Sci-Fi movie to be shot in Baton Rouge

According to the Baton Rouge Advocate, the sci-fi movie "Battle: Los Angeles" will begin filming in Baton Rouge this fall. The movie, by Columbia Pictures, is about a platoon of Marines fighting alien invaders on the streets of Los Angeles. Aaron Eckhart (Thank You For Smoking, The Dark Knight) will star as a Marine platoon commander. Johnathan Liebesman ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning") is set to direct. The production will be based at Raleigh Studios at the Celtic Media Centre in Baton Rouge.

Executive Producer Jeffrey Chernov said “Battle: Los Angeles” will involve an attempt by aliens to tap Earth’s water supply. The film style will be reminiscent of “Saving Private Ryan,” he said, with a U.S. Marine platoon going behind alien lines to foil the attempt. The project should average 150 to 200 jobs during filming, with up to 1,500 extras and 25 acting parts available for locals, Chernov said. Several weeks of the filming will take place in Shreveport to take advantage of a closed freeway ramp, he said, but most activity will be centered in Baton Rouge.

The film is based upon a sighting of one or more unidentified flying objects which took place from late February 24 to early February 25, 1942 in which eyewitness reports of an unknown object or objects over Los Angeles, California, triggered a massive anti-aircraft artillery barrage. The Los Angeles incident occurred less than three months after America's entry into World War II as a result of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The incident was part of the inspiration for Steven Spielberg's 1941. Information on this incident is available here.

Interested crew members can fax resumes to the Baton Rouge office at (225) 330-6961. (No actor resumes.)

See the news report on the film here.