"It wasn't anything like I thought making a movie would be like," she said. "They just kept doing the same scene over and over again. I almost felt bad for the actress because she had to keep screaming again and again."

Several people became confused after trying to find their favorite stores on a fake mall map film crews set up. Set architects rebuilt several storefronts, hung up banners and redecorated. They created the movie's central store, Ally's music shop, entirely from scratch.

The fake store was so detailed — it featured real instruments and music — that a good number of people thought it was real, said Matt Harris, assistant prop master for "The American Mall."

"We kept having to shoo away people who wanted to shop there," he said.

Film crews will wrap up filming in a couple of weeks. The movie is scheduled to premiere this summer.

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E-mail: estuart@desnews.com