Image Source: People.com, BBC
A recent incident where actor Alec Baldwin accidentally shot director of photography Halya Hutchins with a prop gun, which was, used during the shoot of his upcoming movie, "Rust", shocked the entire industry. The ‘projectile discharged’ from the prop gun not only killed Halya Hutchins but injured director Joel Souza, who is currently undergoing treatment.
The news of the unfortunate death of the director of photography reminded social media of the unfortunate and accidental death of the legendary martial artist Bruce Lee’s son, actor Brandon Lee. While shooting for Alex Proyas’s "The Crow" in the mid-1990s, Brandon faced a similar fate to Halya Hutchins and passed away.
The author of the comic book, James O'Barr, shared about his meeting with Brandon Lee during an interview with Sean Korsgaard in 2014, "The level of physicality and charisma he brought to the role was amazing to witness. Not a lot of people realize just how hard he worked – he did all of his own fight choreography and nearly all of his own stunts. The only thing he didn’t do was fall off buildings because they wouldn’t let him. That’s without even talking about his performance – he brought the right mix of humor, pain and menace to the role."
A still from Brandon Lee's "The Crow". Image Source: Looper
Shannon Lee, who runs the Twitter account for the late actor, expressed her condolences towards Halya Hutchins’ family and said, "Our hearts go out to the family of Halyna Hutchins and Joel Souza and all involved in the incident on 'Rust'. No one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set. Period(sic)."
"I have been in contact with my mom and with my brother’s fiancée. A lot of people have been reaching it. It’s stirring up a lot of emotions—and frustration", Shannon told the Hollywood Reporter. She further added, "There are rules that are supposed to be followed. I am certainly not pointing fingers at anyone because that would be the wrong thing to do. But there is no reason for something like this to happen. My heart goes out to Alec Baldwin. I feel for the work he is going to have to do to process this and try to find some measure of peace around it. And even more so for the family of Halyna Hutchins. It’s having your whole world flip upside down. There should be compassion for all the pain everyone is going through".
A .44 caliber slug while shooting for a death scene hit Brandon and as soon the bullet struck him, he fell and did not get up. The crew thought he was just joking around until one of the stuntmen checked on him and noticed he was breathing heavily. He was 28-years-old and passed away after unsuccessful six-hour-long surgery. The audience appreciated him and the critics praised his performance, and the movie went on to be a commercially successful one.
Brandon Lee was shot with a gun that was supposed to be loaded with blank bullets, according to reports. However, an examination found a true bullet wound near his spine. It was then discovered that the rifle used had previously discharged a round that had lodged a cartridge in the barrel. The cartridge was dislodged and released later when blank bullets were fired.
Brandon’s tombstone reads, "Because we don’t know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet everything happens only a certain number of times and a very small number. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can’t even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, or five times more? Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless." It is a quote from Paul Bowles’ book The Sheltering Sky. The actor had shared the quote in an interview before his death.
Brandon Lee was following in his late father Bruce's footsteps as he was training in martial arts and studying acting at Emerson College and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. The late actor's mother and Bruce Lee's wife Linda Lee Cadwell went on to file a lawsuit for negligence four months after her son's death. She alleged in the lawsuit that, "crew members ran out of dummy bullets and improperly manufactured their own from live ammunition. During a test firing of the dummy ammunition, a bullet tip wound up in the barrel of the handgun."
A still from Bruce Lee's "Game of Death". Image Source: Cinapse
In 1993, District Attorney Jerry Spivey announced after the investigation that no criminal charges would be filed as there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing despite the movie crew’s negligence. Some fans have also drawn comparison to how much Brandon Lee’s death is similar to Bruce Lee’s Hong Kong martial arts film, "Game of Death".
In a scenario that resembles a movie set, a man tells them, "Gentlemen, these are blanks. Only aim upwards. There's a wad of paper that comes out that could do harm to someone." Meanwhile, a hitman stands among the 'actors,' inserting a real bullet into the prop gun from his pocket. Billy Lo, played by Bruce Lee, is shot in the middle of an acrobatic kick and falls to the ground, pretending to be wounded.
Bruce Lee passed away in his apartment at the age of 32 in 1973. His autopsy reports showcased that his brain had badly swollen as the cause of death. While Bruce Lee will always be remembered for his famous yellow and black jumpsuit, Brandon Lee will always be remembered for his iconic look as The Crow.
Alec Baldwin expressed that he is filled with shock and sadness about everything that has happened and is working with the authorities to determine what went wrong.
