drew barrymore wants you

Lots of stories have been filtering in this week from people around town who have had run-ins with representatives from Drew Barrymore’s production company, Flower Films. Word is they’ve secured a house near Ypsi’s water tower, and they’re working feverishly to get it ready for the start of filming on July 28. According to the “Ann Arbor News,” they’ll be needing hundreds of extras for the film about roller derby, so, if you’re the kind of person who likes to stand around for hours and hours for very little money, just to pretend in a film that you’re doing something mundane, like eating a sandwich, this could be the chance you’ve been waiting for. Here’s a clip from the article:

… Kathy Remski, a partner with Real Style in Birmingham, said her company is looking for “thousands” of local people to fill in various roles. Real Style received a contract from Flower Films to seek out extras.

“We are looking for individuals from 18 to 50, all walks of life, from the most eccentric to punk rockers to roller derby fans to rock ‘n’ roll people,” Remski said. “We want expressive individuals. If somebody has pink hair, bring it on.”

Anyone interested should e-mail info@realstyleonline.com. Include the subject line: “Whip It Extras.”

The body of the e-mail should include the person’s picture, a contact number and a date of birth. Remski said the picture is “essential” in determining who gets a call….

Remski said the extras will be used from July 30 to Aug. 13. Casting calls will be set up in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti as early as next week.

“There are long days, but you are part of filming history,” Remski said….

Tell you what, if you’re chosen, and if you appear in the film wearing either an “Iggy Pop was from Ypsi” t-shirtor a pair of “Ypsipanties”, I’ll give you ten bucks. And, I’ll double it if you seductively mouth my name while standing in the background of a shot.

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33 Comments

  1. Makeup shmakeup
    Posted June 28, 2008 at 1:05 am | Permalink

    Movie fever. There’s a reason celebrities are constantly in therapy and hooked on various mood altering narcotics.

    What I meant to say was: this is gonna be your big break and ticket to happiness. Live the dream.

  2. mark
    Posted June 28, 2008 at 8:31 am | Permalink

    Yeah, there must be a hundred productions like this happening each year. It’s certainly nothing new for them. They blow in and out of little towns like ours every year. We treat it like something special, but it really isn’t. It is a nice diversion, however, from all the shit we have to deal with on a daily basis here.

  3. ytown
    Posted June 28, 2008 at 2:38 pm | Permalink

    Just enjoy it, it’s fun! Stop analyzing everything.

  4. Ol' E Cross
    Posted June 28, 2008 at 11:07 pm | Permalink

    ytown … spoken like a true Republican. I pretty sure that’s exactly what Bush told Powell before invading Iraq.

    (Sorry, it was too easy, I’m a weak man sometimes.)

  5. Posted June 30, 2008 at 3:41 pm | Permalink

    Mark,

    Speaking of topics of Drew Barrymore, did you see this?
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758751/

    -b

  6. Posted July 2, 2008 at 8:46 pm | Permalink

    The production company was over on the Eastside near Dwight and Stanley filming at a house this week.

    – Steve

  7. Posted July 2, 2008 at 8:51 pm | Permalink

    From the MI Film office:

    Feature Film ‘Whip It’ is crewing up.

    Feature Film ‘WHIP IT’ is shooting in and around the Detroit and Ann Arbor areas from late July through mid September. We are accepting submissions for all crew positions. All department support is needed: Grip, Electric, Camera, Production Assistants, Art Department, Producer Assistants, etc.

    Please send your resume to whipitmich@gmail.com

    – Steve

  8. Posted July 8, 2008 at 9:07 am | Permalink

    Hello Drew Berrymore Productions,

    I am a true Annarborite. I was born and raised in the heart of Ann Arbor, Mi. I grew up on Felch st and then moved to 520 Cherry street off of Miller. I was born at the old St. Joe’s hospital and went to Mack school and slawson middle, and Ann Arbor Pioneer High school.
    I also act and sing, I was in a local church prduction call the Glory of Chirstmas for the past several years. It is not just a small production there are 19 thousand members in the church and over 35 thousand people come each year from all over michigan and ohio to see the play. It is totaly a Broadway type production. If you have any small speaking parts, I would love to act in your movie.
    I am nice looking African American, female 50 years old and I would love to be in your production. I had the lead female role last year in our Church production. I don’t care if I am just extra, but I really can act a little. Give me a try ! I am funny. A Queen Latifa type, I am devoted and committed once I sign up.

