Film Company Revising Plan to Use Freeway

A film company that wants to use a three-mile stretch of the Simi Valley Freeway to shoot chase scenes for a Sylvester Stallone movie is trying to work out yet another plan, a California Film Office official said Tuesday.

On Monday night, the Simi Valley and Moorpark city councils voted to reject a proposal, already amended from the original one, that called for shutting down the freeway between the two municipalities from 8:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. on five consecutive weekdays between July 14 and Aug. 2.

Kathleen Milnes, deputy director of the Film Office, said that Los Angeles-based Cannon Films is considering reducing the hours it would use the freeway in order to minimize blocking commuter traffic. She said the company also is assessing the effect on production costs if part of the filming is shifted to weekends.

Issue Is Traffic

Council members in both cities cited the prospect of traffic delays in their opposition.

State officials are free to act without permission of the two cities, but have sought feedback from local officials. Milnes said any new plan would not necessarily be submitted to the two councils for approval.

Cannon Films, using the Film Office as its representative in negotiating with the cities, wants to shoot truck chase scenes for “Over The Top,” an action film featuring Stallone as a truck driver who enters arm-wrestling contests.