Universal Pictures and Working Title Films Announce All-Star Cast for Upcoming Comedy Adventure Paul

Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Seth Rogen, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader and Jane Lynch have been attached to the comedy adventure to be

directed by Greg Mottola

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., May 27 /PRNewswire/ — Seth Rogen (Knocked Up, Funny People), Jason Bateman (The Kingdom, Couples Retreat), Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live, Ghost Town), Bill Hader (Saturday Night Live, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and Jane Lynch (Role Models, Glee), have been cast in Paul, a Working Title film for Universal Pictures, it was announced today. Rogen will play the voice of Paul.

Greg Mottola (Superbad, Adventureland) will direct the comedy adventure, while Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), who co-wrote the screenplay, will serve as the film’s leads. Paul will be produced by Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan from Working Title and Nira Park for Big Talk Productions.

In the comedy adventure, Pegg and Frost play two sci-fi fanatics on a road trip whose conspiracy dreams come true when they encounter an escaped alien near Area 51. As they try to reunite him with his mother ship, they find Paul has many more opinions than your typical ET.

The film is set to begin principal photography in June 2009.

About Working Title Films

Founded in 1983, Working Title Films has been co-chaired by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner since 1992. Between them, the pair has produced more than 90 feature films which have amassed over $4 billion worldwide. To date, their films have won 6 Academy Awards, 24 BAFTAs and won prestigious prizes at the Cannes and Berlin film festivals. Bevan and Fellner have also been honored with two of the highest film awards given to British filmmakers: the Michael Balcon Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema at the 2004 BAFTAs and the Alexander Walker Film Award at the Evening Standard British Film Awards in 2005. Working Title Films is one of the world’s most prolific production companies. The company has produced a roster of films that have defied boundaries as well as demographics. Among their commercial and critical hits are Atonement; Pride & Prejudice; United 93; Nanny McPhee; The Interpreter; About a Boy; Notting Hill; Elizabeth; Fargo; Dead Man Walking; Bean; High Fidelity; Johnny English; Billy Elliot; Four Weddings and a Funeral; Bridget Jones’s Diary; Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason; O Brother Where Art Thou?; Love Actually; Mr. Bean’s Holiday; Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, Burn After Reading; Frost/Nixon; State of Play and The Soloist. Upcoming films include, The Green Zone directed by Paul Greengrass, starring Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear and Amy Ryan; The Boat That Rocked written and directed by Richard Curtis, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rhys Ifans, Bill Nighy and Kenneth Branagh. The company recently enjoyed their second consecutive Academy Award nomination for Best Picture for Frost/Nixon, after receiving one for Atonement in 2008.

About Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures is a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is part of NBC Universal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric, with 20% controlled by Vivendi.

SOURCE Universal Pictures