Movie fashioning is a wild business concern . It always begin with a financial risk , and sometimes the script calls for necessary , calculated risks to take place on Seth or location . stunt , pyrotechnics , firefights : these are just a few thing that bring with them an inherent risk when encounter giving budget make consider . Throughout the history of filmmaking , there have been more than a few disaster on set . Some have extend to abysmal productions , and terrible movies , while others have served as accelerator to funerals . Here are 19 of the big disasters on motion picture sets .
30. Syriana (2005)
Some histrion put themselves through hell for a execution and such is the case with George Clooney in 2005’sSyriana . Clooney get ahead the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his office as a CIA private detective in this Stephen Gaghan - direct motion picture , but that honour came with a forcible toll .
While filming the scene in which Clooney ’s grapheme is tie to a chair and tortured , the chair is bewilder backwards to the primer coat . The impingement caused Clooney to tally his foreland and injure his back , but it was think to be only a pocket-sized injury at the time . However , before long , the actor began suffer from crippling headaches that became so painful , Clooney briefly consider taking his own life history . The situation also was n’t help by the fact that Clooney was n’t in the greatest health at the meter , having make almost 40 pounds in just one calendar month to prepare for the purpose .
The actor start depending on alcohol to get through the pain in the neck , but several bouts of surgical operation let the actor to finally recover . Still , Clooney live with pain from the injury to this day and it ’s really prevented him from accept certain roles , such as Napoleon Solo inThe valet From U.N.C.L.E. , which eventually went to Henry Cavill .
29. Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)
TheMaze Runnerseries is collectively a surprisingly unspoilt YA adaptation and one of the few international ofThe Hunger GamesandTwilightto enjoy stay commercial succeeder through multiple installments . Though they feature an ensemble cast , part of the reason why theMaze Runnermovies work is because of Dylan O’Brien ’s charismatic lead carrying into action , which do it all the more shocking to discover that the third moving-picture show , The Death Cure , almost killed him . Not because it was unmanageable to make , mind you ( though we ’re sure blockbuster motion picture are exhausting work ) but because of a stunt go awry .
While do a stunt that required him to move from the top of one car to another , O’Brien ended up being cart under the vehicle he was strapped on and suffered a concussion , fractured cheekbones and orbital socket , as well as lacerations . Production ended up having to be push back several weeks to allow the 24 - class - onetime to convalesce , but the time lag was finally extended to nearly a full year — from a planned February 2017 release to January 2018 — when it was discovered that O’Brien ’s injury were more serious than originally believed . luckily , O’Brien go on to make a full recuperation .
28. Live Free Or Die Hard (2007)
Having worked on nearly 100 movies and television set shows , Larry Rippenkroeger is one of the most experient stunt performers in Hollywood and served as Bruce Willis ’ stunt double on the hardening ofLive Free or Die Hard . While do a stunt on a fervor escape , Rippenkroeger fell twenty - five feet and was bump unconscious . His wound were extensive and included numerous humiliated facial bones and rib , fractures to both his carpus , and a deflated lung . yield was even temporarily shut down , so essential were Rippenkroeger ’s contributions .
Willis , who is friends with Rippenkroeger , give for the stuntman ’s parents to delay in a hotel near the one their son was being do by at , and the star frequently visited Rippenkroeger at the hospital while he recovered . Fortunately for all involved , Rippenkroeger finally find and resumed working , even serving as Willis ’ stunt bivalent again on the subsequence toLive Free or Die severely , A Good Day to give out severely , in 2013 .
27. The Avengers (2012)
A highly look for after stuntman in the comic script film genre especially , Jeremy Fitzgerald has appeared in movies such asSpider - Man 3,Logan , as well as many of the Marvel Cinematic Universe claim . While performing a stunt onThe Avengersthat required him to diminish thirty feet off a building , Fitzgerald sustain his foot caught , which resulted in his head slamming into a brick .
The impact tore off a large part of his scalp but rather than go to the hospital , Fitzgerald just slap a patch on the wound and move back to work . As it turns out , Fitzgerald was incredibly favorable , as he was very secretive to strike an super sharp rain sewer that could have slice off much more than a piece of scalp had he do into link with it .
26. Back To The Future Part II (1989)
Unfortunately , Wheeler - Dixon break up into a pillar during the stunt and fell thirty groundwork onto concrete . She could have easy kick the bucket from the spill , but fortuitously escaped with face and wrist injuries that were still serious enough to need rehabilitative surgery . She retrieve and went on to do stunt in films such asDie Hard 2,Demolition Man , andCharlies Angels .
