How Breaking Dawn Could Effect the Louisiana Economy

“Breaking Dawn,” the fourth chapter in the “Twilight” story, will be released as two separate films in the franchise, which has grossed more than $1.4 billion worldwide to date, according to a news release from Summit Entertainment.

Getting the vampire film juggernaut to the Red Stick was the result of aggressive marketing by the Baton Rouge Film Commission, said Paul Arrigo, chairman of the BRFC and president of the Baton Rouge Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“The Baton Rouge Film Commission was very involved with soliciting and nabbing ‘Twilight’ for Baton Rouge,” Arrigo said.

Mitchell-Smith said she worked hard to communicate constantly with the film’s producers, making herself available at all times for questions about production.

“We’re putting our best foot forward in the market and showing them exactly what it is they want to see,” she said. “This is about customer service, first and foremost.”

In addition to Louisiana’s tax incentives to production studios, Mitchell-Smith said Baton Rouge offers a wide array of benefits that lure projects to the city.

“The film industry obviously spends so much money locally that another major reason you have local offices like our Baton Rouge Film Commission is so we can be aggressive promoters and marketers of our area,” she said.

One of the city’s programs to benefit film studios is a “grassroots vendor discount program,” Mitchell-Smith said.

The program includes more than 70 local businesses, ranging from office supply stores to restaurants, spas and car rental companies, which typically offer 15- to 20-percent discounts to film productions.

In addition to helping keep production costs manageable for film studios, the program also benefits local businesses that get more traffic and can create brand awareness in the film industry, Mitchell-Smith said.

The production’s prolonged presence in Baton Rouge will be advantageous for local crew members who will have work for as long as the project is in the city.

“Sometimes you’re on a show for two to three months, then you’re looking for another production,” Mitchell-Smith said. “Folks on this [project] will have consistent employment and a huge resume builder, never even having to go to California.”

Mitchell-Smith said “Breaking Dawn” will be an “enormous boost” to Baton Rouge’s economy through set building and production work, as well as the stimulus of cast and crew who stay in hotels and eat in local restaurants.

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