  9. Andy C
    Posted July 8, 2008 at 4:42 pm | Permalink

    “Feature Film ‘WHIP IT’ is shooting in and around the Detroit and Ann Arbor areas from late July through mid September.”

    This reminds me of a recent post about the show “30 Days” when the write up said it was taking place in Ypsilanti but on the show Ypsilanti was never mentioned once. We were referred to as “just outside of Ann Arbor”. Of course Ann Arbor was all over it. Fucking bullshit!

  10. mark
    Posted July 8, 2008 at 9:48 pm | Permalink

    Just wait until something goes wrong, Andy. Then it will be all about Ypsi.

    And good luck, Kimberly…. As I understand it, Barrymore will be casting most of the meatiest roles based solely on the comments left on this blog. Edge of Sprawl, I hear, is going to be playing an angry politician hell bent on making roller derby illegal. And Ol E Cross is going to be a lovable high school guidance councilor who encourages bad girls to lace up and kick ass.

  11. Posted July 8, 2008 at 9:57 pm | Permalink

    I watched that episode of 30 days. I don’t remember specifically that Ypsilanti was never mentioned; although, I could have sworn it was. Even if it wasn’t, the name Ypsilanti appeared on various road signs and other scenes shot. Our beloved water tower was prominently shown in one scene.

  12. Mark H.
    Posted July 8, 2008 at 10:16 pm | Permalink

    Mark,

    Readers of your blog who desire a role in Drew Barrymore’s soon to be shoot film will be interested in knowing that she has already cast at least one of your loyal readers/contributers for a minor role in the film. Yes, I was given a screen test recently, and today I got a call saying they’d cast me to play the geeky professor who explains the origins and evolution of roller derby in one scene.

    I am excited beyond belief to have this opportunity to break into the film world, and I owe it all to Mark Maynard.com!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mark! (I am a bit worried about being typecast – you know, the geeky professor type – but my agent says not to worry.

    And yes, at the screen test and audition, Drew confirmed to me that they were hiring extras and small part players exclusively thru MM.com. I told her about the Shadow Art Fair, and she got all excited and said she’d certainly be there at the Corner Brewery on July 19 for that famous event.

    Drew is every bit as cute in person as on TV, and she seems to treat everyone like they are someone.

  13. Black Jake
    Posted July 9, 2008 at 12:05 am | Permalink

    I’m about to tell you all a secret that the Big Blogging industry doesn’t want you to know!

    I was recently hired on as Drew’s butt double, and most of the cast are crashing at my apartment for the duration. She wanted to know if she could come to our shows in disguise and secretly film people screaming for us hysterically and buying our cd’s by the handful.

    I said sure, so long as I could break the news to mark’s loyal audience first!

    So you heard it here first folks — come to all our shows, scream hysterically, and buy as many cd’s as you can, because you never know if a disguised Drew Barrymore may be watching and you’ll be made famous, rich, and happy for all eternity!

    Just like Heath Ledger!!!

    [portions of the preceding statement may be candy-coated bullshit]

  14. Andy C
    Posted July 9, 2008 at 1:48 am | Permalink

    John, Maybe I missed it but even the side of the school bus was blurred. We had it on TiVo and even framed through parts. Also the end credits only thanked Ann Arbor with no mention of Ypsilanti at all.

    Hopefully we’ll at least get a line at the end credits of Whip It. I was told that Whip It is being filmed two doors down from our house but I’ve seen no activity.

  15. Steve Swan
    Posted July 9, 2008 at 9:37 am | Permalink

    Not to toot my own horn (although I have in several quality adult features including Toot My Own Horn 2: Aquatic Fantasy) but I am also in negotiations with Flower Films for a role in the film.