25. Fury (2014)
This on - prepare disaster is routine unique in that the identity of the stunt performing artist who was unintentionally stabbed on the set of the World War II movieFuryhas never actually been revealed . What we do bang is that while practice an action at law episode , one stuntman by chance stab another with the bayonet attached to the gun muzzle of his rifle . The 35 - year - old performing artist was immediately rushed to the infirmary but was reportedly in good intent the entire time , mouth and laughing as he left the set , acting as if nothing had happen . Stunt performers truly are made of dissimilar stuff and nonsense than the remainder of us !
24. Titanic (1997)
WatchingTitanic , and one would assume there were more than a few issues that could result in disastrous results . James Cameron is no unknown to forging out front through sturdy circumstances , and he did onTitanicto impressive box office results . Still , the film brought with it many inherent risk . On the low oddment of what went wrong : there was a day when the integral crew , and all the extras , were tender funky solid food that left many with solid food intoxication . On the real production , the ship modelling ( that was hydraulicly power ) left many battered , and injure , with several nourish more serious injuries : fractured human face , low leg , lacerated spleen . Kate Winslet experienced hypothermia after one cold Nox of shooting , and almost drowned when a wall of water crushed her in a hallway . But … nobody died , and the film went on to break the billion one dollar bill box office sucker .
23. Kick-Ass 2 (2013)
It ’s gentle to forget that nipper actors also want stunt two-baser sometimes and that the stunts they perform can also be incredibly dangerous . Such is the case with Chloë Grace Moretz , whose stunt twice on the filmKick - Ass 2was fellow teenager Talila Craig . During a scrap sequence , Craig was fox against a wall so concentrated that her head cracked open when it hit a bar . This was because of a hydraulic organization , which had push her a couple of inches too far off her mark . Thankfully , Craig made a full recovery and has continued with her stunt career . you’re able to see her work in films such asFantastic animate being and Where to discover ThemandJustice League .
22. The Passion of The Christ (2004)
So , you wanna act as Jesus , do ya ? There ’s a bible verse in which Jesus – Wiley Post ascension – visits a man by the name of Ananias , and tells him about the notorious Christian killer , Saul , who would later become the fabled Apostelic Father , Paul . He tells Ananias to go visit the hater , and suggests , “ I will show him how much he must suffer for my name ’s sake . ” We ’re imagining something like for Jim Caviezel on the readiness ofThe warmth of The Christ . Jim wasbusted upwhen he fetch up shootingThe Passion of Christ … He got the legitimate method acting acting experience when playing Jesus . For starters , he was fall by lightning while prepping for the Sermon on The Mount shot , his body armour neglect to protect his rib while being whipped , allowing him to find the brunt of the bump from the Roman soldiers , and he separated his shoulder while carrying the cross .
21. Wind (1992)
20. The Hangover Part II (2011)
You would n’t think a comedy movie such asThe Hangover Part IIwould call for much in the way of stunt piece of work but it had a sizable stunt squad that include Scott McLean , who had previously done piece of work in photographic film such asThe MatrixandStar Wars Episode III – Revenge of the Sith . During a scene that called for Ed Helms ’ quality to stick his foreland out a taxi window , McLean fill in as Helms ’ stunt double and terminate up remove his head off an oncoming taxi cab .
McLean ’s injuries admit having form torn from his skull and a expectant slash on the correct side of his head . Arguing that the vehicle was travel faster than it was supposed to , thus making the stunt much more life-threatening than in the beginning designate , McLean would up action Warner Bros. The case was settle out of judicature for an undisclosed sum .
19. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
David Holmes serve as Daniel Radcliffe ’s stunt double throughout the total Harry Potter serial publication and the two became secretive protagonist over the old age , making what befell Holmes on the determined ofHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows : Part 1all the more in person tragical . While work on a flying scene , Holmes was knock into a rampart by a staged explosion and fell to the dry land . Almost instantly , Holmes enjoin he could n’t experience his legs . After being take to a hospital , Holmes see that he had break his neck and that the damage was irreversible . The impact of hitting a bulwark with such force left Holmes tetraplegic , meaning he is now paralyzed in both legs and implements of war .
18. The Cannonball Run (1981)
The 24 - year - old Heidi Von Beltz was rent to stunt dual for Farrah Fawcett in the 1981 nut action flick , The Cannonball Run . It was a aspiration job for the rival skier , who was also an aspiring actress . What better way to be seen than to be rubbing shoulders with the gorgeous Farrah Fawcett . The film trust on leaden stunt work , as it was about an illegal car subspecies from sea to polish sea . The film star Burt Reynolds , and go on to tremendous box role success , and even spawned a sequel , but not without disaster . During a driving prospect in which Heidi was doubling for Farrah , the machine she was riding in was involved in an chance event . The fomite was mangled , and Heidi was entrust inside fighting for her life . The stroke destroyed Heidi ’s cervical rachis , and she was left paralyze .
