John Hannah: 'Ping Pong Summer' starts filming

'Ping Pong Summer' Starts Filming in Ocean City
Hollywood has hit the beach in Ocean City. Filming has started for the movie Ping Pong Summer. 

Stars like Susan Sarandon, Lea Thompson, John Hannah and more are in town for the film. Local actors were cast, including an Ocean City girl, Emmi Shockley.

The actors were ecstatic to be in Ocean City, some for the first time, all said it was a welcoming place with a unique sense of charm.

"It's crazy, there's so much character, so many funny places," said Thompson. "I love our hotel, I love the beach, I've been swimming and saw the dolphins this morning. It just seems like a really fun place with a small sense of community."

Alongside the big names on screen is local star Emmi Shockley, who is a 10th grader at Worcester Preparatory School in Berlin. She grew up in Ocean City and landed a lead child role.

"I am extremely proud that they would choose to film it here, and they are casting it in such a great light that it's awesome," she said. "And we'll be filming somewhere that I am used to, so it's so great."

The movie features iconic sites and businesses in the town: Trimper's Rides, Thrasher's, the boardwalk, and the Paul Revere Smorgasbord, to name a few.

Director and writer Michael Tully is a Maryland native. He said the movie's plot will in fact be based in Ocean City. 

"It will not just be another bland story that feels personal and universal but doesn't really have a unique pulse and Ocean City is embedded in that," he said. The movie hits home for him, because he went to Ocean City many of his summers as a child.

Filming will continue until the end of October. The movie is set to come out next year.

Source (with video): WBOC 

Also reported by Ocean City Today