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.