17. Waterworld (1995)
In a moral of Murphy ’s Law on a movie set , Waterworldwas a brush of the on set Kevins . The film ’s star , Kevin Costner was n’t vibing with director Kevin Reynolds . In fact , few of the crew or the remainder of the mold were vibing with Kevin Costner . According to Hollywood legend and traditional knowledge , Kevin Costner was enjoying $ 4,500 per night digs after shooting , while the bunch were hole up in little Hawaiian hut . In addition to the film move over budget , and Kevin Reynolds constant disagreements with Costner , the production endured awful atmospheric condition , numerous jellyfish stings , and stuntman / fabled big wave surfer Laird Hamilton was lost at sea after his undulation stolon consort out of natural gas , and he drifted into open water for hours . He needed to be rescue by the United States Coast Guard . Everything about this production , and the ruined product , was a cataclysm .
16. The Conqueror (1956)
Back in the early fifties , a group of American filmmaker pass some of the biggest names in the business to the Nevada desert to shoot what was to be a biopic about the fabled Genhgis Khan . Who else would Hollywood take hold of to play the role of the first Mongolian Emperor other than John Wayne . Because John Wayne was the archetypical badass of the geological era , producer dressed him up in semi - ridiculous garb , and lease him play the part . regrettably for John , and the ease of the stamp and gang , they were shooting down jazz , and on land that had been contaminate from the atomic tests that took plaza mid - hundred . Within 25 yr of the passing , 91 of the 220 cast and gang members had been diagnosed with Crab . This was injury to insult , because the celluloid was a relative collapse , and is still view one of John Wayne ’s worst .
15. The Hobbit (2012-14)
Peter Jackson ’s three plastic film , nine minute adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien ’s petite fantasy novelThe Hobbitwas largely a waste of meter and imagination — not just because the movies themselves were immensely inferior to Jackson ’s ownLord of the Ringstrilogy , but because the production needlessly claim the lives of multiple animal .
harmonize to an unmasking fromThe Hollywood Reporter , 27 animals fail during output . While some of those deaths can be attributed to natural suit , many were a verbatim result of poor life atmospheric condition and discourse . For good example , sinkholes created by belowground streams became death traps for horses and other animals , who would fall in and drown , or break bones and suffocate . THR ’s report notes that the fault rest principally with Hollywood ’s standards of self - regulation , which allow the American Humane Association to avoid holding anyone accountable for the deaths because they did n’t technically pass on - set during motion-picture photography . Such is the cost of making bloated phantasy trilogies , apparently .
14. Transformers: Dark of The Moon (2011)
jump into late memory : Transformers : Dark of The Moon . This was the third film in the current Paramount produced dealership , and the last of the films to star Shia LaBeouf . In one of the scenes , several extra were offered $ 25 superfluous to drive their car along a stretch of main road , opposite a stunt that was taking place . Gabriela Cedillo , who was 24 at the time of shot , was cruising in her car when a toe cable snap from one of the stunt vehicles , trounce through the air , then plunged through her windshield , striking her in the head . The fact she lived was miraculous , but her liveliness is that of a permanently handicapped char . She ’ll need 24/7 wait on maintenance for the duration of her life . The product ensconce for $ 18 million in redress , but it ’s warn to hump the same stunt die the Clarence Day prior . It could have been prevented .
13. Vampire In Brooklyn (1995)
This largely forgotten horror - comedy from the mid-90s asterisk Eddie Murphy as a lamia expect to keep his line alive and Angela Bassett as a NYPD detective in his crossharis . Vampire in Brooklynis certainly not among Wes Craven ’s best films but what ’s even more regrettable is that the film ’s production ensue in the destruction of a stunt performer .
Bassett ’s stunt doubled , Sonja Davis , fell forty - two feet to her death while performing a stunt . Davis ’ home cease up litigate Paramount Studios and Eddie Murphy Productions for $ 10 million , aver that the gang fail to provide proper safety equipment . The family ’s lawyer died in July of 1996 in the midst of legal legal proceeding and it ’s unclear if the pillow slip was settled out of Margaret Court or if it was overlook altogether .
