Film work holds up writing

Simon Pegg’s autobiography has been postponed for a year because of his ‘heavy schedule’ of film work.

Out of Spaced has been due out this Christmas, the first of three books he had agreed to write in a £1million-plus deal with Hodder & Stoughton.

The memoirs will now come out for Christmas 2010, with the follow-ups being released over the subsequent two years.

The comic recently starred as Scotty in Star Trek and has two more movies in the works with longtime collaborator Nick Frost. They are making Paul, about two British geeks on a road trip across the States with an alien in tow, as well as playing the Thompson Twins in the new Tin Tin movie.

Pegg said: ‘I am so sorry not to be publishing Out of Spaced this year; it has just been a packed time, with the arrival of my daughter—and the writing, filming and general continual USA travelling for my latest film Paul . . . not least commitments to Star Trek and Tin Tin, that I have not unfortunately had the time to do full justice to the book—and I really want it to be as good it can be.

‘I will continue to work away on it and the book will now be with you in 2010.’

Hodder Entertainment publisher Ben Dunn said: ‘Although we're disappointed about this delay as we were all looking forward hugely to publishing Simon this autumn, this is exactly the right thing for the book.

‘These extra months will give him the opportunity to make it a really exceptional book and us the time to plan the best possible promotion of it.’

But comedy fans will not be short of autobiographies this Christmas, as Peter Kay, Jack Dee, Dara O'Briain and Frankie Boyle all have titles in the pipeline.

Russell Brand’s follow-up to My Booky Wook has also been pushed back a year because of work commitments.

Published: 24 Jul 2009