LYNNFIELD — It’s going to be a spirited Christmas in July in Lynnfield — as in, the new Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell Apple TV+ movie “Spirited,” a musical remake-of-sorts of the Charles Dickens classic, “A Christmas Carol.”
The movie, which also stars Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer, was on location Wednesday on Joseph Lane. Many of the home’s windows were draped with black coverings to simulate nighttime. The tiny street was full of large production trucks and cranes, and activity on the street was constant, with crew members coming and going all day from staging camps at the middle and high schools.
A source familiar with the movie said filming was expected to last until 10 p.m., complete with a snow-making machine to add a seasonal, wintry touch to the holiday production.
Lynnfield residents Anntonia Taylor, Sydney Jeab-Simon and Emily Vath said they had been waiting for about an hour in the heat to get a glimpse of the actors.
Vath, a theater major at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, said she was impressed with the level of detail going into the shoot.
“It’s amazing how many people and trucks and things there are that go into a movie,” she said. “It’s really fun just watching all of the people it needs to make it happen.”
Joseph Lane resident Kathy Sieger said she was thrilled to see both Reynolds and Ferrell arrive, both of them waving to onlookers as they made their way inside the home. So far, she said, the production has gone without a hitch on her street.
“It’s been great; yes there has been traffic, but it’s really been nothing,” she said.
“From what we (the neighbors) have been told, they will be filming here just today, maybe into the night, but so far everyone has been so nice and accommodating. We haven’t seen too much yet, but it’s been really cool watching the crews put up the set. We had been told we might be able to go inside and watch, but with COVID, I don’t think that is being allowed.
“But it’s been good and we have had no issues at all on the street. Their crews have been excellent and so friendly.”
Multiple trade publications indicate that the filming will continue through October at several other Greater Boston locations, including the South Shore Mall in Braintree.
