Okay, let’s think about this and enter the land of make believe for a few moments. Let’s pretend I am a famous movie star, let’s say in the higher ranks of fame, and that I’m famous for two things. One is a landmark comedy detective show that was at the very beginning of my career, and the rest of it is as an action star (albeit apart from a few famous non combat roles from my friend Shinalight).
Okay, so now imagine I’m in a movie, doing my usual job, in the middle of an action sequence, and a squib fires off and hits me in the face. Oh dear! It’s okay though, it’s not serious and I don’t think there’s scaring.
Now let’s come out of the land of make believe, and face facts. Geez, I’m in action movies, I do that all the time, and it’s goddam dangerous! People have died doing such things, and many actors get hurt. Could it be anyone’s fault, well possibly not intentional, accidents happen after all, loads of actors get hurt in action movies, and many in non-action movies too!
So what do I do? I’m in the business of making action movies where danger is slightly higher than normal, and that’s my living and I rely on the stunt teams…let me think. Oh I know, I’ll sue the Studio and the Stunt coordinator. Great idea. Not only will Studios be scared to put me in an action movie in harms way again, but Stunt people everywhere will never look after me again and treat me like rubbish. Excellent career choice.
Fantasy? Not at all…
Bruce Willis has just filed a lawsuit against Revolution Studios and the Special Effects Foreman Joe Pancake (don’t snigger) on Tears of the Sun. From IMDB themselves:
Bruce Willis has sued Revolution Studios and the special-effects foreman of 2003’s Tears of the Sun, claiming that he was injured during the shooting of the film as a result of their negligence. According to the lawsuit, which was posted Monday on the Smoking Gun website, Willis says he was hurt when a projectile fired in one scene hit him in the forehead, causing an injury that resulted in “extreme mental, physical and emotional pain and suffering.” Willis accuses the special-effects man, Joe Pancake, of negligence while plotting the shooting sequence.
With E-Online stating that:
In the complaint, Willis says he took “a projectile” to the forehead as he shot a scene simulating a spray of bullets. Willis blames the injury on a negligently placed and detonated squib, a special-effects explosive that substitutes for real, live gunfire…His lawsuit seeks unspecified damages…Specifics on Willis’ injury were not known, outside of the lawsuit noting that the Die Hard icon is still incurring medical expenses
Now is it just me or is that kind of slapping the face of the guys who not only signs your pay cheques, but also guards you on the way to the Bank with them?
Okay, might be overly unfair, and it could have been more deliberate or negligent. As always we really have no idea what the true story is. However, wouldn’t you be a bit more restrained about a lawsuit and wouldn’t the Studio be concerned about protecting their image and their star? We’ll see how this one progresses.
