Ann Arbor's Thurston neighborhood residents flipped out about 'Flipped'

A usually quiet Thurston neighborhood bustled with neighbors and moviemakers today as the movie “Flipped ” continued filming in the area.

Neighbors are coming out more than ever now, says resident Jennifer Rice.

“I’ve never seen the community so alive," Rice said as actresses in 1950s attire walked by. It’s usually very closed up. It’s fantastic for the community. It’s bringing (the community) together for the first time.”

According to IMDB, the Rob Reiner film is about an eighth-grade girl who has a crush on a boy at school who finds her love of chickens and nature strange. Based on the book of the same name by Wendelin Van Draanen, the story follows the children through a journey about relationships and love.

Reiner and other Hollywood stars walk the neighborhood streets from one set to another.

Yvette Dimcheff, who lives next door to Thurston Elementary, said her 5-year-old boys had a conversation with Reiner. She said her sons, Andrew and Eliot, were inspired by the movie production and tried making their own.

“We’ve had a great time with it,” she said. “It’s better than summer camp. We met Madeline Carroll while she was on her way walking from the Base Camp to the set. We got a picture with her…They also let us go into the costume trailer, and the boys dressed up in their 1950s clothes and went to the trailer.”

Rice and Dimcheff said they felt the movie is good for the city. The movie industry has dramatically grown in Michigan since 2007, when the state started offering some of the best incentives in the country for moviemakers. According to the Michigan Film Office Web site, 25 films were made in Michigan in 2008. So far in 2009, 11 films have wrapped production in the state and nine are in production. Eleven more are anticipated.

Calls to the Michigan Film Office were not returned today. Patricia Story, unit publicist for “Flipped," said she couldn't answer any questions from the media.

It's unclear when filming will wrap up, but the city approved road closures for Castle Rock Pictures in conjunction with the filming until Aug. 14.

Photos: Filming took place in the Thurston neighborhood Thursday for the movie "Flipped." Photos by Renee Tellez.

Jessica Kerman is an intern for AnnArbor.com. Reach our news desk at 734-623-2521 or news@annarbor.com.