BETTER LATE THAN NEVER Movie ends reward offer for stolen guns A $5,000 reward has been posted for information leading to the conviction of the persons who stole an armory of guns from a movie set in North Vancouver earlier this year. The weapons — which include everything from revolvers and shotguns to automatic rifles and a teargas gun — went missing from a truck at Cleveland Dam where a film crew was shooting Sylvester Stallone's newest movie, First Blood. The reward was an- nounced Wednesday by First Blood Movie Productions at a press conference called at the North Vancouver RCMP detachment. The announcement came more than three months after the guns were stolen — but then even the press conference was a_ sorry- we're-late affair. It was a movie in itself— preceded by the kind of anticipation that heralds the grandest of epic produc- tions. Everyone was there. The dailies, the TV crews, all the radio reporters, even your trusty North Shore News team. The front desk at the RCMP office was beseiged by reporters who had an- swered the press conference call and were awaiting the scoop. We signed ourselves in, were given official visitor pins and were led upstairs to an interview room. The TV crews set up their hghts. radio reporters checked By CHRIS LLOYD sound levels. photographers changed lenses on their Nikons and the rest of us sat with our pens poised and waited ... and waited. The first mumblings of discontentment broke out about half an hour later. One of the alert young reporters among us pointed out that the typed press release we'd been studying for 30 minutes was dated March 30 and wondered why it had taken until May 5 to reach us. The skeptics = started voicing the suspicion which was on all our minds: that maybe the sudden urgency for publicity over the guns theft which had occurred January 23 was linked to the impending release of the movie? We media types are a supenor breed, who pride ourselves on our cynicism. So we don’t like to think that someone might have been able to pull one over on us. “What are we even doing here?” one of us asked. “Who are these people we're waiting for?" wondered another. The CBC TV crew agreed among themselves to give it another five minutes and then sphit. A newcomer came bouncing in, declared he was here on behalf of First Blood Productions and apologized for being late, explaining his watch was 45 minutes behind time. We learned his name was Paul Tucker and that he had been the production manager of the picture. Yes, the movie was just about sewn up, and it had been very well received so far, too, and would. be distributed in six to eight months. The movie company had hightailed it back to Los Angeles a month ago and left it to Tucker, a local freelancer, to tidy up the loose ends from the visit. Like the matter of the guns. The reward, Tucker said, was being put up by First Blood'’s insurance company, which placed a value of $37,500 on the guns, at the suggestion of the movie company. Nobody had any idea where the weapons might be or what the thieves might intend doing with them. One of the fears of the RCMP is that they might have been stolen for use by radicals. As for the reason for the delay in offering the reward the RCMP had _ been following up its own in- vestigations first. Nevertheless, it seemed one way for First Blood Productions to leave in a blaze of publicity. Tucker appeared = in- dignant. “First Blood doesn't need this kind of publicity as a picture,” he declared Drivers hurt as car hits bus THE DRIVERS of a car and a West Vancouver blue bus which collided in the Bnush Properties Thursday evening were both taken to Lions Gate Hospital, suffering senous head injunes One of Uhe two passengers aboard the blue bus, a 17 Sunday May 9 is Her day Especially for Mother “Consomme Celestine OY Salad Mimosa Boneless Chicken Saute ala Orange with Green Grapes Hazelnut Mousse GAN 445 13th St, West Vancouver Reservation 926-8922 year-old West Vancouver youth, was dmven to the hospital by car for treatment of knee lacerations and head and neck injures Phe collision occurred at the intersection of Hadden Dnve and Stevens Drive and the driver of a 1966 Chrysler. a 24-year-old Port Moody man, is being charged with disobeying a stop sign) on Hadden The dnver of the bus which was travelling on Stevens is a 31 year-old West Vancouver man. Vehicle damage is estimated at $25,000 for the bus and $1,000 for the car ae and Filter — Special 3rd Street Esso 147 Weet br St Noth varie cn 988-8018 Lonedaie Esso Selt Serve YTV 2 Lormeate Ave Net vA ies 985-4131 Wont Van Enso IO? Marnie (nh oe Weal vanecn 922-0138 Westview Esso 250) Westview North Vari ce 988-1918 27th & Mountain Hwy Eso. » ANS Moourstatn Pw, Noth va cry 985-5712 Taylorway Esso A874 Marine Onive wea: 922-2111 A3 - Sunday, May 9, 1982 - North Shore News ALSO INSIDE M-16 held by movie production manager Paul Tucker is identical to 13 fully automatic firearms stolen with a horde of other guns when the movie was being shot in North Vancouver. (Eric Eggertson photo) After-Grad Gowns! 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FOR THE FINAL TOUCH 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday thru Saturday call 987-2966 1374 Marine Drive North Vancouver 88 or less for most cars/ight trucks Esso Extra 10W30 Motor Oil ¢ includes up to 5 litres of oil ¢ Includes new regular oil Filter (OF 1,5, 33, 40, 49, 81) Otter valid trom May 3 to May 22, 1982 Beavers PAGE C5 Pegasus grounded PAGE B1 The stuff of dreams PAGE B6 PAGE B3 Automotive Classified Communtty Round up Entenainment Food Hayden Stewart Maliboa Sports Travel Tv time Winat @ Going (on