We first heard that The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn would film in Louisiana and Vancouver from our interview with producer Wyck Godfrey.  Today, one of the stars of franchise, Nikki Reed, told Hollywood Life she will start filming in "just over a week."  We have confirmed through two sources that the production is currently building sets in the Raleigh Studios at the Celtic Media Centre in Baton Rouge, including Edward's house.  We've been told the interior scenes will be shot in Louisiana, while the exteriors will presumably be shot in Vancouver.

Our sources also tell us that Breaking Dawn is not the only movie shooting at Raleigh Studios (we were told the studio is very impressive), as Universal is using the studio for Battleship, and Sony apparently just did some reshoots on Battle: Los Angeles there.

Hit the jump for more on Twilight: Breaking Dawn, including a recap of the new cast/crew that are joining the franchise in its final chapter.

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, and the rest of the Twilight gang will be joined by the following new cast members:

Director Bill Condon has recruited some impressive additions to the crew for Breaking Dawn, including:

  • Cinematographer Guillermo Navarro (Pan’s Labyrinth)
  • Costume designer Michael Wilkinson (300, Watchmen)
  • Makeup designer Jean Black (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
  • Production designer and frequent Condon collaborator Richard Sherman (Kinsey)
  • Visual effects supervisor John Bruno (Avatar)

Breaking Dawn will be broken into two parts: Part I hits theaters on November 18th, 2011, Part II drops a year later on November 16th, 2012.

Here's the synopsis for Stephenie Meyer's book:

twilight_breaking_dawn_book_cover

When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved?

To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife have led her to the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or to pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fates of two tribes hangs.

Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating, and unfathomable, consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella’s life–first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse–seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed… forever?

The astonishing, breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced millions. [Amazon]

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