Archive for July, 2009

About a month ago we reported that Baton Rouge was under consideration to be the filming location of a new sci-fi movie featuring Aaron Eckhart. Today it was announced through the efforts of Mayor-President Kip Holden and the Baton Rouge Film Commission that Baton Rouge would be the filming location for the movie Battle: Los Angeles.

IMDB has a little more information about the movie, and has been updated with the filming location.

In our last report we mentioned rumors of parts of North Boulevard and I-110 being used as filming locations. I haven’t seen confirmations of this. We’ll keep you updated with all movie-related information.

Update
@visitbatonrouge sent us a link to a video of the official announcement. See the video below.

The traffic court in Baton Rouge has begun a traffic amnesty program for anyone with an unresolved traffic matter. The period lasts for two weeks, beginning July 20, 2009; the Court will open on Saturday, July 25, 2009 from 9 AM to 1 PM for payment only. During this period, Judges have waived any late fees and bench warrant fees for anyone who handles their outstanding traffic matters in the Court. Note that this doesn’t include court fines or court costs, which still must be paid.

You can check if you’re eligible by referring to this list →

Walking with Dinosaurs, an award-winning BBC TV series has been turned into an arena theatrical event and is coming to Baton Rouge October 2 through October 4 at the Baton Rouge River Center. The show features 15 life-size dinosaurs, including the Tyrannosaurus-rex, in a stunning lifelike documentary of their 200 million year domination.

Watch some exclusive footage of this production here →

Purchase tickets now during the presale →

Baton Rouge has been nominated for the Best Tennis Town in America. After a vetting process by a panel of USTA judges and several nominating letters from Mayor-President Kip Holden, BREC Superintendent and others, Baton Rouge has made it into the top 10. The prize is $100,000 towards any community wide tennis programming or facility enhancements.

You can view the Baton Rouge profile and vote for our great city here →

[Ed. note: The following is an excerpt from an opinion piece written by Bobby Jindal published by the Politico today.]

Things in Louisiana are looking up. We are announcing major economic development wins and private capital investment and reducing government spending in order to live within our means. We just completed a grueling legislative session where we all had to work together, Democrats and Republicans, to find a way to do more with less.

We trimmed government spending, protected vital services and refused to raise taxes. (As is the case in any legislative body, some gave it a try). I can’t say our legislative session was much fun, but it was necessary, and it is the American way. Or, at least we thought it was.

In the meantime, I’ve been catching up on the news in Washington. I wish I had not…

Click here to continue reading this article on the Politico →

We reported a few weeks ago that Southern Star Amusement, a Baton Rouge-based firm, was looking to buy and redevelop the Six Flags New Orleans theme park. At the request of the City of New Orleans, the proposal has been delayed for one month because Six Flags is still under contractual obligations to reopen the park, which was all but destroyed after Hurricane Katrina. Six Flags is currently in institutional reorganization after it declared bankruptcy.

I was in New Orleans this weekend and passed by the park on the interstate. It’s really sad to see the park closed and left abandoned. I visited twice: once as Jazz Land and once as Six Flags New Orleans. It was nice to have a fairly major and mainstream theme park only an hour away. It’d be really great to see this proposal go through, not only because of the entertainment implications but also because of the economic ones—Southern Star Amusement wants to put about $70 million into it.

Please provide a link back to this post and to EthanKillett.com when referring to this strip.

Rock the River Tour, a high-energy music tour traveling up the Mississippi this summer, is making its first stop in Baton Rouge this Saturday, July 18. Sponsored by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Rock the River features bands such as Flyleaf, Superchick, Red, Hawk Nelson and Mary Mary. Located at the LSU Campus Levee Lots, tickets are $10 at the gate (children 10 and under free). Gates open at 1 PM. You can find more information by visiting their web site.

There’s been a huge media push lately by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in partnership with local churches. Last night they aired just around an hour of special programming on the major networks in Baton Rouge (e.g. CBS, Fox, et al). Combined with the music Franklin Graham will be speaking. For only $10, there’s a pretty good lineup of Christian rock bands (some are even fairly mainstream). It looks to be a day of good, clean family fun.

I won’t be going to the event, but if you are and would like to share pictures or a recap, hit me up on the tip line.

The Daily Reveille is reporting that LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri will sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” at Wrigley Field in Chicago for the seventh inning stretch of a Chicago Cubs baseball game on July 26. The National Coach of the Year is longtime friends with the general manager and LSU infielder DJ LeMahieu was drafted by the Cubs in the second round of this year’s MLB draft.

Not only can he coach the best college baseball team in the world, but he can also sing. What can’t this guy do?

Art Melt is a juried art show that occurs every year in downtown Baton Rouge. Showcasing Louisiana’s 18+ artists, Art Melt is an opportunity for these young budding artists to showcase their talents at a statewide level. Art Melt is this Friday, July 10 from 6:30 PM – 10:00 PM. The event is free and open to the public and usually has attendance of several thousand. This year, it’s in the Brunner Gallery located in the Shaw Center for the Arts. Selected works of Art Melt will continue to be on display through July 20 in the Brunner Gallery. Aside from visual arts, there are several musical groups lined up to perform, including: Baton Rouge Symphony, Opera Louisiane, Michael Foster Project, DJ OttO and others. There’s also dance and culinary productions scheduled.

I’ll be there, so if you’re headed out keep an eye out for me.

You can read more on the Art Melt web site →