Brief bridge closures for filming

Travelers crossing the Grizzaffi bridge this morning were greeted with a Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development sign announcing that U.S. 90, over the Atchafalaya River, will be closed to traffic Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Brief closures at intermittent intervals are expected for the filming of the movie “The Best in Me,” Capt. James Blair, Morgan City Police Department spokesman, said. The closure is necessary to allow crews to film stunt scenes involving explosions at the International Petroleum Museum Oil Rig, better known locally as the “Mr. Charlie,” according to a DOTD news release.
The movie’s assistant location manager, Wes Rossi, said traffic will only be halted for a few minutes at a time while simulated explosions are being filmed at the Mr. Charlie.
“We are doing nothing on the bridge itself but for safety, we wanted to keep traffic off the bridge while these scenes are filmed,” Rossi said. “We want to keep the impact on traffic as minimal as possible.” Traffic will be stopped for three to five minutes at a time, he said.
Rossi said filming is expected to begin sometime Thursday with filming possible during all three days and perhaps Saturday night.
The Mr. Charlie was chosen because it allows the movie producers to shoot action involving an oil well without having to helicopter out to an oil rig, Rossi said.
Carrie Stansbury, Cajun Coast Visitors and Convention Bureau executive director, said it is exciting to have the crews filming in Morgan City and staying at hotels here.
The majority of the 83 rooms at Hampton Inn in Morgan City have been filled by crew associated with the movie, hotel general manager Bob Harrison said. They have been there the last four or five days and are expected to stay through Monday, he said.
Harrison added that others with the movie are staying in other accommodations but he did not know where or how many.