Movie stunt power warning

Power firms do not want objects thrown on lines

US electricity firms are warning children not to copy a stunt in a movie involving power lines.

In the film Like Mike, which opens in the US on 3 July, a boy climbs onto a roof in the rain to retrieve an old pair of basketball shoes draped over a power line.

Lightning strikes the pole supporting the power line as the boy grasps the shoes, causing him to fall to the ground holding the shoes which later help him become a child basketball star and emulate superstar Michael Jordan.

The bottom line is that electricity and pranks don't mix

Dick Rosenblum
South California Edison

But power firm South California Edison said it feared children might copy the stunt, which would be "extremely hazardous, and possibly could be fatal".

Telling children "don't attempt to be Like Mike", the firm said many power lines carried thousands of volts and that a shock could be received by touching anything conductive which is touching a line.

The firm's vice-president Dick Rosenblum said: "We're concerned the Like Mike plot could encourage an unsuspecting child to attempt a copycat prank of touching a power line or snagging a pair of shoes in the lines.

"The bottom line is that electricity and pranks don't mix. It's a terrible idea to tamper with or try to retrieve something from a power line."

Shoes worry

Old training shoes tied together and thrown over a power line by vandals are a common sight in many parts of the US.

Other power companies were worried that children might be influenced by the film to do the same with their shoes.

"It's that element of the story that might encourage younger children to attempt to energise their shoes in a similar manner," Florida Power warned.

The film stars teen rapper Bow Wow

Arizona's Tucson Electric Power said the amount of power in a Christmas tree bulb is enough to stop the heart, with the level seen in the movie almost certainly fatal.

The movie stars 15-year-old rapper Bow Wow, who recently changed his name from Lil' Bow Wow.

A spokeswoman for the film's distributor 20th Century Fox, said the scene was clearly not meant to be real.

"The film in no way advocates taking dangerous risks of any kind including touching power lines," said spokeswoman Florence Grace.