The Sepulvada Dam at last!!!

The elusive Sepulvada Dam in the San Fernando Valley has been a fixation for me ever since I moved here. This, of course, was the filming location for the end credits scene in "Buckaroo Banzai", as well as Snake Plissken's prison debarkation point in "Escape From New York". Not to mention many other movies and TV shows, including "Iron Man 2" which recently wrapped there (HUGE green screen set with many cargo containers) and the remake of "The Italian Job" where the Mini Coopers zoomed through the spillway. Yet it always seemed to me like a very secure place that only a handful of people, or anyone working there, could get into.

NOW...I finally looked up online who operates the dam and how I might be able to gain entry. Turns out the Army Corps Of Engineers controls the site and their even had a rundown of permit costs to use the area for filming. Pretty steep I might add. I just wanted to know how I could get in there, even for 15 minutes to take some pictures and bask in the Banzai history of it all. So when I called the woman in charge of arranging these permits, I posed as a filmmaker looking to scout the area for a possible film. She told me it would cost nothing to scout the area, and in fact I could go there during the day free of charge! On top of that, I could just walk through an open gate and make my way to the spillway without supervision! Really?! That's it?!! WOW!!!

My next question was whether or not I needed official permission to do this. She said no, and if anyone of the dam operators questioned me, which I was told would more than likely not happen, I could refer them to her for verification. So basically I CAN JUST WALK RIGHT IN ANY DAY OF THE WEEK!!!

This Saturday is the 25th Anniversary of "Buckaroo Banzai". I am now planning to try and go sometime next week. Rebecca and I had talked about this over a year ago so I definitely want to wait for her to return from Scotland (she gets back Monday night). I've been pondering how to get in there for the past six years. Amazing! I always thought it would mean getting some special permission or paying some crazy sum of money, etc. Who knew it would be this easy!

I plan to take a shit load of photos, and of course, walk the Banzai walk to the end credits music from the movie! Here is that end title sequence...