Interview with a vampire

"I have no idea why the vampire genre is such a pop culture phenomenon," said Candice Accola, who plays Caroline on the CW hit "The Vampire Diaries." "But I'm sure as heck honored to be a part of it."

The popular teen drama films here in metro Atlanta in locations including Decatur, Buckhead and, of course, the town of Covington.

“Covington is beautiful and charming,” Accola said of the show’s frequent filming spot. “We love Scoops ice cream! From the very beginning when we were filming the pilot it was just a really beautiful experience. It was an immediate bond that we all felt together. Over the past couple of years we have become a family. Not just the cast but the writers, production team, crew. I absolutely love filming in Atlanta. I’ve been a big fan of Atlanta from Day One.”

The show has now spawned a spinoff, “The Originals,” which has been filming in Conyers. Accola does not think her character will make the leap to the spinoff.

“As of right now Caroline’s focused on college,” Accola said, noting that she relates to her character. “What Caroline and I have in common is I will have any sort of excuse to plan a party! I very much overplan, overorganize, set a lot of expectations.”

We talked briefly with Accola during a recent interview coordinated by the Ford Fiesta marketing team. Team Ford’s interactive branding initiative is very much in keeping with TVD fans’ social media savvy.

“Twitter numbers are almost as important as viewership numbers in our industry,” Accola said. “The entire generation is growing up on the Internet. It’s more hashtag talk than water-cooler talk. It’s interesting creatively watching the writers, as well. They do read Twitter, and they do see reactions. That can have an impact.”

While Accola did cross paths earlier in her career with the ever Twitter-trending Miley Cyrus, she's moved on.

“I was a backup singer when I was 20 years old — that was a long time ago,” the 26-year-old said. “I’d rather talk about ‘The Vampire Diaries!’”

“Dumb and Dumber” update

Heads up if you head east Saturday. The Jeff Daniels-Jim Carrey comedy "Dumb and Dumber To" is, too. The project, which has filmed already in Cabbagetown, Grantville and Stone Mountain, was scheduled to shoot a scene in the Monroe area Saturday.