Chapter 541: Safety first during action movie shooting
The casting and preparations for "Mortal Kombat" were in full swing, and suddenly a tragic news came. The son of kung fu superstar Bruce Lee and one of the potential casting targets for the protagonist Liu Kang, Brandon Lee, was filming a B-level movie "
At the scene of "Crow", he died after being shot with a prop gun.
"The Crow" is a comic book movie based on the 1989 comic book series by James O'Barr. The protagonist, Eric Draven, is a rock musician who one day breaks in and his fiancée is murdered.
At the crime scene, he was also shot to death by the gangsters.
Later, a crow said to be able to penetrate the realm of yin and yang brought his soul back to the human world, and he was resurrected from the dead to seek revenge against the gangsters.
But for some reason, when filming the scene where he was shot dead by a gangster, the blank bullet that was supposed to be used fired a warhead, causing Brandon Lee to fall backward instead of forward as designed. For several minutes
Later, his heart stopped and he died after being taken to the hospital.
Although accidents happen during movie shootings, such inexplicable accidents really make people confused. Ronald contacted the actor's agent because of his daydream, and the movie he shot also had martial arts themes, so
Convey condolences.
This also reminded Ronald that the "Speed" he was going to shoot next was also a movie with complex gun battles, explosions, and speeding scenes. The safety issues here must be very cautious.
To this end, he also found Hollywood's most powerful female stuntwoman Debbie Evans, whom he had worked with before when filming "Top Gun" and whom he first met on the set of "Rock of Ages".
As a stunt expert for Leigh Thompson and Linda Hamilton's stand-in in Terminator 2, the most famous thing is that her project team still maintains a record of zero casualties. Although the fee is more expensive, you don't have to worry about anything in terms of safety.
.
The two reunited and chatted about past events. Debbie Evans directly asked Ronald what kind of stunts he needed.
"Ordinary gunfights, speeding, and explosions, the two most challenging scenes are flying across an unclosed viaduct, and removing passengers one by one from a large bus traveling at more than 60 miles per hour..."
After Ronald signed a cooperation agreement with her and hired her, a double champion of the California and National Car and Model Car Stunt Contests, as the person in charge of special effects, he expressed his ideas for the film.
"It's difficult, but it's not impossible. To fly a car, you need a takeoff and a landing. To save people on a speeding bus requires complicated camera design... Do you direct it yourself?"
"I'm not directing this, I have other projects. But I'm thinking about Die Hard..."
"Oh, my God, don't tell me it's John McTiernan, I won't cooperate with him, he's on my blacklist..."
Debbie Evans shook her head. This director has a bad reputation in the industry. He often ignores the safety of actors and directly lets them go. He also likes to change his mind on set and let the special effects personnel originally think of plans and safety measures.
All failed. If you don't change according to his temporary ideas, you will be in danger of being fired. If you follow his new ideas, the risk will be very high.
Famous stunt people like Debbie Evans have no shortage of people to work with.
"No, he is also on my blacklist. When filming the first Die Hard, he did a lot of unnecessary and risky stunts. Bruce Willis's agent and I both added him to the list.
Blacklisted.”
"OK, he really can't, Ronald. Who are you talking about?"
"It's Die Hard's cinematographer Jan de Bont. He figured out a way to complete many of John McTiernan's messy ideas. And he doesn't only make action movies, he also gives a lot of drama.
I have worked as a director of photography for movies with a lot of conflict, thrillers, and comedies.
Recently he wants to transform into a director, and I think he is quite suitable for this movie, so I want to give him a chance."
"Oh, I know him. He is an instinctive director of photography. I have dealt with him several times. He is indeed a good person. He knows how to communicate with the special effects team and respects the boundaries of my abilities. It is the best to be able to cooperate with him.
of."
"What's his record on security? What are the reviews that you've worked with him or heard from friends."
"I have to say, he gets an A in this regard. Many Hollywood photographers are not as safety-conscious as he is. His old partner, director Van Horn, is actually quite creative...thanks to him..."
"Great, can you repeat these ideas with the people at Twentieth Century Fox?"
"Of course, but why?"
"Jan de Bont needs a little help..."
Ronald interviewed with Jan de Bont, a photographer who graduated from the Netherlands Film Academy. He had been working with Paul Van Horn in Europe, and it was because Paul Van Horn came to Hollywood that he had the opportunity to work in some big movies.
Produced by the cameraman.
But 20th Century Fox still has doubts about him. After all, not everyone between cinematographers and directors can switch seamlessly. They still prefer John McTiernan, who has proven success.
