What is your opinion of the shooting death of Actor Brandon Lee?

[waldonbuddy]

I watched a show a while back that was a bio of the late actors life, and death.

Here is an excerpt from http://members.autobahn.mb.ca/~trainer/lee_article.html

"An investigation into his death revealed that several weeks prior to the fatal night of March 31 1993, the same handgun had been loaded with dummy cartridges for a close-up shot of cartridges being loaded into the chambers. (A dummy is a fake cartridge that contains a bullet but no gunpowder.) To make the dummies for this production, real cartridges were purchased from a local gun shop, the bullets removed, the gunpowder dumped out and the bullets reinserted into the empty cases.

The inexperienced crew did not realize the hazards inherent in this dangerous practice and were being pressured to finish these scenes on time and under budget.

According to the investigation, the handgun that was loaded with the dummy cartridges for the close-up scene was then used to fire blanks two weeks later. At some point during the previous scene, a bullet had become accidentally lodged in the barrel so that when the handgun was fired with a blank, the previously stuck bullet was propelled out the barrel with explosive force.

How the bullet became lodged in the barrel was never conclusively proven, but some witnesses stated they saw an unsupervised actor playing with the gun and pulling the trigger. This would have caused the one of the primers to discharge, leaving the bullet stuck part way up the barrel."

It seems strange to me that I have never heard of something like this ever happening on a set either before this, or after.

 

[knockonit]

can't fix stupid

Shame that this happened at all, but again, expecting someone to know their job and actually knowing their job it appears is circumspect to survival in any industry. Know your crew, know your gun, know the fun to be had in a safe enviroment.
shamefull loss to say the least.

 

[Sam1911]

Normally firearms handling on a movie set is only done by professional weapons folks hired by the movie company to supply and deal with the guns. When the actors are in position, the arsenal guy will hand them the gun and then retrieve it when the scene is done.

Sounds like this was a lower budget film (though I think it did very well in the box office) without a budget for a professional arms company.

-Sam

 

[bikerdoc]

And thats why we have the four rules.

 

[TexasBill]

Years ago, I made dummy bullets for some theatrical productions. They were always just case and bullet and had a small hole drilled in the side of the case. I even tried to figure out a way to plug the primer pocket but didn't have any luck. Of course, since these were stage productions, there were no closeups so the audience couldn't see the primerless cases. As far as I know, no one ever had a problem with an AD using one of my dummies.

 

[zoom6zoom]

a bullet had become accidentally lodged in the barrel so that when the handgun was fired with a blank, the previously stuck bullet was propelled out the barrel with explosive force.

Even if there wasn't a projectile in the bore, a blank can kill at close range.

 

[Deanimator]

Another actor named Jon-Eric Hexum died in a similar way when he put a .44 Magnum loaded with blanks to his head and pulled the trigger.

Combine poor supervision by the prop master and stunt coordinator and the stupidity (hardly a rare thing) of actors and it's a wonder that movie and TV sets don't look like the real Normandy landing, not "Saving Private Ryan".

 

[rha600]

Even if there wasn't a projectile in the bore, a blank can kill at close range.

Look up an actor named John Eric Hexxum (or something close to that). he was on a show back in the 80's after Airwolf called "Cover up". Playing around with a "prop" gun he pointed a .44magnum with blanks in it at his head and pulled the trigger.

Needless to say, he died.

 

[kingpin008]

It seems strange to me that I have never heard of something like this ever happening on a set either before this, or after.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon-Erik_Hexum

How wierd. We all posted at the same time!

 

[rha600]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon-Erik_Hexum

How wierd. We all posted at the same time!

HAHA only you got the name spelled correctly.

That wa a good show too. until he went stupid on us.

that's weird...I swear I didn't look at that wiki site before I posted and I posted almost word for word what they have in the .44 magnum sentence.

 

[shockwave]

As I recall, it wasn't a bullet, it was a squib load, which can be fatal if fired at close range. When you're on a shotgun range, it's amazing how far the plastic shot holders can travel and just getting hit with one of those could be fatal close up. This was like that.

 

[Zoogster]

Here is what it says on imdb:

Brandon Lee died during a mishap on the set. A scene required a gun to be loaded, cocked, and then pointed at the camera. Because of the close-range of the shot, the bullets loaded had real brass caps, but no powder. After the cut, the props master (not the arms master - he had left the set for the day) dry-fired the gun to get the cock off, knocking an empty cartridge into the barrel of the gun. The next scene to be filmed involving that gun was the rape of Shelly. The gun was loaded with blanks (which usually contain double or triple the powder of a normal bullet to make a loud noise). Lee entered the set carrying a bag of groceries containing an explosive blood pack. The script called for Funboy (Michael Massee) to shoot Eric Draven (Lee) as he entered the room, triggering the blood pack. The cartridge that was stuck in the barrel was blasted at Lee through the bag he was carrying, killing him. The footage of his death was destroyed without being developed. Lee is the son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, who died in mysterious circumstances before completing Game of Death (1978). See also Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993).

So the "real brass caps" would be real primers.
It was a .44 Magnum round with an actual bullet and primers but no powder loaded originally.
When someone went to de-cock it after the scene they set off the primer, which had just enough power to lodge the bullet in the rifling of the barrel.

The next time that gun was used (after all the previous rounds with "real caps" had been removed) to shoot a scene it had a bullet lodged in the barrel. It was loaded with blanks, which contain far more powder to generate enough pressure in a normal gun without the resistance of a projectile to appear real and generate the same sound.