  16. Nick
    Posted July 9, 2008 at 10:21 am | Permalink

    Iggy Pop was actually from Muskegon, MI. Or at least that’s where he was born. Everyone should really jump on the chance to be a part of this colossal flop.

  17. Meta
    Posted July 9, 2008 at 12:28 pm | Permalink

    Pop was born somewhere else, but moved to a trailer park on the Ypsi side of Carpenter Road when he was 1 or 2.

  18. Paw
    Posted July 9, 2008 at 12:31 pm | Permalink

    My services have been retained.

    I will be Ms. Barrymore’s fluffer.

    In between fluffings I will be working craft services.

  19. Ol' E Cross
    Posted July 9, 2008 at 7:29 pm | Permalink

    Update. After my first screentest, I’ve been recast as Skippy the lovable mascot with wandering hands.

    (Spoiler alert: In the final scene, Skippy saves the day!)

  20. Dirtgrain
    Posted July 9, 2008 at 7:43 pm | Permalink

    Is that like the Sherwood Anderson character, Wing Biddlebaum, with the dancing hands?

    . . . . The story of Wing Biddlebaum’s hands is worth a book in itself. Sympathetically set forth it would tap many strange, beautiful qualities in obscure men. It is a job for a poet. In Winesburg the hands had attracted attention merely because of their activity. With them Wing Biddlebaum had picked as high as a hundred and forty quarts of strawberries in a day. They became his distinguishing feature, the source of his fame. Also they made more grotesque an already grotesque and elusive individuality. Winesburg was proud of the hands of Wing Biddlebaum in the same spirit in which it was proud of Banker White’s new stone house and Wesley Moyer’s bay stallion, Tony Tip, that had won the two-fifteen trot at the fall races in Cleveland.
    As for George Willard, he had many times wanted to ask about the hands. At times an almost overwhelming curiosity had taken hold of him. He felt that there must be a reason for their strange activity and their inclination to keep hidden away and only a growing respect for Wing Biddlebaum kept him from blurting out the questions that were often in his mind.
    Once he had been on the point of asking. The two were walking in the fields on a summer afternoon and had stopped to sit upon a grassy bank. All afternoon Wing Biddlebaum had talked as one inspired. By a fence he had stopped and beating like a giant woodpecker upon the top board had shouted at George Willard, condemning his tendency to be too much influenced by the people about him, “You are destroying yourself,” he cried. “You have the inclination to be alone and to dream and you are afraid of dreams. You want to be like others in town here. You hear them talk and you try to imitate them.”
    On the grassy bank Wing Biddlebaum had tried again to drive his point home. His voice became soft and reminiscent, and with a sigh of contentment he launched into a long rambling talk, speaking as one lost in a dream.
    Out of the dream Wing Biddlebaum made a picture for George Willard. In the picture men lived again in a kind of pastoral golden age. Across a green open country came clean-limbed young men, some afoot, some mounted upon horses. In crowds the young men came to gather about the feet of an old man who sat beneath a tree in a tiny garden and who talked to them.
    Wing Biddlebaum became wholly inspired. For once he forgot the hands. Slowly they stole forth and lay upon George Willard’s shoulders. Something new and bold came into the voice that talked. “You must try to forget all you have learned,” said the old man. “You must begin to dream. From this time on you must shut your ears to the roaring of the voices.”
    Pausing in his speech, Wing Biddlebaum looked long and earnestly at George Willard. His eyes glowed. Again he raised the hands to caress the boy and then a look of horror swept over his face.
    With a convulsive movement of his body, Wing Biddlebaum sprang to his feet and thrust his hands deep into his trousers pockets. Tears came to his eyes. “I must be getting along home. I can talk no more with you,” he said nervously.
    Without looking back, the old man had hurried down the hillside and across a meadow, leaving George Willard perplexed and frightened upon the grassy slope. With a shiver of dread the boy arose and went along the road toward town. “I’ll not ask him about his hands,” he thought, touched by the memory of the terror he had seen in the man’s eyes. “There’s something wrong, but I don’t want to know what it is. His hands have something to do with his fear of me and of everyone. . . .”

