I've had the pleasure and frustration of interrogating the awesome Simon Pegg a few times in the last six months about his role as engineer Montgomery Scott in this little re-boot you might have heard of, "Star Trek." When we recently caught up with Pegg and "Spaced" co-horts Edgar Wright and Jessica Hynes (they're at Comic-Con hyping the long awaited debut of "Spaced" on DVD in the U.S.) he still wasn't ready to reveal all but we did get a chance to hear some of his Scotty voice. Well, sort of.

Before there was "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz," there was "Spaced," one of the funniest series to ever come out of Britain (and that's saying something). A couple months ago we broke the news that the show was finally coming to DVD, and now it's official with BBC America giving a July 22 release date for the 14-episode box set.

For those not in the know, "Spaced" was a manically edgy, unconventional TV comedy that starred Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson as two strangers who pretend to be a married couple in order to rent an apartment. Directed by Edgar Wright and co-starring Pegg's partner-in-crime Nick Frost as a weapons-obsessed military nut, "Spaced" was filled to the brim with every obscure pop culture reference under the sun...like a genius-level "Family Guy." Read more...

Imagine the coolest email possible and you probably can't top the one that Simon Pegg once received from "Star Trek" director J.J. Abrams. "I got off a plane and switched my blackberry on. It had an email from J.J. and it just said, 'Do you want to be Scotty?' That was it!" Pegg recalled to MTV News about how he received the offer to reprise James Doohan's iconic role in the film.

Pegg admitted that his first reaction was fear, namely fear of commitment. "I said, 'What am I going to do?' I thought about it for a bit because you have to commit to a series of films and that puts you in a situation where the studio has some control over what you do. I called up J.J. and I said, 'the idea is amazing but I’m worried.' And he said, 'what’s the worst that can happen? We hang out every three years and make a fun film?'" Read more...

We've got some good news and bad news for you devoted "Spaced" fans out there. Die-hard fans of all things Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg know that there was indeed life before "Hot Fuzz" and "Shaun of the Dead" and it was called "Spaced."

Only 14 episodes long, the unconventional sitcom launched the careers of both and spawned a devoted following that's been hoping, praying, nay begging, for a DVD release here in the United States. Well, mark your calendars. The date is July 23, 2008, and that info came to us exclusively from none other than Wright himself. Read more...

Sure, everyone is talking up Cate Blanchett's Oscar chances again this year for her turns in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" and "I'm Not There," but aren't we all forgetting a little turn in another one of the year's best? "Darn it!" Blanchett screamed to me the other day when I asked her why people weren't talking about her cameo in "Hot Fuzz." For those that missed Blanchett's blink-and-you-miss-it appearance (in truth, I didn't realize she was in it until I saw the flick a second time), the Oscar winner played Simon Pegg's ex in an all-too-brief flashback.

After I finished grilling Blanchett to death for any dirt on "Indiana Jones," the actress joked with me about the appearance in the Edgar Wright comedy. "My role was really huge and they cut it," she said. "It was really about a forensic scientist with terrible facial scarring." Read more...

After months of speculation and back-and-forth from the talent involved, MTV News can finally reveal that Mary-Jane Watson herself, Kirsten Dunst, will return for "Spider-Man 4."

Well, ok...maybe.

"Kirsten Dunst has said if I play Spider-Man in the fourth one she will come back," funnyman Simon Pegg joked with our own Josh Horowitz. "It's a slightly porkier webslinger."

When he's not kidding around about "Spider-Man," Pegg -- the star of "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" -- is joining forces with Kirsten for "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People."

"I had a great time on that movie. It was my first kind of lead role in an American film. [But] how absurd is my job?" he laughed. "Some [pig]-faced Brit gets to hang out with the likes of Kirsten?" Read more...

We're huge Simon Pegg fans around these parts and by these parts I mean my nerdy "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" worshipping brain. I chatted with Mr. Pegg for a while this afternoon and got some interesting updates on his litany of upcoming projects (check back in tomorrow for some more details!), including the film he and Nick Frost have been writing together.

Don't confuse this one with Simon and Nick's next Edgar Wright collaboration. This one is all theirs. While the details were few and far between from Pegg, he did reveal the title and a little of the plot. "It’s called 'Paul' and it’s a road movie about two British geeks in America." Pegg added that the film will be shot here in the States. Read more...

You think you know from conspiracy theories? You wish you could come up with a conspiracy theory half as awesome as David Icke. For those of you who don't know who Icke is - (1) congratulations on not being completely insane but (2) seriously, you're missing out.

David Icke (and before him John Rhodes) is a British "freethinker" and major proponent of conspiracy theories who -- are you ready for this? -- believes that the world is actually controlled by extraterrestrial, shape-shifting reptiles (in the guise of the Illuminati, themselves in the guise of leaders such as George W. Bush, Queen Elizabeth, etc). Among the events these lizards are responsible for include the Holocaust, the Oklahoma City Bombing, and 9/11. Of course, duh.

If you're not tickled by this kind of stuff, really, you're missing out. But you will be if Mike White and Edgar Wright have anything to say about it. Their new script, "Them," is "a paranoid conspiracy movie/comedy," White recently told MTV News. "About who the secret rulers of the world."

And who are the secret rulers of the world? "They're lizards!" enthused White. Read more...

There's news today regarding Jessica Alba, and boy is it contagious! Spread the word about her, Kevin Smith, Russell Crowe, Christopher Walken, and Jack Black in our links of the day.

- Mr. Smith goes to MTV. Red Bank's favorite son responds to our reportage on Rosario Dawson. (Silent Bob Speaks)

- Jessica Alba joins cast of "The Love Guru" alongside Mike Meyers. (Variety)

- Russell Crowe boldly going where Richardo Montalban went before? Oscar winner wanted as "Star Trek" baddie. (IGN)

- Edgar Wright interviews Michael Cera and Jonah Hill in this hilarious clip. (Collider)

- Colin Hanks is a "House Bunny." Joins cast of Anna Farris comedy. (Hollywood Reporter)

- Welcome Back Frank! Punisher sequel gets a title. (Superhero Hype)

- Trailer for Jack Black/Michel Gondry comedy "Be Kind, Rewind" (Yahoo)

- Christopher Walken worth "Five Dollars a Day"? Veteran thesp hops on Nic Cage road movie. (Variety)

If you're going to put on an art exhibition celebrating cult films in notoriously "hip" Los Angeles, and you're going to do it at your gallery right next to Golden Apple Comics, which is like Nerd Nirvana, and you're going to invite celebrated cult directors like Kevin Smith, Edgar Wright, and Richard Kelly, well, you better know your stuff. You better be prepared to out geek any geek that wants to steal your thunder. You better be Jensen Karp.

"I'm the biggest nerd in the world," Karp, the co-owner and curator of Gallery 1988, told me during opening night of an art exhibition celebrating cult films. "You want proof? When we originally opened our name was going to be 'Anthony Michael Hallway.'" (Full article and photos of fantastic art after the jump!) Read more...