(AP) — The 15-ton door glides quietly, even gracefully, on its rails.”This is the only elephant door in the state of Louisiana,” says Patrick Mulhearn, director of studio operations at Celtic Media Centre.”Elephant door” is movie industry lingo for a door so thick and well-insulated that it keeps all outside sound out of the soundstage. Open, it admits the whir of heating and cooling equipment.It’s been a long four years since the late Brendan O’Connor bought an abandoned concrete shell that rap music recording star Master P had once envisioned as a gymnasium, music studio, party place and hangout for friends and family.Thirty million dollars and 17 raccoons later, Hollywood has entered the house that Brendan built. The raccoons had to be evicted from partly installed ductwork in the original shell.In July, Mayor-President Kip Holden announced that “Battle: Los Angeles” was bringing the biggest movie budget in Baton Rouge history to the 23-acre center. “Battle: Los Angeles” filmed freeway action scenes in Shreveport, then more pyrotechnics in Baton Rouge neighborhoods in October. Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at [email protected]
Baton Rouge studio getting big-budget movies
November 29, 2009