The result is he ended up shot with a real .44 bullet, likely propelled well beyond a proof load with all that powder in a blank cartridge. So more powerful than any real .44 magnum round, and significantly beyond SAAMI pressure limitations.
The shooter is in fact lucky the gun did not explode in his hand.

 

[Sam1911]

dry-fired the gun to get the cock off,

O...M...G... That is the FUNNIEST expression EVER used in relation to firearms!

I'm going to have to start using that in matches. "Shooter, unload, show clear, slide forward ... and get the cock off."

-Sam

 

[Sam1911]

And thats why we have the four rules.

That's why NORMAL people have the four rules. And I'd go so far as to say, that's why these arms masters have such an incredibly risky job. They're responsible for handling real guns, very realistic fake (prop) guns, blank ammo, dummy ammo, and actors -- and keeping them safe in circumstances where they'll be violating most of the "sacred four" all day long. Not an enviable job, IMHO.

-Sam

 

[waldonbuddy]

Jon-Eric Hexum purposely did something stupid which is different than the Brandon Lee accident, IMO.

However, you would think that with all of the movie's made with firearms that it would have occurred more than once.

I find it weird that it only happened to Bruce Lee's son. Stating the above, I wonder if it truly was an accident?

 

[Zoogster]

It seems strange to me that I have never heard of something like this ever happening on a set either before this, or after.

They stopped using real firearms in most movies. They still have them for various scenes, but in most action scenes various fake guns are used.
They have fake guns that are identical to real ones which fire propane. Some cycle the actions.
They also have blank guns designed to be incapable of using real projectiles. Some in calibers not common firearm calibers.

A lot of what is done is likely dictated by insurance coverage. Certain methods are likely to be much more expensive than others as the insurer is going to charge more for more risky practices, like using real firearms loaded with blanks while shooting at other people.


(That said the movie industry has one of the biggest exemptions on firearms in the state of California. They can legally have almost anything, including things banned for most citizens.
In movies they portray the use of most of those exempted weapons in ways that further demonize them and lead to additional restrictions and attempted bans. Watching most 80s action movies you would have thought bad guys everywhere were using full auto firearms on a regular basis. They all had submachineguns and military assault rifles firing full auto (and with unrealistic non-existent recoil.)
Then in the early 90s semi-auto firearms that even looked like any of those guns were restricted even though they were used in very few crimes. Much of the public thought the "assault weapon" ban was targeting such full auto firearms. Which was encouraged in the media, with news clips even showing full auto firearms being fired when discussing "assault weapons".

Even the 'good guys' often paint firearm use in a bad light in movies.
So Hollywood is directly responsible for a lot of the negative perspectives on firearms. Perspectives that carry over into legislation or are held by voters who are not big gun people but watch those movies and TV shows.)

 

[thorn-]

I wonder if it truly was an accident?

The production company was trying to save money, and carelessness was the result. Yes, it was an accident.

thorn

 

[Erik M]

The inexperienced crew . . .


. . . they saw an unsupervised actor playing with the gun and pulling the trigger

I think that about sums up the whole situation. Thats why armorers should be hired for films that have weapons.

 

[ArmedBear]

What's my opinion?

He's dead, all right.

 

[Dimis]

I find it weird that it only happened to Bruce Lee's son. Stating the above, I wonder if it truly was an accident?

there has been alot of speculation to that effect just as was with his father

They have fake guns that are identical to real ones which fire propane. Some cycle the actions.

is this possably how so many movies show desert eagles being fired one handed with the slide cycleing? i keep remembering in snatch bullet tooth tony fires his desuht egol poynt fuv oh one handed the slide cycled and he barely even moved

same with the agents in the matrix

 

[VegasOPM]

The "weapons master" wasn't- he was a props guy that knew enough about guns to be deadly. There should have been a "dummy" weapon (firing pin removed) holding dummy loads (no primers) and a "blank" weapon (pin inside the barrel)- but they used the same gun for both (and it was a live weapon). The actor was instructed to point the gun off-axis (as are all actors ), but he didn't. My take is that the Production Manager,, the Weapons Master and the Actor should have all been brought up for negligent homicide. They were all to blame.

 

[mgregg85]

My opinion?

Real guns should never, ever be aimed at anything you don't intend to shoot. Rule number one.

The movie company should have bought fake guns or guns that only fire blanks for these scenes, there was no reason to use a real gun for any of those scenes. I'm not sure if Brandon Lee's family sued but they should have, seems like an open and shut case to me.

 

[John Wayne]

Why would anyone put a gun containing blanks to their head even if they thought it wouldn't kill them? I mean, at best, you're looking at a shattered eardrum.

 

[DFW1911]

It was a tragedy.

Brandon was not the martial artist or philosopher that his father (Bruce Lee) was - If you've not read, studied, or practiced the teachings of The Tao Of Jeet Kune Do, just giving it a cursory glance will shed some light on what I mean - many of us hoped he was capable of furthering the work of the best martial artist...ever.

He died too soon, so we'll never know if he reached his full potential.

Thanks,
DFW1911

 

[thorn-]

I'm not sure if Brandon Lee's family sued but they should have, seems like an open and shut case to me.

Lee's mother reached a settlement over the matter - i believe the terms were confidential, though. It's also notable that she favored the film being completed; she and his girlfriend felt it was important for his last work to be seen.

thorn