Baton Rouge’s ‘Crater’: Celtic Studios’ Disney+ Movie | Entertainment / Lifestyle

When Disney+’s “National Treasure: The Edge of History” begins filming in Baton Rouge in early 2022, the cast and crew will be present downtown and other filming locations.

By contrast, when another Disney+ original project, “Crater,” sets up shop at Celtic Studios from April to August 2021, few know that much of the cosmic wonder is taking shape at its facility near Airline Highway .

Still, according to Baton Rouge Film Commission executive director Katie Patton Pryor, the production of the one-hour, 45-minute film “The Crater” injected $28,052,187 into state coffers. dollars, of which Louisiana payroll expenses are estimated at $12,346,986.

“I’m excited to see this on screen. It was shot almost entirely with the Celtics,” Pryor said. “It’s a beautiful example of movie magic.”

The magic she was referring to was the project to turn a Celtic space into a lunar landing pad for filming adult sci-fi adventures.

“The Crater” tells the story of Caleb Channing (Isaiah Russell-Bailey), “who grew up on a lunar mining colony and, after the death of his father (Scott Mescudi), About to relocate permanently to an idyllic distant planet. But before leaving, to fulfill his father’s last wish, he and his three best friends Dylan (Billy Barratt), Bonnie (Orson Hong ) and Marcus (Thomas Boyce) and newcomer Addison (Mckenna Grace) from Earth hijacked a rover for the last time on a journey to explore the mysterious crater. Adventure,” says the film’s synopsis.

Ahead of Friday’s debut on the streaming service Disney+, the five stars came together virtually on Monday to address the media and enjoy an unofficial reunion, saying they haven’t really seen each other since production was wrapped . After the pleasantries (and banter), it’s time for questions.

When you guys were preparing for these roles and getting into them, what do you think is the biggest difference between you and the characters you play?

Russell Bailey: I felt like one of the bigger challenges of playing Caleb was putting myself in the mindset of someone who lost a parent or a very close family member. Fortunately, I have not experienced such a major loss, so I have had to do a lot of work to prepare for this aspect of my personality.

I have taken advice from family and friends who have gone through that pain and grief because I know there are many layers to grieving someone so close to you.

grace: Omg I have to follow this. I mean, it’s funny. I think Addison is very similar to me. I may not be as smart as she is. She knows a lot. I don’t live on the moon. This is a big difference. but I do not know. I found myself very much like her.

I really enjoy playing with her. I think it’s the most similar role I’ve ever played to myself. I feel like I’ve learned a lot.

flood: I’m a bit of a McKenna (Grace) ship. I think I’m very similar to Borney. I feel like there’s very little acting that gets into the character’s state of mind.

As the youngest actor in the cast (13), I really felt the energy of playing Borney. So, yeah, I’m feeling pretty smooth.

Boyce: I love playing Marcus. I think my character is the most different than anyone else in the cast.

Marcus, he doesn’t talk much. He is very simple and very selfless. I wish I could be as selfless as he is. He took it to another level. He’s just the heart and soul of this team. A very, very simple man, very kind. I kind of describe him as Lenny from Of Mice and Men. Like, he’s just, he’s just a cute bear. I don’t “go with the flow” like he does, but yeah. so sweet.

Bharat: We have some similarities and some differences, but I think the similarity is that he cares about the people he loves and will do anything to make sure they are well, happy and treated well.

But the difference is I don’t think I’m as cool as him, because I think that’s probably a character he’s trying to portray and be that kind of guy on the team. But that’s what I’m working towards, so it’s great.

You’ve had such a wide range of talented roles throughout your career. What was it about “Crater” that particularly drew you to this project?

grace: Reading the script, I mean, of course it would be really cool to be able to do something on the moon, but I think all the characters have such a unique connection. And I think the way the movie was (finished) surprised me, and it felt like it had a lot of heart in the script. And I think it’s very difficult to take a movie about a bunch of kids on a road trip to the moon and make it feel grounded and have some of the scenes and some of the dialogue feel very real. But I think our director and Mr. Kyle (Patrick Alvarez) did a really good job on that.

It’s not easy for me to cry while watching a movie or a script, but this script felt really special.

The film has the same energy as some classic adventures for young adults, such as “Stand By Me,” “The Breakfast Club” and even “The Goonies,” but with a sci-fi theme. But those movies were popular before you were even born. So, what preferences did you seek to create on this lunar road trip?

Russell Bailey: Oh, they came out before we were born, but I love all those old movies. I like old music. So yeah, I specifically only look at the actors, I only look at the other actors when they act in the movie, and how they relate to other people.

When I perform, I also incorporate people’s actual life experiences. So, in preparation for the movie, I watched “Stand by Me,” and I watched it to see who Caleb was related to in the movie, and I think he was related to the River Phoenix character and Wil Wheaton’s character. I tried to add some of their characters to Caleb so I could round out Caleb’s character.