Actor Simon Pegg and director Edgar Wright returned to Letchworth GC last week for a screening of their film The World’s End.
The movie – which premiered in July and has now been released on DVD and Blu-Ray – revolves around five school friends who reunite after 20 years for a pub crawl in the fictional town of New Haven.
Many of the outdoor scences were shot in Letchworth GC, with the railway station, Wendy’s shop and the Thai Garden restaurant given a temporary makeover to turn them into taverns.
After the special screening of the film on Thursday, November 28, at Broadway Cinema – which itself was transformed into The Mermaid pub for the movie – Mr Pegg and Mr Wright took questions from the audience.
Mr Wright spoke about his decision to film the third part of the so-called Three Flavours Cornetto series, which follows Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, in Letchworth GC.
He said: “The architecture makes it look interesting and different, but there weren’t many pubs, so we decided to make some. We wanted a new, post-war city that would suit an alien invasion. You should all be very proud of Letchworth.”
Letchworth GC was a dry town until 1960, and the first licenced public house was opened in 1974.
Mr Pegg, who plays the unreliable and heavy drinking Gary King, said: “We wanted to bring to the big screen parts of England that weren’t being seen. We did the same with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, and Letchworth worked perfectly for us in The World’s End. We were immensely happy that our film, and Letchworth, were being shown in Los Angeles at some of the most renowned cinemas in the world. It was very special to see.”
The audience were given their own map of the Golden Trail pub crawl with details of the 12 pubs - eight in Letchworth GC and four more in Welwyn GC.
Wendy’s in Leys Avenue became The Good Companion, Letchworth Garden City Railway Station was transformed into The Hole in the Wall and the Thai Garden Restaurant in Gernon Road was The Beehive.
Actual pubs The Three Magnets, The Colonnade, The Arena Tavern and The Gardener’s Arms doubled up as The Trusty Servant, The Two Headed Dog, The King’s Head and final stop The World’s End.
Fans of Mr Pegg, co-star Nick Frost and Mr Wright will be pleased to hear that The World’s End won’t be the last film involving the trio.
“I can’t imagine not working in the film industry with Nick and Edgar, but we’ll be moving in a different direction to these three films,” Mr Pegg added.
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