ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, September 18, 1996 TAG: 9609180101
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
MEMO: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.
Virginia has dropped plans to close part of Interstate 95, the primary East Coast traffic artery, for up to five hours to allow a movie crew to film scenes for a remake of ``The Day of the Jackal.''
The Federal Highway Administration warned that massive traffic jams affecting 70,000 vehicles would result if the northbound lanes of the interstate were closed from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., including rush hour.
Virginia Transportation Commissioner David R. Gehr said there was never a serious plan to close the freeway near the Kings Dominion theme park north of Ashland. The whole thing was a misunderstanding, he said.
Roberto Fonseca, the Federal Highway Administration's top official in Virginia, said he was notified by a letter from state officials that they planned to reroute traffic onto U.S. 1 while the highway is closed.
``We discourage any closing of an interstate when it doesn't need to be done,'' Fonseca said.
The southbound lanes were to remain open, but traffic likely would have slowed as drivers watched the moviemakers.
The request to close the highway came from the state film office, on behalf of the producers of the Universal Pictures remake. ``The Day of the Jackal'' will star Bruce Willis, Richard Gere and Sidney Poitier.
Gehr said the producers made the request last Wednesday. He said his agency never backed the idea but simply sent it along to federal regulators to get their response.
``The film producers came to me. I said, `I'm not going to approve it or even consider it until you go to the Federal Highway Administration,''' Gehr said. ``There is no filming that is going to take place on Interstate 95.''
Instead, state Department of Transportation officials said Monday that only an I-95 rest area will be closed. The day and time have not been set, said Bill Worrell, a spokesman for the department.
Rita McClenny, head of the state film office, said Virginia would not make money from the filming. The film company, Alphaville, would have paid expenses the state incurred while the highway was closed, she said.
The closing request was never presented to Gov. George Allen's office, said Ken Stroupe, the governor's press secretary.
``The Day of the Jackal'' is being shot in Richmond, Washington and five other U.S. and foreign cities. The 1973 original centered on a plot to assassinate then-President Charles de Gaulle of France.
In the remake, Willis plays the title character - the assassin - while Gere is a former Irish Republican Army commando helping Poitier's character, an FBI deputy director, track down Willis. The movie company would not disclose whom the assassin has targeted.
LENGTH: Medium: 57 linesby CNB