Stuntman shot and killed on set of music video

Reminds me of Bruce Lee's son Brandon Lee's death on set where a live round was fired instead of a dummy. The crew didn't have the knowledge to understand the problem. Too often productions cut corners and this result in such fatalities.

A few months ago in India, near Bangalore a film crew jumped into a lake from a height of 80 feet. Two out of three people died. One of them was a stunt man and the other was an associate producer. They had never jumped from such a height and they had very rudimentary swimming skills. It is said that they got stuck in the mud.

In one of the films I was involved in, I clearly said that I am not keen on the shoot as the producers were replacing actual stuntmen with people who had no knowledge and a hanging scene was to be staged. Just one mistake can take a life. Even if you escape persecution from authorities, your conscience won't leave you. Better be safe than be sorry.
 
I have been faced w/ directors and producers using live weapons on set without an armorer.
I proposed three options:

1) Rent a prop gun
2) Hire an armorer
3) Replace the crew with one that is comfortable with live weapons for the duration of the film where there is no safety on set.

Thankfully they hired a prop.
 
The arm in the stunt was not loaded with live ammunition. He may have been fired at, at too close range.

Here's a novel idea : How about making less films where people are killing each other ? Less films with guns in fact.
I know it would be challenging for so many whose creativity depends on people shooting each other. But worth a thought.
 
yoclay said:
The arm in the stunt was not loaded with live ammunition. He may have been fired at, at too close range.
Click to expand...

Yeah. At one of those live cowboy shoot-out shows, the announcer showed the audience how dangerous blanks still are. He shot a soda can at close range. The can was shredded.

 
Last edited:
I'm an NRA Certified Range Safety Officer and a Firearms Instructor and in my opinion, guns belong on the shooting range, not on movie and tv sets. Their is simply no excuse for this to happen, someone screwed up big time and will be going to jail. Really, these days, there is almost no reason to have live firearms on sets. I was on a shoot for a popular Fox series in Africa last year, there were a lot of shooting scenes, all performed with dummy guns with muzzle flashes, case ejection inserted as VFX in post. In production, we are making believe so why do we need live guns and blanks to make believe? You'd think after the Brandon Lee death, producers and directors would have gotten a clue that blanks at close range can be just as deadly as live ammo. Guess not. To me, having a foot in both worlds, there is absolutely no reason to ever have live firearms and blanks on a set, the history is there to prove that it's a bad idea, talent often treats the guns like toys no matter what the armorers and ADs tell them and the VFX have evolved to the point where it's not that big of a deal to insert muzzle flashes and case ejections in post. So much safer for everyone involved. There is also a chance that the armorer somehow accidentally was given live ammunition or that a live round somehow intermingled with the blanks. A tragedy that should have been prevented, very sad.
 
Last edited:
I echo puredrifting. There is no valid reason for there to be a live firearm on a set.

As for those wanting to discuss the pros/cons of gun control in America -- seriously? You've been here long enough to know that that type of discussion is not tolerated here. Take it someplace else, please. Posts have been deleted.
 
This tragedy immediately made me think of Vic Morrow and 2 children dying on the set of Twilight Zone the movie.....The people in charge of the sets really need to get out of their imaginations when it comes to stunts of any kind. There's a reason regulations AND experts exist. Agree with Barry and puredrifting.
 
There was also a horrible and entirely preventable death of Jon-Erik Hexum back in the mid-80's. He pointed a "blank" right into his own head and pulled the trigger while goofing around the set.

One would think that the "show biz" guns would be made in such a way - let's say, out of carton or light wood - to make any sort of a projectile firing completely physically impossible.

PS. Being a stuntman is still going to remain a risky proposition.
 
Even in this day and age, film productions can be mad-stupid as to safety. Whenever they are dong a scene with gunfire or an explosion a crew member will walk around with safety glasses and earplugs asking "anyone want safety glasses? earplugs? anyone?". Like it should be optional. Imagine if that was the protocol at an industrial plant. "Anyone want a hardhat? safety glasses? No? No one? Okay then." I was once on a set where the camera was out in the firing zone at an indoor gun range, the lead actors and a half dozen background actors all firing full-load blanks in the direction of the camera. The camera crew were behind a sheet of lexan, but talk about make you think about what could go wrong! 10 people all repeatedly firing directly at you and the deafening noise it made. But that fearless "tough guy" Cameraman thing ruled the day, no one objected, and to whatever extent we were crapping our pants we kept it hidden. You don't want to be "that guy" who is the pussy and you put your faith in some individuals you barely know and assume are on top of their game.
 
A copy of a UK stunt going wrong - somewhat over enthusiastic door charge - near took the talent out. The video was taken down a few times, so here's a passworded version. password is brit
 
Whenever these discussions come up on set, which is all too often, it seems to always revolve back to the deadliest behavior in the film industry...driving while drowsy.

12on12off

http://12on12off.weebly.com

Ned Miller (aka nedcam) recently posted a link to the Who Needs Sleep? documentary by Haskell Wexler. Forced myself to watch it again, in part as remembrance of a colleague who was lost when they crashed their car after working insane hours. As pointed out in the film, sleep deprivation and fatigue kills in other ways too.

Who Needs Sleep?

https://youtu.be/7sXKd9K5Jl8
 
Last edited:
indiawilds said:
Reminds me of Bruce Lee's son Brandon Lee's death on set where a live round was fired instead of a dummy. The crew didn't have the knowledge to understand the problem. Too often productions cut corners and this result in such fatalities.
Click to expand...
Your conclusion applies to this case, but just for clarification, it wasn't a regular live round that actually killed him. Apparently it was debris from a previous blank (or a bullet from an improperly prepared dummy - I've read two versions of this) that got stuck in the barrel and was ejected like a projectile by a blank shot during the take. Like I said, your conclusion still applies, and this illustrates just how much can go wrong in a scenario like this. The studio sent the firearms expert home for the day because it was a "routine" scene. Worth a quick read: http://www.thewrap.com/michael-massee-brandon-lee-the-crow/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Lee#Death
 
Last edited:
I have a good friend that worked on BaBa Blacksheep the WWII TV series in the 80s. The set which was near Magic Mountain had 50 cal antiaircraft positions and they would shoot blanks during scenes of Japanese air attack. My friend was working on a set when a accidental burst went off and hit him at about 40 feet. He was in the Hospital for several days and they removed paper from deep within his back.
 
Bern Caughey said:
Whenever these discussions come up on set, which is all too often, it seems to always revolve back to the deadliest behavior in the film industry...driving while drowsy.

12on12off

http://12on12off.weebly.com

Ned Miller (aka nedcam) recently posted a link to the Who Needs Sleep? documentary by Haskell Wexler. Forced myself to watch it again, in part as remembrance of a colleague who was lost when they crashed their car after working insane hours. As pointed out in the film, sleep deprivation and fatigue kills in other ways too.

Who Needs Sleep?

https://youtu.be/7sXKd9K5Jl8
Click to expand...

Top Gear UK did a piece on that very subject! In a nutshell it was far worse than moderate drinking.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top