Alex Proyas’ “The Crow,” primarily based on the comedian sequence by James O’Barr, was launched in Could 1994, however its darkish legacy lives on to today. An notorious accident with a prop gun on the set of “The Crow” took the lifetime of star Brandon Lee, making the stylized revenge movie that rather more tragic. The story goes {that a} prop gun had been loaded with “dummy” bullets earlier within the shoot, a typical apply for close-ups of weapons. The “dummy” bullets have shells and bullets however no gunpowder. The set off will be pulled, however the bullet will, at most, detach from the shell.
The prop gun in query was fired and the dummy bullet dislodged and have become caught within the barrel. Later throughout filming, that very same gun was to be loaded with blanks for an precise firefight sequence. Blanks don’t have any bullets however do have gunpowder, inflicting an actual explosion. Sadly, when the clean discharged contained in the prop gun in query, it dislodged the bullet, firing it into Brandon Lee’s physique. He was shot within the abdomen and mortally wounded.
The movie was completed with Brandon Lee’s stunt double — future “John Wick” director Chad Stahelski — and his ultimate movie was launched posthumously. The tragedy induced a variety of disappointment and ache within the hearts of the filmmakers and the general public, and O’Barr cursed that he ever invented “The Crow” within the first place. Lee’s dying was well-remembered by the makers of the brand new adaptation of “The Crow” starring Invoice Skarsgård. Certainly, in response to a brand new report in Selection, weapons had been explicitly banned from the set for the remake.
‘The Crow,’ ‘Rust,’ and gun security on set
The brand new model of “The Crow” was directed by Rupert Sanders, and he had two tragedies to think about. Not solely was Lee shot and killed whereas filming the 1994 movie, however many recall with readability the tragedy on the set of “Rust” from October 2021. On the set of the Western, actor Alec Baldwin was handed a prop gun that additionally hadn’t been correctly checked. When he fired the gun, a pellet within the barrel discharged and struck cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, killing her. The incident sparked an ongoing debate about using actual weapons on film units, and the way too many productions aren’t protected sufficient with their firearms.
Sanders, then, needed to ensure nobody could be damage on the set of “The Crow,” and instigated a no-guns ban. He was quoted as saying:
“Security is a primary precedence. Movie units are very harmful. There are fast-moving automobiles with cranes caught on the highest. There are stunt guys falling on excessive wires down steps. Even simply strolling round a set at evening with rain machines and lights, you are working in an industrial setting. So it is harmful. You must be protected. The primary day I met with the particular results division and the armorer, who was nice, in Prague. They had been very safety-conscious. They observe all the identical pointers because the navy when coping with weapons, however I did not even need to danger that.”
This meant that Sanders discovered artistic methods to movie firearms with out having to fret about having precise weapons on set. All the weapons seen in Sanders’ “The Crow” are made from plastic or rubber and none of them had been loaded.
No firing weapons on set
Sanders continued:
“I mentioned, categorically, ‘We could have no firing weapons on set,’ which implies we did not have one gun that might have had a reside spherical or a clean spherical anyplace close to it ever, in order that no projectile might go in. […] They’re all Airsoft weapons, and a few of them are simply rubber or steel decoys which might be practical however don’t have any firing mechanism.”
No bullets could possibly be fired — in any respect — on the set of “The Crow.” Sanders even mentioned that the Airsoft toy weapons can function completely affordable gun facsimiles. They appear to be they’re firing bullets, and even transfer and vibrate like actual weapons, however they are not able to firing something past puffs of air. All that’s required for an Airsoft to appear to be an actual gun is a flashing muzzle aptitude, and Sanders mentioned that was simply taken care of in submit. In his personal phrases:
“You must add a muzzle flash and smoke, however that was a worth value paying. It took a good bit of cash out of my very restricted visible results finances, however I feel it was value it. The visible results on this film had been very a lot in-camera. We had been primarily a location shoot with set extension. So it’s a must to steadiness the place you spend the cash when you do not have a large finances to do visible results. However to me, that was a really worthwhile spend for everybody’s security and luxury going into this challenge.”
“The Crow” will probably be launched in theaters on August 23, 2024. It’s the fifth movie to be primarily based on James O’Barr’s comedian in a franchise that additionally consists of video video games, books, and a TV sequence.
