Lethal Weapon producers use Vegas freeway instead of San Diego route

Wednesday, April 8, 1998 | 3:44 a.m.

Filmmakers decided to finish the summer blockbuster in Las Vegas because California highway officials took too long deciding whether to temporarily shut down a portion of San Diego freeway to film car chases and explosions for "Lethal Weapon 4."

"It was very disappointing to us," said Irene Rodriguez, president of the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce. "We're not happy."

State transportation officials said the decision was better for motorists, who would have faced major inconveniences from the closing of the freeway.

"It's probably good that they went to Vegas," Caltrans spokesman Jim Larson said Wednesday. "It was asking a little too much."

Initially, the idea was to shut down a three-mile section of Interstate 805, starting at the Tijuana border. Northbound lanes would have been closed during the daytime for most of April.

After people clamored against that plan, filmmakers and the San Diego Film Commission looked at filming on Interstate 5, between I-805 and state Route 905.

While Caltrans was studying the impact on traffic, filmmakers last week met with the leaders of San Ysidro, a community south of San Diego, and gained their support.

Although Caltrans was expected to make a decision this week, Warner Bros. producers got impatient. With the movie scheduled to open July 10 and previews already in theaters, filmmakers decided to go elsewhere.

"We're under a short shooting schedule," said Mike Haro, location manager for the movie. "We've only got four weeks of filming left."

The action scenes will be shot this week on a Las Vegas highway.

Shooting would have brought $4 million to $5 million to the local economy, San Diego Film Commissioner Cathy Anderson said.

Warner Bros. had also pledged at least $25,000 to various San Ysidro community groups.