I told you recently about how much I love the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and how they're not only refreshingly non-partisan in their messaging to the public on social media but how they also inspire us to travel our highway system. Today they've given me more reason to love them: they posted this photo of Sylvester Stallone in First Blood, filmed in Hope BC in 1981, along with a screen grab from the exploding gas station scene.
According to THEIR POST, "In 1981, Rambo (aka Sylvester Stallone @officialslystallone ) came to Hope for the filming of "First Blood," an event that the town and Rambo "First Blood" Tourism will be celebrating, on Saturday, Oct. 7.
BC Transportation and Infrastructure also played a role in the production, 35 years ago. We granted a special permit for the filming which involved short detours of public traffic, with rigidly controlled and specified conditions. The ministry agreed to the temporary highway detour and other activities only on the condition that the public was not unduly inconvenienced and that absolute safety was guaranteed during the more dramatic sequences.
Construction of the fake front service station began in October 1981, and Hope itself was "costumed" with American-style mail boxes, and US flags and exterior signs. This photo of Sylvester Stallone is in front of the RCMP detachment, where he was getting ready for a scene in which Rambo steals the motorcycle and makes his getaway."