Ordinarily, it is not impossible for Ronald to insist on the other party and decide on the director, but doing so may cause a rift between the producers. Ronald cannot appear at the filming site every day and keep an eye on him. It is easy for someone who is unwilling to do so.
Some things made the crew not run smoothly.
Still his old partner, producer Joel Silver, who also participated in the investment share of "Speed" this time, thought of a way to let him use safety reasons to veto John McTiernan.
It just so happened that Brandon Lee's accident had a relatively large impact in Hollywood. The Screen Actors Guild and the Stuntmen's Guild both called for strengthening supervision and a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The situation is like this. If a well-known stunt person in the industry like Debbie Evans can endorse Jan de Bont, then 20th Century Fox
It's easier to turn around there.
Hollywood is a very hypocritical place. Most people will flatter those with power in person (that is, those who continue to have high box office numbers), but behind the scenes they always want to kick others away and act according to their own wishes. Let them really
There is only one way to be convinced, and that is to make them feel that they came up with this brilliant idea.
"I understand, I will vote no from a safety perspective." Debbie Evans expressed her understanding. Ronald has become a big shot after so many years, and he has no attitude towards an old friend.
Said, very respectful.
"By the way, I have another movie that I originally wanted to invite Brandon Lee to star in. How did he get killed by a prop gun?" After talking about the business, Ronald asked professionals about the accident on the "Crow" crew.
view.
"I'm afraid he encountered the problem of reloading dumb bombs. This kind of thing has happened many times in Hollywood, but it is rare to actually kill an actor like this. I can't say for sure."
This incident has also caused a lot of discussion in the stuntmen's union. Most professional stuntmen believe that the tragedy was caused by repeated reloading, but there are different opinions on whether it was unintentional or intentional.
Debbie Evans explained her opinion. When shooting shooting scenes like this in movies, they often have to be shot in several scenes. When shooting close-ups, the loaded and unloaded states of the pistol are different.
There will be an obvious difference in the bolt action. In America, where a large number of firearms are held, the wrong pistol status can be easily seen by the audience.
So generally speaking, a dummy bullet without gunpowder will be loaded to shoot close-ups. "Crow" is a low-cost crew, and this fake bullet is most likely hand-made. The gunpowder is removed from the real bullet and then reloaded.
.
Although there is no gunpowder, there is still a primer for priming behind the cartridge case, or some residual gunpowder. After this shot, the primer still has enough explosive power to shoot out the warhead, but the power is insufficient, so it stops in the barrel, becoming
A dud.
In the second close-up or medium shot, there must be a shot of explosive gas coming out of the muzzle. The usual Hollywood approach is to use a blank bullet, a bullet with gunpowder but no warhead.
Since the dud from the first shot was still stuck in the barrel, the second blank was fully charged, the different bullet structures from the two shots, and a series of unfortunate (or intentional) coincidences,
Finally, the combination formed a bullet with full power, hitting Brandon Lee's vital part.
"This is not possible. We have to have a very strict firearms management practice." Ronald thought to himself, it would be fine if they were all shot with real guns, just like when he shot "Night of the Comet" in his early years.
I'm afraid that careless and irresponsible people will use fake bullets to shoot real shooting scenes...
"It's easy. Your friend Jim Cameron is the most strict in this regard. He is an experienced gunman himself. At least he will not forget to check the loading of the barrel before each shot."
"I will ask him to introduce his successful experience..." Ronald thought to himself that he would have to borrow some people from Cameron to tighten the rules and regulations.
…
"Safety is the most important thing in Hollywood filming, but in the practice of many crews, it is placed as the least important consideration. As early as the early days of Hollywood, there was Harold Lloyd's silent film classic 'Safety
Safety Last!' has satirized this phenomenon. What's even more ironic is that Harold Lloyd himself lost the thumb and index finger of one of his hands due to a previous filming accident...
Harold Lloyd's accident occurred because during a public special effects demonstration, he mistakenly displayed real explosives as low-power explosives used as props.
Such a tragedy happened again in Hollywood last week. Brandon Lee, the leading actor of "The Crow" and the son of the famous action star Bruce Lee, died on the set due to an accident."
Two days later, various Hollywood newspapers and television media began to intensively report on this unexpected incident.
Brandon Lee is not a particularly well-known star, but his father was a popular action movie star in the world at that time, and revolutionized the entire Hollywood action shooting method. In addition, Bruce Lee also died suddenly due to an accident, so the two generations of father and son
This similar tragic fate has given many media reports the impetus.
