The originalHot Fuzzscript had one major difference from the movie and Edgar Wright ended up cutting it from the movie, which helped differentiate the story fromShaun of the Dead.The first movie in theThree Flavours Cornetto Trilogy,Shaun of the Deadfeatures Simon Pegg’s Shaunsetting out to save his girlfriend, with his best friend (Nick Frost) by his side. However,inHot Fuzz,Pegg played Nicholas Angelin a buddy cop movie where he teamed with a younger partner (Frost), and there was no girlfriend this time around.
Hot Fuzzsees Nicholas Angel transferred to a small rural town where he realizes the mysterious “accidental” deaths are murders. The plot then sees him developing a close relationship with his partner, Danny, and their bromance is what made the movie so special. However,that wasn’t how things were in the original script.In the originalHot Fuzzscript, Nicholas Angel had a love interest named Vickie, andNick Frost’s Danny Butterman had a smaller role.
Hot Fuzz Cut A Love Interest For Simon Pegg’s Character (& Gave The Lines To Nick Frost)
WhenEdgar Wright and Simon Pegg wrote the original script forHot Fuzz,they had something that didn’t end up in the finished movie. In the movie, theLondon Metropolitan Police Department transfers super-cop Nicholas Angelbecause his exceptional work is too great, making the other cops look bad. When he arrives, he ends up partnered with the Chief Inspector’s son, Danny Butterman. Soon, the two cops realize the accidental deaths around Sanford are actually murders.
However, in the originalHot Fuzzscript, Angel also had a love interest named Vickie, a chambermaid at the hotel he stays at since his flat isn’t ready yet. He had plenty of scenes with this woman, which added the romantic subplot to the main plot of the murder mystery. However, in the making of documentary,We Made Hot Fuzz,Simon Pegg explains that he and Edgar Wright eliminated the character and gave most of her scenes and lines to Danny Butterman.
“There was a female character called Vickie, who was Angel’s girlfriend in Sanford, who worked at the hotel. She was like the chambermaid at the hotel and Angel gradually got into a relationship. But, we realized that it was actually fairly arbitrary really and the real love story was between Angel and Danny, so we cut her out.”
Pegg then explained that the scene of Danny and Angel having beers together after seeingRomeo + Julietwas supposed to be Angel and Vickie. Pegg said it was one of his favorite moments because it looked like Danny and Angel were going to kiss, which is even funnier since it was supposed to be a romantic scene with Vickie.
A Love Interest In Hot Fuzz Would Have Made It Too Much Like Shaun Of The Dead
InShaun of the Dead,the entire plot was as much about Shaun trying to save hisrelationship amidst a zombie apocalypse.Along the way, Nick Frost’s Ed was just a side character. This was a zombie rom-com, which worked out perfectly for that movie. However,ifHot Fuzzwas a buddy cop/rom-com, it would have been too muchand would likely have eliminated several of Nick Frost’s scenes in the film. That would have hurtHot Fuzzmore than anything.
Instead of Nicholas Angel trying to find love while solving a murder, he had to find something else.At the beginning ofHot Fuzz,Angel spoke to his ex-girlfriend. Janine (an uncredited Cate Blanchett). She tells him he needs to find someone he cares about more than his job. That was going to be Vickie, but it ended up being Danny Butterman instead. Angel found Butterman to be the friend and ally that he cared about more than he even cared about being a cop.
Pegg also mentioned that they cut Vickie from the movie, but they gave most of her lines to Danny Butterman without actually changing them. This makes their bromance even better since Danny delivered lines that were meant to build a romance, but it instead built a close friendship that changed Angel at the end. This madeHot Fuzzvery different fromShaun of the Deadand allowed both movies to become masterpieces while remaining different from each other.
