Morgan Freeman Movie Filming in April, Will Feature Familiar Lafayette Scenery

On the heels of last week's "celebrity sighting" comes more information about the movie to be filmed in Lafayette starring Morgan Freeman.

The Advocate is reporting that the movie is set to begin filming in April in various locations around Lafayette, one of which you WILL recognize.

According to the story, the movie is titled "57 Seconds", and is based on an E.C. Tubbs story titled "Fallen Angel".

Ben Berthelot, President and CEO of Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission, posted a link to the story from the Acadiana Advocate this morning.

Filming on the project is set to begin on April 11 and, according to the story, is projected to be completed by the middle of May.

The film will be bringing a few familiar faces to Acadiana: Morgan Freeman, Josh Hutcherson ("The Hunger Games"), George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin. To be more precise, several Washingtons and Franklins, to the tune of eight and a half million dollars. That's a lot of jack, Jack!

Those numbers, according to the Advocate, are from LEDA (Lafayette Economic Development Authority) who say that of the $8.5M being spent here, about $2.7M will go to people locally.

The thousands of hotel rooms to be rented during filming, the catering services, local rentals and purchases and other incidentals are certain to give our local economy a little shot in the arm.

I wonder: how much of that money will go to crawfish for the crew?

We DO know where some of the money will be going: words from a trusted mouth say that the production company will be filming some of the scenes in a house that they have rented in an "upscale, walkable" neighborhood in Lafayette.

I wonder where that could be?

Now that we've established that he will be in Lafayette for a while to work on this film, who wouldn't want to invite him over for a crawfish boil? Who wouldn't like to invite him over for dinner? Who wouldn't like to bring him to the camp and show him how we Cajuns do things? Many of us would, because that is who we are.

But let's have some empathy for Mr. Freeman and try to put ourselves in his shoes: he is here to get some work done, not to be badgered by adoring fans. Don't get me wrong: I am certain that he would appreciate the hospitality, but let's try to make certain we give him some space.

So, there you have it: Morgan Freeman is coming (back?) to Lafayette. If you do happen to bump into him around the area, just remember the words of Youngsville Mayor Ken Ritter: "Act like you've been somewhere before."