Most of the media attributed the incident to an accident, but conspiracy theories were rampant in the tabloids, and many reports and speculations were flying all over the place.
Some said it was because he offended other actors on the set; others said it was because a powerful boss wanted to steal his girlfriend and fiancée Eliza Hutton and killed him; some media said it was him
He learned the truth about his father's death and was silenced by his father's murderer.
And Brandon Lee's family members, especially his sister, learned some new news, including the autopsy finding that her brother was shot with a .44 Magnum bullet - such a powerful bullet generally does not appear in
A normal movie crew.
Therefore, she spoke in the newspaper with great dissatisfaction, saying that her brother was murdered, saying that the prosecutor did not perform his duties, and called on the public to exert pressure and launch an investigation.
The Hollywood Reporter had reporters going to the set to interview, and the in-depth investigative news they released was even more sensational. On the same day that Brandon Lee was killed, a carpenter was severely burned due to a fire caused by the set's chaotic circuit management.
Two other staff members were also injured.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! The crew began to spread that this film project has been cursed by the "crow". Special effects people are often injured in special effects scenes, and the coolies who push the guide rails among the photographers have also suffered serious sprains.
There were even more people who became very bad-tempered because of the filming of this Gothic-style movie. They often had quarrels and even started fighting on the set.
However, with the completion of the shooting of the special effects action scenes, the atmosphere on the scene gradually improved. There were only about three days of filming left, and the scene where Brandon Lee was shot was also the last scene of the day, but the biggest curse of "The Crow" is
This is what happened.
However, when Ronald saw these reports, he became more convinced that he had mismanaged props and caused accidents. These accidents, fires, sprains, and tensions between actors due to rushing to schedule were all ultra-low-cost B-level
Common side effects of tablets.
This movie has a distribution contract with Paramount and was successfully financed by some new investors. There will be many mistakes made by newbies.
"Hello, Miss Shannon Lee, I am very sorry for your brother's misfortune."
Ronald was at home, and the person he was talking to was Bruce Lee's youngest daughter, Shannon Lee. She heard from her brother's agent that Ronald had invited his brother to audition, so she called and asked to talk to Ronald.
Meet Nader.
"I thought it was murder, the faulty prop theory didn't make sense, and the prosecutor in Los Angeles wouldn't see us at all, except for a kind detective who told us some of the truth."
Shannon Lee is only in her twenties, chattering like a young man, telling her brother's grievances.
Ronald's patience was gradually running out. It was estimated that the prosecutor, in addition to the obvious racial discrimination, might also have been put off by his sister's stalking style.
"Ms. Shannon Lee, is there anything I can do to help you? There is really nothing I can do about legal matters..."
"I know you're one of the few people in Hollywood who has reached out to us. My brother's funeral was attended only by some of his young co-stars, who were all good people, and Steve Seagal.
Well, he's an action star who firmly supports that this is a murder case, he doesn't know the inside story, right?"
Ronald's remaining patience was exhausted, and he decided not to participate in the matter anymore, but just made a proposal. Due to the unfortunate death of the film's leading actor, the original distributor Paramount canceled the contract.
Ronald said that he could use his own influence or spend some money to shoot the remaining three days of scenes and edit them into a finished film, which could be released as Brandon Lee's posthumous work. This would be a tribute to her brother's girlfriend.
, as well as family, is also an emotional and financial comfort.
"Oh, I don't know how much Mr. Li is willing to pay. We have already received a quotation... from Mr. Harvey Weinstein. He is willing to pay US$8 million..."
"I think there are still a few scenes that haven't been shot in this movie, right? Do you believe him?" Ronald knew the problem as soon as he heard this.
"Yes, but Mr. Weinstein is a good man. He said that he would use computer special effects to resurrect my brother, so he hopes to get the authorization from each family member. Mr. Li, I want to say that if you can pay a considerable amount, I will
I know that in the field of computer special effects, you are the one..."
"Nah..." Ronald raised his hand to stop the naive girl, "We can't match the price of eight million. I hope your brother's posthumous work can be released smoothly. This will also be a comfort to him..."
Such excessive conditions were either a liar or there was some conspiracy behind Brandon's death. When Ronald heard these two names, he didn't want to worry about it and just dismissed the matter.
He had more important things to be busy with. The director of "Speed" was confirmed and preparations began. People from various agencies were mobilized again, preparing to stuff their star clients into the project.