Scene, a magazine that covers the burgeoning film industry in Louisiana, interviewed the head of security at the compound where Breaking Dawn will be filming. Coincidentally, the magazine’s own offices are located within the same compound which is comprised of several buildings, over multiple acres, surrounded by a large fence. When talking about dealing with people (fans or paparazzi) crashing the set, they have a zero tolerance policy, and the law to back them up. If ever there was a “don’t try this at home, kids” warning that applied to Twilight filming, THIS IS IT!
“That statute of Louisiana’s criminal law states that, “Unauthorized entry of a place of business is the intentional entry by a person without authority into any structure or onto any premises, belonging to another, that is completely enclosed by any type of physical barrier that is at least six feet in height and used in whole or in part as a place of business.” Those convicted of felony trespass on the studio lot are subject to imprisonment at hard labor for up to six years and a fine of up to $1000.
“We will absolutely prosecute every person who trespasses,” says Achee. “There have been six who trespassed before and they have all been caught.” When asked how he knew only six had trespassed before, Achee’s answer came quick: “Security cameras. The property is covered with high definition security cameras. A camera mounted on the [main building] can capture the license plate of a car all the way on the other side of the property.” The security camera system video is stored to a source that is backed up offsite. Additionally, the system has a back-up power supply that allows it to continue operating in the event of a power failure.
Achee and his crew of security officers are authorized to detain any trespassers by force until local law enforcement arrives to complete the felony arrest. We asked him if he planned on seeing any young teenage girls arrested, Achee said, “Absolutely. I think of this place as a home. You wouldn’t want somebody trespassing in your home, and if you did, you’d defend yourself. That’s what we’re doing here, it doesn’t matter who it is.”
And just to cover ourselves legally, the Lexicon will continue the policy that it has had since 2008. If something is filmed in the open and people are able to obtain footage by standing on public property or private property with permission and capture footage we will publish it. Any footage obtained by breaking and entering, harassing of cast and crew, or any other illegal means we will not knowingly run.
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