What’s up with that?

Question: How do Baton Rouge homes wind up in the movies?

Answer: Random chance

It’s 5 a.m., and Peggy Lewis can hear the crew as two 18-wheelers, huge utility trucks and vans enter her South Baton Rouge driveway. In her words, “The circus had just come to town.” It’s an event Lewis hadn’t planned. Bryan Wright, the son of Lewis’ childhood friend, works with the production company Films in Motion. Wright approached Lewis, and she agreed to have a portion of the film Middle of Nowhere shot at her home.

According to local scout Phil Seifert, “The location must match the assignment from the movie studio.” It’s that simple. A house doesn’t even need to be opulent or maintained. “Sometimes we look for an old, spooky house or one that has a barn. There’s no concrete rule on how to get your house noticed,” he says.

Lewis’ house was chosen for its varied layout, allowing several scenes to be shot in a single location. The key to having films shot in a home is flexibility. “Nothing is set,” Lewis says. “It evolves, and you have to be ready for that.” Originally the filming was supposed to last for two days, but it extended to a week since the crew was able to shoot more than expected. Unexpected issues can be solved with flexibility too. “For one scene, a guy was supposed to be smoking pot in my bathtub. Even though it was just an herbal cigarette, I didn’t want my clothes to smell. So the crew had to seal off my closet,” says Lewis.

The legal aspects of the process are most important, according to Lewis. Including the “what-ifs” and the possibility of damages make for a fair exchange between use of location and the compensation. “Overall, I’m glad we did it. The people were great. When they weren’t filming, people hung out in my kitchen, or we visited in the air-conditioned tent outside,” she says. Since the film experience, Lewis has had commercials filmed at her home. “When you get on someone’s list, it leads to more projects,” she says.