12. Red Heat (1988)
star Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Belushi as two police officers from opposite sides of the Iron Curtain , Red Heatis an eighty brother cop movie that was the first American production to be have permission to shoot scenes in Moscow ’s Red Square . Stunt coordinator Beenie E. Dobbins , who had previously done stunt work for motion picture such asE.T. the Extra - TerrestrialandFerris Bueller ’s Day Off , caught a speculative showcase of pneumonia during filming that trip a fatal philia attack . farm horse was only 55 years quondam when he passed away andRed Heat was dedicate to him in his award .
11. The Expendables 2 (2012)
Sylvester Stallone ’s name is synonymous with machismo military action and his threeExpendablesmovies are like distillations of that minute , though entertaining vision . As such , it ’s no surprisal that the flick call for some gaga stunt work and gaga pyrotechnics and in this attentiveness , Stallone up the ante substantially forThe Expendables 2 .
For the subsequence , Stallone opted out of direct ( he still save and starred ) due to yield difficultness on the original film , and harden action movie maker Simon West ( Con Air , The Mechanic ) was brought in as a replacement . Unfortunately , even West ’s veteran oversight was n’t enough to prevent an unexpected calamity from occurring .
During a successiveness shot by the film ’s second whole team , two stuntmen catch too close to an explosion lay out off near a rubber gravy boat . The explosion hurt Nuo Sun and killed Kun Liu . Lui ’s family end up suing the producers in awrongful death causa . After a protracted court battle lasting four year , Lui ’s parents were present a meagerly $ 195,000 in Hong Kong dollar ( approx . $ 270,000 USD ) , promptingExpendablesstar Jet Li to donate $ 800,000 USD to the syndicate .
10. Top Gun (1986)
Most on - set disasters are n’t much of a closed book . A stunt goes wrong , someone pass — it ’s tragic , but these things come about . It ’s not everyday that you hear about a yield calamity that ca n’t be explained and even rarer when that disaster involves a plane crash as , all thing consider , fly stay the safest form of traveling .
One of the most famous stunt pilots was Art Scholl , who contribute aerial photography and stuntwork to all kinds of motion-picture show and television shows , includingThe Right StuffandIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom . Naturally , a film likeTop Gunwas a natural convulsion for his fussy skill jell but sadly , the 1986 Tom Cruise military action mechanism pic would be his last .
While flying his Pitts S-2 television camera sheet as part of an aerial stunt sequence , Scholl was unable to maintain height after performing a whirl manoeuvre . Reportedly , his last words were , “ I have a job . I have a actual job . ” Scholl ’s plane crashed into the sea and was never recover , so it remains a enigma to this twenty-four hour period as to what went wrong .
9. The Dark Knight (2008)
Everyone knows thatThe Dark Knightis consecrate to the computer memory of star Heath Ledger , who died months before the film ’s release due to a fatal cocktail of prescription medicine drugs . What you may not have realized is that Christopher Nolan ’s moving picture is also dedicated to the memory of stuntman Conway Wickliffe , who snuff it on band .
Wickliffe , whose survey includes the like ofBatman BeginsandCasino Royale , was practise the scene in which the Batmobile gets fuck up up by The Joker ’s rocket launcher . While leaning out of a stunt car window to practice the stunt , the car ’s driver botched a 90 degree turning and collide with a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree at 20 miles per hour . The driver managed to escape the accident without injury , but Conway Wickliffe was not so lucky and suffered grievous head trauma . He was pronounced deadened at the conniption at the eld of 41 .
8. xXx (2002)
With its focus on extreme sports and other adrenaline junky activities , the 2002 Vin Diesel action vehiclexXxunsurprisingly have a tonof impressive stunt work . Of course , danger kind of come with the territory of being a stunt double for an action whizz like Vin Diesel and onxXx , Diesel ’s double Harry O’Connor give the ultimate Mary Leontyne Price .
During a sequence involving parasailing , O’Connor completed his first take cleanly . However , on the 2d attack , the stuntman struck his head on part of Palacky Bridge in Prague and died almost directly . Somewhat disturbingly , parts of O’Connor ’s concluding moment made it into the ruined film , which is dedicated to his memory .
7. Comes A Horseman (1978)
Comes a Horsemanis a western drama starring Jane Fonda and James Caan that at one pointedness sees Jason Robaard ’s character being dragged by a horse to his death . Unfortunately , the same thing literally happened on set . Robbard ’s stunt double for the scene , Jim Sheppard , impinge on his head on a fence Emily Post after the horse draw him went off course , lead in his decease . Somewhat disturbingly , the scene is still in the flick and curve aright before Sheppard hit his head , which means that his last import are on screen .
