Since the days of silent pictures, the American film industry has grappled with on-set accidents and tragedies. Among the earliest was in 1914, when director Owen Carter and actress Grace McHugh drowned while shooting a sequence of a bandit’s daughter crossing the Rio Grande for the silent feature “Across the Border.” On-set deaths have shadowed the movies ever since, from the accidental shooting of Brandon Lee on “The Crow” set in 1993 to the 2014 death of “Midnight Rider” assistant camerawoman Sarah Jones on a Georgia train trestle.
But those are just the ones we know about: Media attention around on-set tragedies and mishaps, especially the manslaughter charges against “Rust” actor and producer Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, formally filed on Tuesday, is a modern phenomenon. In the early days, the lack of a 24/7 news cycle allowed many accidents and deaths to go unreported.
“The coverage was less in those days [silents and beyond],” Jonathan Kuntz,...
But those are just the ones we know about: Media attention around on-set tragedies and mishaps, especially the manslaughter charges against “Rust” actor and producer Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, formally filed on Tuesday, is a modern phenomenon. In the early days, the lack of a 24/7 news cycle allowed many accidents and deaths to go unreported.
“The coverage was less in those days [silents and beyond],” Jonathan Kuntz,...
- 2/1/2023
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Prosecutors in the Midnight Rider trial, set to begin March 9, are looking to become the first ever to convict filmmakers on manslaughter charges. In the 100 years between the death of Sarah Jones and the first film-related deaths — on July 1, 1914, when 16-year-old actress Grace McHugh drowned and cameraman Owen Carter died trying to rescue her while filming a scene for the movie Across The Border – more than 80 people have died in 52 fatal accidents while filming in the U.S. Only two resulted in indictments, none in convictions.
The last time a manslaughter case went before a jury was nearly 30 years ago, in the infamous Twilight Zone case, which ended in the acquittals of director John Landis and four co-defendants. “It was a very difficult case to prosecute,” Lea D’Agostino, the deputy district attorney who prosecuted the Twilight Zone case, later said. “You didn’t have people who went in maliciously to do something.
The last time a manslaughter case went before a jury was nearly 30 years ago, in the infamous Twilight Zone case, which ended in the acquittals of director John Landis and four co-defendants. “It was a very difficult case to prosecute,” Lea D’Agostino, the deputy district attorney who prosecuted the Twilight Zone case, later said. “You didn’t have people who went in maliciously to do something.
- 2/3/2015
- by David Robb
- Deadline
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