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Twilight Fans Perched on Government Building to Catch a Glimpse of Filming

January 22, 2011

It certainly seems like our Southern Twilight fans are just as dedicated as those in the Pacific Northwest! According to The Advocate:

“Jamie Ryan, 28, said it was her first time visiting Baton Rouge as she peered over the ledge of the State Capitol building’s observation deck on Friday afternoon, bundled up against the cold wind that whipped her hair around.

She’d flown in from Lubbock, Texas, on Thursday and had been perched on the lookout post for more than four hours with brand-new binoculars pressed to her face.

But Ryan wasn’t interested in the sights of the capital city — her eyes were locked on the enormous green screen erected in Arsenal Park, trying to catch sight of the stars of the “Twilight” movie filming there.

“I’m staying right here,” she said of her spot, where at least five other fans lingered around her. “I am determined to see something.”

“Twilight” mania hit the streets of downtown Baton Rouge this week when the movie’s crew began building a massive green backdrop near the State Capitol building that sent the local rumor mill and online forums into a frenzy.”

See the whole story here.

Shout out to the girls who run the Twilight Takes Over Baton Rouge Facebook page for getting a mention in the article. They are an enthusiastic and classy group!

(photo credit:Richard Alan Hannon)

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Twilight in Baton Rouge: A Resident Fan’s View

January 22, 2011

One of our Lexicon readers, Kathryn, is from Baton Rouge. We asked her to write up a short piece on what it has been like from a fan’s perspective on having the Twilight cast and crew in her hometown.

“So, I’m originally from Baton Rouge, LA where Bill Condon and Co. are currently filming Breaking Dawn. But, sadly, I am currently residing in Illinois while I finish graduate school. Needless to say when Summit announced that some Twilight filming would be done in my hometown, I was upset. My mother has been keeping me updated with what’s going on with the filming.

Firstly, the cast (and crew, I assume) are staying in a complex which is about 3 minutes from where my parents live. I tried to hang out there one day when I was home for Christmas with no luck in catching a glimpse. For most of the week I was home, the actors were away. And in case you’re not familiar with the area, unless the actors actually come out and walk around a nearby shopping area they will not be seen. You have to have a security code to even get into the private parking garage which is attached to the complex where they are staying. It’s completely enclosed. Security is tight there at any time. With the Twilight cast and crew there you might as well be trying to break into Fort Knox.

I talked to my mom on Tuesday, and she informed me that they have been setting up all week to film right down the street from where she works, at the Department of Education downtown. Her building is right across from the Mississippi River, and they’re filming in Arsenal Park…just in case anyone would like to safely and LEGALLY attempt to scope out the filming this weekend.

This morning my mom sent me an email to say they were moving in set pieces (statuary, columns, plant life), some props, and the main actor’s trailers. They were also getting ready to block off the area from through traffic. Then, around 3pm my mom sent me another message: She had just received an email saying that the lights to her building and parking garage were going to be cut off so they wouldn’t interfere with filming. Supposedly, they will be there filming all weekend.

Another interesting piece of information I received was one of my mom’s co-workers has a daughter who is actually an extra in the movie. Her role is  and she gets $100 per day of filming. When she was cast she had to sign a confidentiality agreement stating that when she is called into filming she will not tell anyone the actual location.”

TY to Kathryn for sharing her story.

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Breaking Dawn Actors Seen Around Baton Rouge

November 4, 2010

According to the LSU newspaper, it seems like the atmosphere in Baton Rouge is allowing the actors to go out and enjoy the town.  For the first two movies, this was very much what the actors were able to do in Portland and Vancouver; granted, with being asked for some pictures and autographs along the way. Starting with Eclipse, however, they were virtual prisoners in their hotel rooms with constant hounding by the paparazzi. They almost never went out without a full security escort.

“”Breaking Dawn” cast member Jackson Rathbone — has been performing every Tuesday, said Eric LeBlanc, manager at Boudreaux and Thibodeaux’s.

“The crowds have been huge on Tuesdays,” LeBlanc said.

Rathbone and 100 Monkeys were at the Baton Rouge State Fair this past weekend to film a music video, according to J.H. Martin, the State Fair’s CEO and chairman.

“Because Jackson is in the movie, they have been hanging around Baton Rouge,” Martin said. “We did see an increase in people crowding around the stage when they started playing.”

Martin said the band was a pleasure to meet.

“The ladies might think [Jackson’s] the cutest because of his Southern charm,” Martin said. “They were super nice young men.”

While the production team for 100 Monkeys was filming the music video, some of the patrons started to notice, Martin said.

“We did a shot in the back by the bumper cars, and we had to get two security guards to make sure nothing got out of hand,” Martin said. “If somebody spots one, they tell the world about it on Twitter and Facebook.”

See more on the LSU site.

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Baton Rouge Gearing Up For Breaking Dawn

September 3, 2010

Bill condon handBaton Rouge businesses are looking forward to the economic boom that the filming of Breaking Dawn is likely to bring from those directly involved with the film to visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite actor.

According to the local ABC affiliate:

“For confidentiality reasons, we can’t talk specifics about productions that we’re dealing with,” said Patrick Mulhearn, Director of Studio Operations at Celtic Studios.

“Well, there’s not too much I can say about the details of ‘Twilight,'” said Chris Stelly, Director of Film Industry Development with the Louisiana Economic Development.

While the movie’s publicist will only say the “when” for production kickoff is late this fall, a commercial real estate agent says one of his lease properties is where pre-production is in full swing.”

Both Melissa Rosenberg and Bill Condon(seen above) have been spotted in town from time to time. It’s been widely publicized that actual filming will take place in November and principal photography might be slightly ahead of that schedule. The actual filming is likely to  be mostly indoors on a soundstage making getting a look at actual filming unlikely.

Similar secrecy surrounded Eclipse with only some outdoor scenes involving Xavier Samuel and Bryce Dallas Howard being spotted by fans waiting on sidelines.

Via TwiFans

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