening "weekend" box
office (in fact a whole week) to £5.52m.
• Pegg tweeted that this figure represented the biggest opening of
the year so far (true- £2.31m from Monday-Thursday previews , but
later: Disney's Tangled managed to debut with £5.11m earned
purely from the Friday-Sunday weekend period.)
• ‘Cinemascore’ was a “B+” with under age 25 movier-goers giving it
an “A-”. Audience composition was 56% male/44% female, and 58%
over age 25/42% under age 25.

4. Writing the screenplay:
• Written by both Pegg and Frost had a
relatively large budget of $47m.

5. Importance of certification:
What impact would this have on the film?

6. Audience/ Industry expectations:
"Once we made him CGI, the cost of putting
Paul in the movie is 1/3 of our budget. When
you take Paul out of the movie, we're not that
much bigger budget than ‘Superbad’. I don't
know how you could've made such a fast-talking
character, wise-cracking alien who's
puppeteered that an audience would accept
now.”
Greg Mottola

7. Creation of CGI Paul
• Along with the human protagonists, Graeme and
Clive, WT felt that Paul should be a crucial third
member of the cast and employed CGI wizards at
Double Negative to create a physical presence but were
adamant to keep his voice very human.
• Eric Fellner: “We knew that the film would never work
if Paul felt like a wholly CGI character. That would
immediately take people out of the movie. He had to
feel like every other actor in the film. In every test we
did, we learned that the performance of the actor had
to drive the CGI…never vice versa.” The voice that was
decided upon was Seth Rogen, one of America’s top
comedy stars.

8. Media convergence
• Marketing: production blogs- (online videos of cast having
fun and behind the scenes footage of filming process).
What are the benefits?
Who would be looking?
• Simon Pegg used his twitter account to promote film
including posting pictures and inside information. His
twitter picture was made using the Paul iPhone app and his
background was the movies poster.
What is the purpose of doing this?

9. CGI on the Production Notes:
• http://whatispaul.com/PAUL_Production_Not
es.pdf

10. Universal Studios Home Entertainment
release of the Blu-ray Paul:
Included:
• the film's theatrical cut
• an unrated version
• a commentary track
• a blooper reel and a featurette about the evolution of the special effects
work that went into creating the alien.
• Photo Galleries, Storyboards and Posters
• for a limited time only, the Combo Pack also included a digital copy of the
unrated film that can be viewed anytime, anywhere on an array of digital
devices
• access MY MOVIES™, an exclusive feature that allows consumers to
stream a bonus movie instantly to their television through any Internet-
connected Blu-ray ™ player via BD-Live™ or to their Smartphone and
iPad™ using the free pocket BLU™ app. Bloopers

11. ADDITIONAL BONUS FEATURES EXCLUSIVELY
AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY™ COMBO PACK:
Behind the Scenes Featurettes:
• RV Doorway: The Cast of Paul On-Location — The cast is just as funny off-screen as they are in front of the camera.
• Runway Santa Fe: An Interview with Nancy Steiner — Follow Nancy Steiner, the costume designer, as she chooses hilarious
T-shirts and wardrobe for the cast.
• Smithereens — Blowing up a house on location causes excitement among the cast.
• 5th Date Level Direction: The Cast on Greg Mottola — The cast talks about the fun of working with Mottola, who also
directed Superbad.
• Mexico Zero: The Locations of Paul—Mexico Zero is the nickname the cast gives to New Mexico, where the majority of
filming was done for Paul.
• The Many Pauls — To create Paul, the filmmakers used all the tricks of the trade, from capturing Seth Rogen’s facial
expressions and movements, to using a child dressed up as an alien while on-set.
• Paul: The Musical — The cast joins together for an impromptu musical version of the film.
• The Traveler Beagle — A look at all the different RVs used on the set of Paul, from fully functioning vehicles to a mock-up on
a Hollywood soundstage.
• BD-LIVE™: Access the BD-Live™ Center through your Internet-connected player to watch the latest trailers and more.
• pocket BLU™: The groundbreaking pocket BLU™ app uses iPhone®, iPod® touch, Android™, PC and Macintosh to work
seamlessly with a network-connected Blu-ray™ player. Also available on the iPad®, owners can enjoy a new, enhanced
edition of pocket BLU™ made especially to take advantage of the tablet’s larger screen and high resolution
display. Consumers will be able to browse through a library of Blu-ray™ content and watch entertaining extras on-the-go in a
way that’s bigger and better than ever before. pocket BLU™ offers advanced features such as:
• Advanced Remote Control — A sleek, elegant new way to operate your Blu-ray™ player. Users can navigate through
menus, playback and BD-Live™ functions with ease.
• Video Timeline — Users can easily bring up the video timeline, allowing them to instantly access any point in the film.
• Mobile-To-Go — Users can unlock a selection of bonus content with their Blu-ray™ discs to save to their device or to stream
from anywhere there is a Wi-Fi network, enabling them to enjoy content on the go, anytime, anywhere.
• Browse Titles — Users will have access to a complete list of pocket BLU™-enabled titles available and coming to Blu-ray™ Hi-
Def. They can view free previews and see what additional content is available to unlock on their device.
• Keyboard — Entering data is fast and easy with your device’s intuitive keyboard.

12. Interesting background interviews:
• http://scifimafia.com/2011/03/paul-
interviews-with-simon-pegg-nick-frost-and-
seth-rogen/