    http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/Hand.shtml

  21. bummed
    Posted July 10, 2008 at 9:48 pm | Permalink

    http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A643728

  22. Brackache
    Posted July 10, 2008 at 10:16 pm | Permalink

    I read bummed’s post — I kinda wanted to punch that Texan Josh fella’s nose for even implying anything bad about Ypsi. I don’t care if it is true. It’s like calling somebody’s fat wife fat. Fuck wherever you’re from, Texas bitch.

  23. Megan
    Posted July 16, 2008 at 10:30 pm | Permalink

    Wow! This is exciting! I go to school at Washtenaw Community College, so I’m in Ann Arbor a lot, I haven’t had a Drew sighting myself yet, but some of my friends have seen her. I’m a super fan of hers, it’s nice to know that she’s as cute in person as she is in her movies. ^^
    Shout out to Flower Child productions, I would love LOVE to snag a part on screen. I can speak, or just sit there and look pretty, whatever you want me for. I sent in an email with a photograph. :)
    I’ll try and get out to Shadow Art Fair and see what’s happening out there.

  24. Brackache
    Posted July 17, 2008 at 12:37 pm | Permalink

    Everything I eat tastes like vomit.

  25. Laurel
    Posted July 18, 2008 at 9:54 am | Permalink

    I have sent in my email with a picture, too! and sent back an email with my available dates. but I’m confused because some things i have read say you have to be 18 and some say 19. I’m 18 so hopefully thats right!

    I would love be an extra on the film or anything else involved! And i live in Saline…so I’m right near by some of the filming locations :)

  26. FlowerDiva
    Posted July 24, 2008 at 2:21 pm | Permalink

    Drew, I’m a sweet girl with right-timing attitude. If you need anything like a tour guide, a friend, a movie extra, a boob-double (he he – jk), a dog walker, some PR, a lipstick blotter, your personal fan-mister, or just someone to laugh with) I’m your gal! Welcome to Ann Arbor!

  27. Brackache
    Posted July 24, 2008 at 3:27 pm | Permalink

    These are joke comments, right?

  28. SicoPhanny
    Posted July 24, 2008 at 3:42 pm | Permalink

    Hi Drew, your #1 fan here! ^^

    I LOVE that you’re hiring people just from marks blog comments, that’s SO fetch! :)

    I sent in my headshot and my hello-kitty journal documenting how much I love you. I felt it necessary, as my keyboard won’t let me put eyeballs in “o’s”, or dot my “i’s” with hearts! :p

    I’m super cute, like you, and have no competitive skills in acting, makeup, or dignity. I’d love to help in any way I can, which is zilch! :D

    Please inform the director that I can be as open or closed mouthed as he needs ;)

    Ciao!

  29. Doogie Downer
    Posted July 24, 2008 at 4:02 pm | Permalink

    So sorry SicoPhanny, but Drew’s directing it too, not some lecherous man easily led by his peepee. Hope you like a challenge.

  30. Posted August 8, 2008 at 9:19 am | Permalink

    I’ve started a petition to get the song “Roller Derby Saved My Soul” in Whip It! Not only is it a rockin’ song, but the guy who sings it — Uncle Leon — is from Downriver and even went to school in Ypsi.

    Please stop by and give it a signature!

  31. i wan to be in a movie
    Posted August 12, 2008 at 4:48 pm | Permalink

    so do u have to be 18 or older because im younger than that

  32. Posted August 12, 2008 at 5:06 pm | Permalink

    Clint Eastwood was in town filming a couple weeks ago, and he chose some local 9 year old kid to co-star with him.

  33. Saing
    Posted August 3, 2010 at 9:55 am | Permalink

    I watched the movie last night. It was OK, but I doubt that I’d ever watch it again. I looked for Ypsipanties and didn’t see any.

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