Back to our theme of movies made in Torquay… or, in this case, movies almost made in Torquay.
This one was called Snappers and was a romantic comedy filmed in Torquay and Paignton in 2007/8 at a very reasonable cost of £250,000. We’re not talking epic here.
The storyline featured an actress trying to escape the paparazzi. She ends up at a caravan park, where she meets a bingo-caller who happens to be a lesbian.
The red-coat type entertainer is played by singer Joss Stone. Speaking about the role, Joss said: “I just wanted to challenge myself. There are things in the film that are going to really push the boundaries, and that excites me. I can also confirm there will be a long lingering French kiss, but it won’t be with a male.”
Joss also wrote the music for Snappers.
“I have already started writing songs for Snappers, I have been sleeping with a pad and pen in bed with me for the last three days and I keep jumping out of bed in the middle of the night to jot lyrics down.”
Joss continued, “I’m bringing my guys over from America for three months to work with me on the soundtrack and original score.”
By this time her Devonian accent had faded as he had lived for some time in the States. Accordingly, at the 2007 Brit Awards, she talked in with a broad American accent. However, the tabloids responded negatively in the following morning’s reports.Yet, as Joss pointed out, she had been almost constantly in America since she was 14, and had naturally assimilated the dialect. “All I’m doing is working,” she said. “At the end of the day, I don’t give a f*** if people have a problem with my accent.”
Of course, the “‘steamy lesbian kiss” was a serious exploration of gender, sexuality, LGBT equality and low pay in the tourism sector. That the kiss guaranteed numerous headlines in the tabloid press after photos were released was entirely accidental.
Yet, sadly Snappers was never released. We’ll never know if it was any good or just ‘Carry on Hollyoaks goes to Torquay’. There are clues, however, in the form of a surviving trailer for the movie:
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