Film crew to roll in town on Monday

Film crew to roll in town on Monday

By Terry Parris, Jr.

Citizen Staffwriter

It was only a matter of time before Hollywood made a return to Hamtramck.

With the large incentives given to filmmakers to work in Michigan and Hamtramck’s unique aesthetic, a film production crew will roller-skate into town, so to speak.

The movie is called “Whip It!” It’s about roller-skating – roller derby to be exact – and it’s directed by Hollywood star Drew Barrymore (of “E.T.” and “Charlie’s Angels” fame). And come Monday, Aug. 25, Hamtramckans will start seeing the ins and outs of filming a Hollywood movie.

According to reports, the movie will be filming inside the former Anita’s Hair Salon on Caniff, shutting down the street between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m., as well as the public parking lot across the street at McDougall. The following day production will move to Hamtramck High School, closing off Charest.

The film, which is actually set in Austin, Texas, is the story of a beauty pageant winner, played by Ellen Page (“Juno”), who sneaks off to skate in a roller derby league.

Marcia Gay Harden (“Mystic River”), Juliette Lewis (“Natural Born Killers”), rapper Eve, and former Saturday Night Live cast member Jimmy Fallon, as well as Barrymore herself, round out the rest of the cast.

Hamtramck’s cast of characters just got a lot more famous.