Simon Pegg Speaks About "The World's End" "The World's End," a new comedy directed by Edgar Wright and written by Mr. Wright and Simon Pegg, is a reunion movie in the most literal sense: it tells the story of a burned-out and reckless middle-aged man (Mr. Pegg) who reunites a gang of reluctant childhood friends (Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine and Eddie Marsan) to complete the hometown pub crawl they couldn't quite finish in their youth - only to discover some very sinister developments are afoot in their former stamping grounds. But "The World's End" also reunites the creative partnership of Mr. Wright, Mr. Pegg and Mr. Frost, who gained worldwide attention for their British comedies "Shaun of the Dead" (the 2004 film that cast Mr. Pegg and Mr. Frost as the unlikely heroes of a zombie invasion) and "Hot Fuzz" (a 2007 film in which they played policemen in a provincial British town). Now in their middle years, these three men have remained friends throughout their career trajectory, even as they have been gathering the bittersweet life experiences and self-awareness that informs "The World's End." On a recent visit to New York, Mr. Wright, 39, Mr. Pegg, 43, and Mr. Frost, 41, gathered at a downtown Manhattan bar to talk about first getting to know one another, preserving and dissolving friendships, and the difficulties of completing a pub crawl after age 30. These are excerpts from that conversation. Missed Connections Edgar Wright We worked out that me and Simon were both at the Bristol premiere of [the postapocalyptic animated feature] "Akira" at the Watershed Cinema in 1989. Simon Pegg It was a slightly aborted connection. Fate didn't throw us together yet. Wright Then I met Simon through two other comedians, Matt Lucas and David Walliams, who asked me to direct their first TV show. Pegg I moved to London in the early "90s, and my girlfriend at the time got a job at the local restaurant where Nick worked. Nick Frost It's still there. I went back about three years ago. The food was absolutely terrible. To see the manager standing around chatting while there's food sitting in the window, it stings. Why Can't We Be Friends Wright I did a film when I was 20 with my school friends, and none of them wanted to be actors. They were all my mates, and it hadn't even occurred to me that not only could I cast people that wanted to be in movies, but also that my eventual leading man only lived like 40 miles away. Pegg Our creative relationship, it's always been very natural and easy. I think it's because our lives have all changed at the same time. We've been in the trenches for 10 years together. Frost And it has evolved. Friendship has to evolve, and we never put any effort into that. It just happened. I'm that guy that, if I haven't used something for six months, it's gone, and that's the same with school friends. If I haven't seen someone for 20 years - Wright You put them in the trash. Pegg He's brutal. Frost - then there's probably a reason. The Beginnings of the "End" Wright We had the idea for this story on the "Hot Fuzz" press tour. Pegg But in its loosest terms. Basically: Going home, things are weird. I don't think we could have made the film when we had the idea, because we needed another six years of living in order to say what we wanted to say. Wright There are a couple of increasingly pathetic incidents that built up to this movie. When I was 19, me and my friends did a pub crawl in my hometown. And then I completely flaked out between Pubs 6 and 7. Then me, Simon and Nick went through my hometown and I tried to get them to do it with me. And then I flaked out at Pub 4, and they had to carry me back to my hotel. Wright On the "Hot Fuzz" press tour, we discussed: What if this pub-crawl film is about an adult trying to recreate that and coerce his grown-up friends to go back? The sci-fi element came as an amplification of the alienation that you feel. It's easier to leap to a fantastical conclusion like that, than it is to accept: You know what? I'm getting old. Time is marching on without me, and maybe my hometown is not that great anyway. Alcohol + Apocalypse = ? Pegg The pub where we shot the "World's End" exteriors was literally a pub on the very edge of Letchworth. That town had previously been a dry town built by the Quakers. Wright I think they thought it was some kind of prank on them. You're going to use our famously dry town to make it the booziest town in a movie ever? Pegg An alco-pocalypse. Frost A Greek tavern owner. Pegg "Hi, I'm Al Copocalypse." Getting the Band Back Together Wright I invited all of the people who were on the original pub crawl with me to the premiere. There's a character in the film that's named after a girl that my friend fancied. Pegg Becky Salt? Wright Becky Salt. And that guy came to the premiere and he thought that was hilarious. Whenever I think of a hot girl, I think of my friend saying, "Oh, Becky Salt." That name's stuck in my head as the name for a hot girl. Now Becky Salt's going to see the film and think that I had a crush on her. Frost Is she fit? Wright She was, yes. Not my type. Pegg I had a night with some friends from college a few years ago, and we had a really nice evening and we all talked about old times. And we never did it again after that. We realized, all independently of each other, that was all we had - the past. I think because I'm very happy at the moment, I don't really need nostalgia. Nostalgia sounds like a medical condition. Another Fine Mess Wright We wanted to make this feel like a closing of a chapter. "Shaun" and "Fuzz" and "The World's End" should all work as stand-alone movies but we did want to make them feel like a thematic trilogy. That doesn't mean that if we work together again, we wouldn't do something radically different. Pegg A Laurel and Hardy biopic? Frost It's coming. Wright We could do that. Pegg It could go to Jonah [Hill] and Channing Tatum. Frost Or Kevin James and Carrot Top. Pegg Hopefully we'll be allowed to do something different. What would be a shame is if we decided to do a straight drama, and it comes out and everyone's like, "No, we want more ice creams." Englishmen in New York Pegg We had a bit of a night in New York last night, which was nice. Frost I feel like a G.I. in Paris, on furlough from the front. I came back and I had a bunch of bananas, some nylons and a Hershey bar. Pegg The way that you party when you're 20 is so different - or should be different - than the way that you party when you're 40. Your body won't even put up with it as much as it used to. I was amazed last night, because I was out until, like, 3. How It Would Have Been in Their 20s Pegg For a start, I wouldn't have been drinking sparkling water.