6. Gone in 60 Seconds 2 (1989)
No , there is n’t a secret sequel toGone in 60 Secondsthat you ’re just finding out about now ( though it does feel like a missed opportunity not place Nic Cage behind the steering wheel again ) . Fifteen years after the spill of the 1974 original , director H.B. Halicki was ready for another lap , envisioning a sequel that would be even big and salutary than the first . Production got under way but was derail after the film ’s bountiful stunt ended in calamity .
During the stunt , which call for a water tower to dramatically catch on to the ground , one of the tower ’s support cables snap , stimulate a nearby telephone set pole to crumble right on top of Halicki . The director was pour down right away and production was block forthwith . Though the film would never be finished , a curt moving-picture show comprised of most of the completed footage was released on DVD .
5. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017)
The determination to the long - running Resident Evil film franchise ( well , at least until its inevitable reboot down the route ) probably would have come and went with no one other than the enfranchisement ’s devoted fanbase noticing when it was eject in January 2017 , butResident Evil : The Final Chaptergot considerably more aid than anyone expected — not because it ’s a beneficial film , mind you , but because of a output mired in tragedy .
First , Milla Jovovich ’s stunt double Olivia Jackson — who has worked on such action - packed blockbuster asStar Wars : The Force AwakensandMad Max : Fury Road — was seriously injured while performing a motorcycle stunt . Jackson ’s left arm was pulverized and eventually want to be amputated . as luck would have it , Jackson made it through this tragic event with flying colors , at least if herInstagramaccount is any indication .
Sadly , Jackson ’s clash was n’t the only disaster on the Resident Evil set . In a disjoined result , a crew member named Ricardo Cornelius was killed when an unsecured car slid off of a rotating weapons platform and crashed into him . Cornelius was afterwards pronounced dead at the infirmary .
4. The Crow (1994)
Most are conversant with the tragical death of Brandon Lee . It go on on the set of the 1994 action thriller , The Crow , and it was a terrible oversight by the prop crew , as well as everyone who handled the prop .44 Magnum revolver on readiness . The gun had been used previously , and loaded with set - made dummy – bullets with the gunpowder emptied – as opposed to a dummy cartridge , or fake heater that look genuine . in the end , the props crew want the revolving door to show its bullet when photographed by the camera . At some full point , one of the bullets discharge due to the initial flower . This create an effect be intimate as a squib load . It lodged the biff in the cask . When blanks were append to the mix in ordering to shoot Brandon Lee ’s character , the clout was bump by the force of the clean , shooting Brandon in the abdomen .
3. Catch-22 (1970)
It ’s more than a catchy phrase when you find you ’re between a rock and a difficult plaza . Catch-22was a film made in 1970 , based off the 1960s novel of the same name . The award winning film maker , Mike Nichols , directed this wartime heroic poem , and hire one of the most well-thought-of aerial photographers , and directors in the business enterprise , John Jordan . John was well know in the industry for developing a special television camera and hustler harnesses for capture footage from helicopters . John ’s event ? impropriety . He was too well-situated in his surroundings . He resist to wear a harness while capturing footage from a B-25 Bomber over the Gulf of Mexico . you’re able to guess what happen next . John was sucked from the plane after a passing sheet created a fart shear , cause his airplane to tilt . He fall thousands of foot to his death .
2. Midnight Rider: The Gregg Allman Story (2014)
In February of 2014 , a modest crew was attempt to bourgeon a dream sequence of the film , Midnight Rider : The Gregg Allman Story , asterisk William Hurt . The catch : the scene was take place on a hot railroad lead . The producer and director were under the presumption the track was not in use of goods and services , and no trains were scheduled to pass while they ’re were look to capture a few quick shots of a gurney on a train trestle . When a train approached in the distance , the work party and cast scrambled to get off the tracks . There is video of the incident , and it is individual crushing to watch . They had plenty of metre to exit the track had they ditched their props . Instead , the train hit the gurney , which hit second Camera Assistant , Sarah Jones , fox her into the path of the locomotive engine . She was killed instantly .
1. Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
Twilight Zone : The Moviewas a production effort from Steven Spielberg , using multiple directors to film three short films to play as a feature article . It was a wonderful thought , and the yield was plugging right along until director , John Landis , conjure out front with aery stunt in gamy winding . The scene was to represent a racist man , played by actor Vic Morrow , waking in the Twilight Zone , aka , Vietnam War , where he was force to dispense with his personal shortcomings in an effort to save up two innocent children . In a scene that involve plenty of pyro , firefights and a low flying helicopter , eminent hint and pyrotechnics forced the helicopter into the path of Vic Morrow , and two baby , who were feed through a small pond . The helicopter crash , the rotor coil take up Vic , and one child , killing them instantly . The other child was crushed by the sideslip .
