Miley mania fueled by filming in Farms

Dozens of teenage and “tween”age kids — most of them girls — packed the sidewalk across from Grosse Pointe South High School in the hopes of catching a glimpse of actress/pop star Miley Cyrus.

Cyrus — who has been in metro Detroit shooting an American remake of the French coming of age comedy “LOL: Laughing Out Loud” opposite Demi Moore — was at South Aug. 11 to shoot scenes inside and outside of the school. Her young fans have also reportedly been staking out the Farms house where Cyrus has been staying while she’s in town.

Trucks and trailers filled with equipment lined Fisher by the school. With motorists stealing curious glances at the goings-on and an unusually large number of pedestrians and bicyclists in the area, traffic on Fisher slowed to a crawl.

Faithful fans spent hours in the summer heat for the opportunity to see Cyrus in person.

Some onlookers were disappointed that Cyrus hadn’t come across the street to greet fans or sign autographs.

“I think she should give more to the fans,” said Alexa Scheppler, 14, of Grosse Pointe Farms.

But Scheppler and her friends were nonetheless enjoying the opportunity to catch a glimpse of Hollywood in their own backyard.

“It’s cool they’re filming in Grosse Pointe,” said Allison Shimmbel, 14, of Grosse Pointe City.

A visibly thrilled Charlotte Duus, 10, of Grosse Pointe Woods said she’s been watching Cyrus’ “Hannah Montana” television series since she was 5.

“I saw her head by her trailer,” Duus said of Cyrus. “She was really pretty.”

Gracie Popp, 8, of the Woods is another “Hannah Montana” watcher who said Cyrus “is awesome.”

Duus said Cyrus is a positive role model.

“She’s just a good influence on young girls,” she said.

Parents and other family members who came with their kids were impressed as well.

“I think this is the biggest excitement Grosse Pointe has ever had,” said Joan Rashid of Grosse Pointe City, who was there with her niece. “Demi Moore and Miley Cyrus coming to Grosse Pointe — it’s not every day that happens.”

Mom Jody Kolojeski of Grosse Pointe Farms was taking her son, Andrew, 5 1/2, to get a haircut when they encountered the throngs of onlookers.

“I kind of like her sometimes,” Andrew said of Cyrus.

“It’s kind of exciting,” mom Kolojeski said.

Mom Michelle Carlson of the Woods brought daughter Nicole, 11 — a Cyrus fan — and son Bret, 9, who waited patiently, despite not being a Cyrus fan. Bret admitted he would have been more enthusiastic if they had been there to see the Red Wings.

“It’s good, clean fun,” Carlson said of the gathering.

About a half dozen film crew members were assigned to crowd control, making sure pedestrians could still get across the sidewalk and moving the crowds, as needed. They also had the remarkable ability to silence the enthusiastic mob to near silence by announcing, “Rolling: Quiet, please.”

Although the crew told onlookers they couldn’t snap photos of the closed set when they were shooting, many observers snapped shots in between takes with everything from cell phones to professional cameras with telephoto lenses.

At press time, the Farms portion of the shoot was expected to last until Aug. 18.