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Following
in the footsteps of successful films like Four Weddings and a Funeral,
Notting Hill and Bridget Jones's Diary, Crush is yet another film
to capitalise on the beautiful locations of Gloucestershire.
The
film follows the friendship of three women who are best friends,
who get together once a week and do what the majority of single
women out there do: bitch about their non-existing love lives.
They
eat chocolate, drink gin, smoke cigarettes and compare dating disasters,
with a prize going to whomever has the most pathetic story.
Originally
titled The Sad F**kers Club, Crush stars Andie
MacDowell as Kate, a prim headmistress fending off the advances
of a homely vicar; Molly (Anna Chancellor) as a vampy doctor with
a string of failed relationships; while Janine (Imelda Staunton)
is the sweet local bobby.
Directed
by newcomer John McKay, Crush was shot on location in London, Paris
and primarily in the Cotswolds.
Renowned
for its beautiful scenery where sleepy villages and quaint country
cottages nestle among rolling hills, director John McKay chose Chipping
Campden for its intimate settings.
The village (Chipping Campden) is a very
conservative society, and the women feel trapped, so their weekly
ritual is very important to each of them.  |
| Crush
director John McKay. |
He
said: "Part of the trap the women are in is that they live
somewhere very beautiful, but very dull. I come from a small community
in Scotland so I understand that life better than life in a city.
A small community can be very supportive but also extremely claustrophobic.
"The
village is a very conservative society, and the women feel trapped,
so their weekly ritual is very important to each of them."
With
architecture absolutely characteristic of the Cotswolds, many of
the buildings in Chipping Campden were used in the film.
The
impressive fifteenth century St James' church, the village town
hall, the local school and parts of the high street have all been
captured on film.
St
James' was used in a wedding scene and the church flower arranger
helped with dressing the set.
Mrs
Margaret Smith said: "The film company rang and asked if we
could provide flowers for the wedding scene.
"Even
though it was Springtime they wanted flowers for an Autumn wedding.
It was a bit difficult because they wanted dull looking flowers
to coincide with the story. It took about three days to get it ready
but the film makers seemed pleased with the results."
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| Chipping
Campden high street. |
Mrs
Smith was also involved setting up a scene where one of the actors
gave a flower demonstration in the village town hall.
"They
painted the town hall brown and cream and I set up all the flowers
to be used in the flower demonstration. Even though I wasn't in
the scene it was interesting just to be part of it," said Mrs
Smith.
Many
of the locals played extras in the film and hope that it will be
a huge success.
One
villager said: "It's great that big films want to use small
English villages as the setting for their movies. It will be fantastic
to see Chipping Camden on the big screen and who knows, it may even
do for us what it did for Notting Hill."
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