Drew Barrymore has infiltrated our beloved Ypsilanti! Man the barricades! Hollow out the children and stuff them with your valuables! Set fire to your homes! Release the toxic cloud from Marsh Plating!
update: Our friend Leighton saw her and said hello. Apparently she was here scouting locations for a film she’s producing about roller derby.
update: OK, Leighton’s wife is sitting next to me at the bar (we’re getting ready to judge Shadow Art Fair entries) and she wants me to mention, in case Ms. Barrymore is listening, that she wants desperately to play the part of a child-hating mom in this film. (As she despises kids, she says it wouldn’t really be acting.) Her ultimate objective is to become a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. All she needs is a chance to be a “D” level celebrity, and this, she figures, is her only realistic chance. (She’s dictating this to me.)
update: I’m available too… In case anyone’s looking… With the right wardrobe, I think I’d make a pretty good ‘sensitive dad’ type.
update: Here’s Jennifer, Ms. Barrymore. Doesn’t she look like a child-hating mom?
update: All of this seems to be in response to recent film industry tax incentives enacted by Governor Granholm. Apparently, with things becoming more expensive to shoot in Toronto, which has become the Los Angeles of Canada, it’s believed that some of the work may migrate back to the U.S. And, assuming some portion of these projects don’t require sunshine, there’s a good chance that Michigan might get some of them… This particular project of Barrymore’s, called “Whip It!”, had been set to begin shooting in Texas.
update: According to local real estate developer Karen Maurer, the Barrymore location scouts have expressed interest in the rundown rental property of David Kircher’s at 43 South Summit Street. Maurer says they are also looking for a beautifully restored Victorian home and a diner.
update: If I catch Ms. Barrymore, I intend to sneak her around town dressed like a ghost, and keep her hidden in my closet.
31 Comments
I am a trained makeup artist, and I would love to refuse to work on her film, because I can’t stand movie people anymore. (Call me)
Drew. oh yes.
A lot of film and TV production may be headed our way. Michigan just announced for huge tax breaks and other incentives for that industry. Given the fact that things are getting more expensive to film in Toronto, the thought is that they’ll migrate this way. From what I’ve heard from people at the Visitors and Convention Bureau, it may be working.
According to this January article in “Variety”
I saw Drew Barrymore today, too! Just from the car driving through downtown so I didn’t get a chance to harass her up close.
No… Jennifer doesn’t look cold enough to convince me that she’s a child hater. She does have that look of a mother who has completely had it with her kid, though. In defense of mothers, I would like to point out that those are two entirely different things.
A quick update on the Drew Barrymore movie shoot. I live on Summit street and on Saturday of last week as well as Monday morning a location scout stopped at my house looking for the owner of the run down house next door to me. Lo and behold, it is one of Kircher’s houses so I gave them his number and he showcased the house to the group yesterday (about 10 people). Apparently, they are looking for a rundown house for a location for Roller Derby. I spoke to Kircher and he said they looked at the house and they will get back to him, it’s located at 43 South Summit.
What an explosive barrel of mixed feelings this could be.
I’d shit my pants if Kircher got rewarded for being a slumlord. What a fucking story that would be. From prison to Hollywood.
Hmmmm. From child haters to slumlords, an industry is coming to town that heaps rewards on society’s worst members … yup, sounds like Hollywood to me.
(If the pattern holds true, MonkeyPowerTrio is a shoe-in for the soundtrack.)
If they do pick one of Kircher’s houses, let it be known that Drew Barrymore is indirectly associating with and subsidizing an unrepentant slumlord who sickened children by dumping toxic sludge in the Huron River. Spread the word.
Ypsilanti: Our Value is Our Filth!
I did hear from a reputable source that the Producers are looking for a:
beautiful victorian
dilapitated victorian
and a diner.
I don’t think their intent is to showcase the bad of Ypsilanti only. A reporter from the Ann Arbor News contacted me today as well, and the report is that the Movie is “Whip it” about a roller derby starring Ellen Page (from Juno) produced by Drew Barrymore. They were scheduled to shoot in Texas but are looking into Michigan because of the tax credits. Thanks to Governor Granholm for trying to help our struggling economy.
It would be bad taste for any of you “lower taxes bring in more revenue to the community via encouraging private enterprise” folks to start strutting around right now. Nobody likes that, especially people who are smart and nice but wrong about common-sensical stuff like that.
Hey Ms. Barrymore, lemme know if any of Kirchers’ shitholes need to be deroached. Special movie-set pesticides generally run about… 90% of your total production budget for pest control, coincidentally.
Thanks for the update, Karen. I’ll post the info on the front page.
My concern is that the impending actors strike will shut everything down anyway… Michigan just can’t seem to catch a break.
There’s another actors’ strike coming? Holy crap-eating reality shows! Please God, just let Hollywood go out of business and move to India for cheap labor!
Most recently it was a writer’s strike. I think it’s been a while since actors took to the picket lines.
If they would like to use my house I’d be more than happy. I’d be even happier if they would buy it instead, but I don’t see that happening. I’d hope it would qualify for the “beautiful victorian” and not the “dilapitated victorian”!!!
http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/2008/05/did_actress_drew_barrymore_dro.html
The Ann Arbor News covered it here:
http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/2008/05/did_actress_drew_barrymore_dro.html
Sorry. I didn’t see your link Jennifer.
I would believe she is here looking for shooting locations. I saw her yesterday at the Ren Cen. She was sitting with a group for several hours, and they were looking at pictures of an abandoned-looking building, and having a very intense discussion.
Thanks, Ren Cen worker. I like knowing that we have eyes and ears in Detroit… Keep up the good work.
Kircher tried to rent that place to me and some buddies way back in College. His trick was to give you the address across the street, then do the bait and switch to that house. We all laughed when we saw it was Kircher, and left.
Any word on what came of this? Did Barrymore and Company decide on Ypsi or not?
This comes from the “Ann Arbor News”:
I had no idea it was that aggressive. A 40% cash refund on in-state spending is huge… I don’t know how smart it is, but it’s certainly going to bring film crews here.
Drew Barrymore spotted at the Stonehouse Bar in Detroit looking for shooting locations for the new movie.
Drew is really harshing my groove. Summit is part of my normal walking route for my Hosanna hating Aussie and me but “they” won’t let us down there.:-) Does anyone know: are they filming at the Maurer house?
Nope, they’re shooting at the house next door to it. They’ll let you walk or bike down to it. We just went and gawked with a bunch of other people. We saw Drew get out of a van and walk to the back of the house. It looks like they’re filming some sort of party scene in the backyard.
Took my dog for a walk in Prospect Park and saw the Whip It! crew set up in that area. They have Osband street closed down and it looks like that’s where they are filming. Does anyone know where else they will be around Ypsi? I just want to see Drew and/or Jimmy Fallon.