South Derbyshire's famous 50s American Diner is hitting the big screen in a gangster film with a twist described as "Reservoir Dogs meets the Muppets".
Nottingham film company Loonatik and Drinks have chosen the restaurant - a popular tourist attraction for many years - as the setting for its latest film, called Socks and Robbers.
The 50s American Diner, in John Street, Church Gresley, has long been a magnet for publicity, frequently featuring in news programme and entertainment shows alike, and now a group of film buffs are hoping to take it to an even wider audience.
Loonatik and Drinks' new film centres around a group of men carrying out a bank robbery but, instead of wearing balaclavas, they have sock puppets on their heads.
David Lilley, 45, who wrote the 10-minute film and is directing it, said: "We've already filmed most of the picture and the scenes at the diner will be our final ones.
"We knew we wanted to feature an American-style diner and so we sought out ones on the internet, eventually finding the 50s American Diner.
"We came to visit it and as soon as we walked through the door we knew it was the perfect location - we felt as though we were actually in America in the 50s."
Mr Lilley, an IT manager, described the gangster horror and comedy film as "Reservoir Dogs meets the Muppets."
The diner is owned by Jeff Laight and Trish Whitehouse, who opened up the quirky restaurant in 2005.
Jeff, 47, said: "It's quite a compliment for them to choose the diner of all the places they looked at. We do pride ourselves on being an authentic American diner and it's great that people are seeing that.
"The film looks quite quirky to say the least! We're excited to see the finished product."
The pair are no strangers to the limelight, and the diner has featured on BBC News, Sky Sports adverts and Gok's Fashion Fix.
Filming will take place on Thursday, March 15, when the diner will be closed. The restaurant opens Friday to Sunday every week.
