'Mean Girls' Movie Musical Filming In Middletown In March And April

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — A musical movie adaptation of "Mean Girls" will be filming in Middletown starting early next month.

Filming is scheduled to start in the beginning of March and continue into April. They are also looking for Middletown residents to appear as extras, according to this casting call.

Patch heard filming will take place at Mater Dei Prep, a longtime Catholic prep school in Middletown that permanently closed its doors last June, due to a drop of more than half in its student enrollment.

But that has not been confirmed.

The shuttered Mater Dei campus is located on Church Street in Middletown.

The casting company is Manhattan-based Grant Wilfley Casting, which held this press conference at 5 p.m. Tuesday from Smodcastle Cinemas theater in Leonardo, owned by "Clerks" filmmaker Kevin Smith.

All Grant Wilfley will say publicly is they are filming "a high school movie musical in the Middletown area of Monmouth County."

But NJ.com/NJ Advance Media learned that the movie is indeed a musical version of "Mean Girls."

Here is what the quartet of four Grant Wilfley casting agents said in the Tuesday evening press conference:

"Basically, what we are looking for is people 18 and up to portray high school students," they said. "All types of people, all ethnic backgrounds, all body types, people with disabilities ... to portray high school students and teachers, parents, pedestrians and neighbors. Anyone can do it. You don't need theater or acting experience."

"We are looking for real people. This isn't L.A." said the agents, all women, giggling. "We are not looking for just models. We want all types of people; we want authenticity. We want to represent what high school looks like in 2023."

Additionally, they are looking for teens who are good at freestyle longboarding/skateboarding, said the casting agents.

The casting company stressed that locals do not need any prior acting experience. You will also be paid.

"It could be sitting in an auditorium, sitting in the cafeteria. You're going to really try and relax and be yourself on camera," said the casting agents.

The studio is Paramount Pictures and, when completed, the musical movie will stream on Paramount+ . Right now, the project is called "High School Movie Musical."

Here is the casting call press conference on Tuesday, Feb. 7:

Here is the casting call from Grant Wilfley:

Grant Wilfley Casting is seeking locals to work as extras in a high school movie musical from Paramount Pictures, filming in Middletown, NJ March-April 2023.

Casting NJ locals to play:

• High School Students (ages 18+ who can portray younger)
• Teachers
• Parents
• Neighbors

Please note, we are casting for all types - all ages, ethnicities, gender identities, people with disabilities, people with special skills (e.g. skateboarders), twins/triplets, etc.
The casting is for paid background (aka extra) work. Mandatory COVID testing provided by production. Must have valid ID to fill out a federal I9 form.

To be considered, please email hsmovie@gwcnyc.com and/or register for FREE at http://www.gwci.app/talent Learn more: https://www.gwcionlocation.com...

Tiny Fey wrote the "Mean Girls" screenplay, which is based on Rosalind Wiseman's book "Queen Bees and Wannabes." The movie became a megahit (and now cult classic) and starred Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Franzese, Fey and Amy Poehler. A musical adaptation debuted on Broadway in 2017. This latest version is an adaptation of the Broadway musical.

Here is more info on which actors are confirmed to star in the musical movie of "Mean Girls:" https://deadline.com/2022/12/n...

Related: Mater Dei Prep In Middletown Closing, Citing Steep Drop In Enrollment (May 2022)