A little Hollywood tinsel comes to town

By Charles Sercombe

It sure takes a lot of big trucks to make a little Hollywood movie.

Over a dozen long trucks filled with movie gear lined up and down part of Caniff and along Charest St. for the making of “Whip It” – the latest Hollywood movie to be filmed in Hamtramck.

The movie is about a young woman who joins a roller derby league.

The first scene shot here was done in the former Anita’s Hair Salon on Caniff near McDougall. The film is being directed by Drew Barrymore and starts Ellen Page and Jimmy Fallon.

Anita’s underwent a small remodeling and was redubbed “Trudy’s Beauty Salon.”

Although the movie is supposed to be set in Texas, it will be almost entirely shot in the metro area, thanks to a state tax incentive that has been successful in bringing in a large number of production companies.

Later on Monday the film crew set up a scene in Hamtramck High School for filming on Tuesday.

A production assistant with the film company said Hamtramck was selected because there was an empty hair salon near a high school, which meant little travel time to set up each scene.

The film company held what is called a closed set and would not allow photographs of Barrymore or the actors.

A small crowd of onlookers gathered in the city parking lot as the salon scene was shot. Extra police officers were on hand for crowd control.

Although there wasn’t much to look at, people stayed for the few hours it took to complete the scene at the hair salon.

Janice Clark of McDougal St. set up a folding chair at the end of her block and took in all the commotion. Apparently, she wasn’t impressed.

“Eminem had better food,” Clark said of the rapper’s film “8 Mile” that had been filmed, in part, on Carpenter St. “At least this time it’s during the day. It’s pretty cool, though, another movie for Hamtramck.”

One former area resident, Charlotte (Werner) Ambrose landed a small role. The 72-year-old retired art teacher said she was driving one day and heard a radio report that the film was looking for extras.

She said she went for an audition, had her photo taken and got the call.

“I think they were more interested in my hair,” Ambrose said of her perfectly coifed bouffant. Ambrose has roots in Hamtramck even though she never lived here. Her uncle owned the former Krajenke Buick dealership and another family member owned a funeral home on Davison.

Other Hollywood productions that filmed scenes in Hamtramck include “Blue Collar,” “Scarecrow” and “Polish Wedding.”

With film companies now flocking into the area, who knows, Hamtramck may get sprinkled with more tinsel.