Age of The Nerd
Most of us neglect to think about the potential dangers that the crew of a film encounter for often months on end while we stream a movie from Netflix or go to the theater to enjoy ourselves for a couple of hours and escape the often straining reality of life. But film-making is a business that is often much more serious than it is ever given credit for.
Perhaps the area of making a movie you would think of to be the most treacherous would be in the field of stunts. But even actors suffer injuries, as well as other assorted members of film staff. There are many different things required that go into making a flick and all those have to be manned.
Intricate planning is always implemented but sometimes, no matter how much preparation is exhausted, things can and still do go unfortunately wrong.
Below are 5 films that were made at a heavy price.
When it comes to discussing any deaths associated with the Blockbuster sequel to Batman Begins, you can bet that Heath Ledger would be about the only one that most people could think to talk about.
The demise of stuntman Conway Wickliffe while inside a stunt car that hit a tree caused him to have severe head injuries that eventually resulted in his passing. The stunt was filmed during the scene in which the Joker fired a rocket launcher at the Batmobile that caused it to pummel.
It goes to prove that film-making is no joke!
The friendship between directors Steven Spielberg and John Landis was effectively ruined after a scene involving a low flying helicopter went horrifically wrong!
Vic Morrow and two child actors were killed when the helicopter’s tail was caught by a huge air mortar, causing the chopper to spin out of control and then plunge to the ground on top of the three actors. Landis was also caught up in the accident, as was six people that were inside the helicopter.
There were a couple of reasons that were attributed to this disaster.
Landis thought he would not get a waiver since the set had a large number of explosives that may have been thought to endanger the lives of the child actors involved. The film’s associate producer, George Folsey Jr, hid the children from a fire safety officer that also had a second job working as a welfare worker. The scene was to be executed during late hours at night and Californian child labor laws prohibited any child to perform during such times. Regardless, Landis went ahead and defied regulations that were put in place for good reason.
Spielberg co-produced the film with Landis and ended their friendship shortly after the incident, saying “No movie is worth dying for.”
There is still an air of mystery as to what caused an aerial stunt to go so very wrong while making the Tom Cruise movie Top Gun.
Art Scholl was a well known high-rise stunt performer whose plane malfunctioned and crashed into the ocean while making a manoeuvre for the flick. The question as to what sent the plane down in the first place is still unknown since it has never been recovered and will probably be forever lost in the vast depths of the sea.
In spooky fashion, Brandon Lee and his legendary father Bruce Lee both died while making their fifth film. They passed away almost 20 years apart, too! Brandon’s accidental death on the set of The Crow in March 1993, due to a fired gun that contained a fragment of a real bullet in it’s chamber, caused his mother to file a lawsuit against the studio for negligence. No safety checks on the perilous weapon were performed prior to the scene being shot.
Unsurprisingly, she won her case. However, not only did she achieve a victory for her 28 year old son the court also made it a law that checks on firearms be made mandatory on every movie set from then on.
As much of a tragedy as it was, at least something great came from it!
Details are conflicting for what occurred while producing this classic war-action sequel. But what is known is that special effects artisan Cliff Wenger Jr lost his life while dealing with explosives in Mexico.
Most reports state that he was killed by an explosion. So that is the general consensus. But there are some who claim that he fell off a waterfall. Hopefully the facts will become more clearer in time and that it is realised that the people who put their lives on the line for the sake of our entertainment is sincerely recognised.
Let us know your top five in the comments section!
