Director Rob Reiner discovered Flipped by doing something Hollywood big-wigs are notorious for not doing: He read the book.
The movie was shot on location in Ann Arbor, MI. The neighborhood residents gathered in lawn chairs to watch the action. It became a daily block party, which everyone enjoyed.
The sycamore tree used in the film was located in a city park. For a fee, the production company was allowed to pave in a road so a school bus could reach it. They restored the park when filming was complete.
Juli's house in the film was built from the ground up (a set), whereas Bryce's is a real house (with a matching set built inside an old General Motors warehouse). Juli's "house" was removed after filming was complete.
The book was written as a contemporary novel, but the movie is set in the 50's & 60's because Rob Reiner wanted to capture the innocence of the story, which he felt was reflected by the era prior to the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
The movie follows the book faithfully, with a few added elements (to avoid a "G" rating --the movie is rated PG), and a few omissions. It's a great exercise to compare the two.
Primary Movie Cast: Madeline Carroll (Juli), Callan McAuliffe (Bryce), Stefanie Scott (Juli's best friend), John Mahoney (Chet), Aidan Quinn & Penelope Ann Miller (Juli's parents), Anthony Edwards & Rebecca DeMornay (Bryce's parents).
An Iridescent Anniversary Edition of the book will be available Summer 2016. It will contain lots of bonus information about the book-to-movie experience.
Rob Reiner discussing Flipped and why he wanted to make the film.
Official Movie Trailer
Flipped Movie On-Location Gallery
(Click on any photo to easily scroll through the gallery and read captions.)
Shredderman Rules follows the first half of Shredderman: Secret Identity fairly faithfully, but the second half "becomes its own thing." Both are fun, and interesting to contrast.
The movie has the students cast as 9th graders, which is older than in the books, where they are primarily 5th graders. It is rated PG.
The movie was shot on-location at El Segundo High School in the Los Angeles area.
Shredderman Rules was Nickelodeon's first original made-for-TV movie.
The movie's release coincided with the final episode of the wildly popular Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, which starred Devon Werkheiser, the actor who plays Nolan Byrd in Shredderman Rules. The marketing strategy brought in almost 4 million viewers.
Primary Cast: Devon Werkheiser (Nolan Byrd/Shredderman), Tim Meadows (Mr. Green), Andrew Caldwell (Alvin "Bubba" Bixby), Daniel Roebuck (Mr. Bixby), Mindy Sterling (Dr. Voss), Dave Coulier (Mr. Byrd).