About the time I joined BP a couple of years ago, Ken had a string going
about historic restoration and the movies. Perhaps this addition will not be
seen as untimely.

A unique source of funding for historic restoration has been demonstrated,
recently, in Ventura, California. Warner Brothers Studios selected the
Historic Bank of Italy Building as a location for filming of their new action
film "Swordfish". The script calls for John Travolta's stunt driver /stand-in
to crash a Hum-Vee through the front entrance, as the opening of a bank
robbery scene. Actually, three of them are crashed through and spun out into
the bank's lobby. The front entrance is not, itself, historic fabric, and it
was apparently rebuilt and crashed into again several times for retakes.

As part of WB's agreement with the owners, the non-historic materials will be
removed after filming and repairs to the historic terra cotta facade will
done at the studio's cost.

A local radio station had been posting photos of the daily filming, which
took place late last fall. They were accessible by clicking on the
"Swordfish" link on their Home Page at kven.com.

Mike E.