Shot over nine weeks in the unpredictable weather of the British autumn and winter of 2000, major locations for "Last Orders" included Peckham and Bermondsey, in the heart of south east London for scenes featuring the Coach and Horses pub, exterior and interiors of Dodd's Butcher's and Vic's funeral parlour; Smithfields Market in the East End, Canterbury Cathedral, the historical Chatham War Memorial, Eastbourne, the pier in the Kentish seaside town of Margate and the hop fields of Kent. An unused warehouse in Peckham was used as a temporary studio, where sets were built for the interior of Jack and Amy's home and Ray's flat. The final segment of the schedule was spent at Pinewood Film Studios in December 2000.

"Last Orders" is very much a London film, something close to the hearts of the actors, ""It's wonderful... working in London is terrific" says Bob Hoskins, "I get to go home every night! I've been working in Sarawak, Poland, Sarajevo and The Philippines, so working in London's a treat - it's a holiday."

"I've loved every minute of working on this film," adds Hoskins, "working with such amazing actors, you're not just a prop like in some of these big action movies, it's a chance to really get your teeth into something."

For Michael Caine, shooting in Peckham is a case of deja vu, "Four hundred yards down the road from where we're sitting here in Peckham, is Wilson's Grammar School, the school I attended. I've gone full circle... from Hollywood, the bright lights and the Academy Awards, I'm back in Peckham after forty years in the movies. It's funny."

Born and bred in East London, just across the River Thames from Bermondsey and Peckham, for Ray Winstone, crossing into south London territory was something of an alien experience, "Ray might say you need a visa to cross into south London" says co-star David Hemmings. "I'm an East London boy" says Winstone, "but I think it could be based anywhere in the world, families and friends are the same everywhere."

"It would be difficult to do this on the backlot at Warner Bros in Los Angeles, that's for sure. It's much better to be here in Peckham" says Helen Mirren, "you know, the whole process is to do with imaginatively putting yourself somewhere, so it's very important that the environment is authentic. It's nice to be doing a film in London, about London. I haven't done that too often. The people who come from this part of the world, know that really well, they recognise those sort of places as being very special. I've always felt that British filmmaking is better when it does something truthful and authentic to itself - The Full Monty is a perfect example and many other films back through the history of British filmmaking. Ironically, that's when they find an audience abroad."

Director and cast were all in agreement on how they all gelled as a group during shooting. "We've all been in the industry for a long time" says Helen Mirren, "and we've all had a level of success as actors and we're all still here. There's a real level of comfort with whom people are. There are either no egos or a lot of egos to balance each other out, I'm not quite sure which it is!"

Being the leading lady in a mainly male cast Helen Mirren was certainly made a fuss of in her role as Amy, "I get hugged a lot by all of them" says Mirren, "I was hugged by Ray (Winstone) which was fabulous, I got hugged by Michael today and then I get hugged by Bob."

Ray Winstone is equally complimentary about his fellow stars, "Helen Mirren plays my Mum, so I'm quite a lucky boy. I've always been brought up with lots of uncles... you should see the uncles I've got here... Bob Hoskins, David Hemmings, Tom Courtenay. This is fantastic for me."

"I remember as a kid," continues Winstone, "watching Michael Caine, Tom, David, then later Bob, in some of my favorite films... 'Charge of the Light Brigade,' 'The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner,' 'Alfie,' 'Zulu.' Where I came from, if you thought of becoming an actor, if you had any heroes - they were it. To be playing opposite them is quite daunting at times."

"There's no bullshit," says Bob Hoskins, "it's wonderful just to get on with it. I've always admired Fred. He's one of the best directors I've ever worked with because he's very direct and he doesn't hide the technicality. I'm always interested in the camera and what's happening with the kind of image we're trying to create and Fred takes that in. It's no good just creating your role because there's the screen and there's you, you've got to think of the whole thing."

"Fred's style is quiet which I love and he's very frugal with words" says Michael Caine. "He's a man for layers. When you're doing a take, he'll cut and remind us that we've got a backstory to remember, he's a great one for that. He's such a delicate director and absolutely right for the story which is personality, relationship and character driven... there are no car crashes in this one."

"It's brilliant that Fred's Australian, he's kind of one of us" says Helen Mirren, "sort of honorary working class British! It's good to have someone who's not totally part of a community or society, as they can look at things in a much more observant way. I think it's very valuable that Fred's Australian. It's a project he's fought for and wanted to do for a long time, so he brings a lot of energy and passion."

"Fred's an absolute nutcase," says David Hemmings affectionately, "he's wonderful and a great source of inspiration to us all. It's been a difficult movie because of all the various elements, but he has the story so perfectly in his head, he guides us through very carefully, skilfully, quietly and gentlemanly as we try to get the right mood at the right time in order to go into a flashback. It's a very difficult film to direct, but he's planned it all, organised it and written it and I think it's wonderful."

Who wouldn't have enjoyed being a fly-on-the-wall in a car with some of the acting world's most legendary wits? The subtle humour in the film that's typical to old friends who have shared memories and often their own language, overlapped into reality on the shoot:

"It was absolutely hilarious," according to David Hemmings, "when I did that scene walking up the steep hill to Chatham War Memorial, I thought my lungs would explode, but they exploded a lot more when we were in the Mercedes on the sound stage at Pinewood for all those weeks, just sitting in the car and laughing with the other three. I've never heard so many funny stories and anecdotes, we were all vying with each other, yelling, screaming and laughing. It's been a wonderful experience."

"We all like to go off on one and do our party pieces" says Ray Winstone. "It's been a real laugh."

Happily for Fred Schepisi, the camaraderie didn't interfere with the filming schedule... "We filmed in pubs across the whole of Kent, but Kaliber - that low alcohol beer was the order of the day!" says Hemmings, "we'd have the occasional sherry, but it wasn't as raucous as the film might suggest. We're all far too old for that and far too professional! It wouldn't have been possible for an Oliver Reed mentality to take over on a film as gruelling as this."

The gang allowed themselves one special treat during the very last week of filming at Pinewood, which just happened to coincide with the build up to Christmas and Tom Courtenay's birthday. In celebratory spirit, the actors booked a table at the Pinewood restaurant and took Courtenay, Schepisi and Robinson for lunch. A birthday glass of champagne was in order, but David Hemmings had another surprise up his sleeve... a strip-o-gram, much to Courtenay's embarrassment.