Scenes for Travolta Film to Be Shot Downtown

Explosions, bank robberies and John Travolta sightings could be common downtown this fall, as Warner Bros. officials announced Monday that scenes from a major-release action movie will be shot on Main Street.

The production company chose Ventura and its old-fashioned setting after looking at three other Southern California sites for “Swordfish,” starring Travolta, said Jim Van Wyck, the film’s executive producer.

Crews will converge downtown for about three months starting in September, Van Wyck said, with actual filming from Oct. 30 to Nov. 15.

The former Bank of Italy building at East Main and Oak streets will be converted into a bank, Van Wyck said, and the nearby Bank of Books used bookstore will be turned into a coffee shop. Both will be “blown up” in a bank robbery scene.

City officials are happy Warner Bros. chose Ventura, said Richard Newsham, the city’s film liaison, because it means 150 movie workers will stay in local hotels and eat at local restaurants.

But some local business owners said they were concerned the movie making could disrupt their businesses during the holiday shopping season.