'Expendables 2' Accident Kills Stuntman, Injures Another(Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Willis, Norris)

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Reuters

A tragic accident on the set of the star-packed action sequel "The Expendables 2" killed one stuntman and left another seriously injured Thursday night, MTV reports.

The accident occurred while filming at the Ognyanovo reservoir in Bulgaria at about 7 p.m., when an explosion went awry. The injured stuntman is now reportedly in stable condition.

"It is with great regret that we confirm this unfortunate accident," a representative for the film's studio, Nu Image/Millennium Films, said in a statement provided to MTV. "Our hearts go out to the families and those on the production affected by this tragedy. The filmmakers are working closely with the authorities in responding to and investigating this accident."

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The film's stars, which include Sylvester Stallone (who's also producing), Jean-Claude Van Damme, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Chuck Norris, were not present during the accident.




Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/28/idUS376323146720111028

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A 26-year-old Chinese stuntman died during the shooting of The Expendables 2 movie in Sofia. Another stuntman has been hospitalised in critical condition, the District Interior Ministry Directorate – Sofia announced for FOCUS News Agency.

At 6:30 p.m. on Thursday the head of the shooting team sent a signal to the 112 emergency hotline alarming about an incident in the lands of the Golyama Rakovitsa village. The caller explained that an explosion occurred during a pyrotechnical scene. After the explosion, two stuntmen in a boat sailing in the lake got injured. The injured were an American and a Chinese citizen, both aged 26. The two were hospitalised, where the Chinese stuntman died. The American has fracture on both legs, deep incised wound close to the stomach and his life is at risk.

http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n262929

[virgogal]

1. Awful. Reminds me of the Vic Morrow death years ago.

[MrSlayer]

2. They do the dangerous parts and get paid the least.

A shame.

[RamboLiberal]

3. I am wondering if non-union

[MrSlayer]

13. I think they get scale.

And bonuses for being set on fire and shit but it's nowhere near what the actors make.

[24601]

15. They are paid per stunt. It they do a stunt scene in 12 takes, they

get paid for 12 stunts.

It's the industry standard.

[izquierdista]

4. Action?

I suppose the 'action' is when their Metamucil kicks in.

[Zyzfyx]

5. Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Willis, Norris

Why did you include them in the title? They weren't injured, nor were they underpaid stuntmen.

[RamboLiberal]

7. Because I wanted to show who was in movie

Not some unknowns.

[Zyzfyx]

8. Unknowns?

Like the dead and injured stuntmen, right? Not like the Big Important Movie Stars, is that about it?

Looking for the "Ignore" switch...:grr:

[RamboLiberal]

11. You have no way of knowing my intentions

Like maybe stuntmen shouldn't be dead just to make these pictures so over the top in dangerous explosions in these "over-the-hill stars" stupid movie.

Somedays I wonder why I waste time posting here. :grr: back at you!

[Arctic Dave]

6. LBN?

That aside, a sequal? The first one sucked beyond belief.

[valerief]

9. They should change the name of the movie, at least. Tragic. nt

[MADem]

10. That's why they use stuntmen--because they are expendable. nt

[UpInArms]

12. the movie title says it all: Expendables .... eom

[truthisfreedom]

14. Ok, come on, people, it's tragic, but the title "stunt man" says it all, really.

Ever since stars started getting hurt in movies, the whole concept of being a stunt double has attracted daredevils from far and wide. It's a crap shoot whether you'll get hurt or killed. You sign a contract that says you want money to risk your life and you don't hold the moviemakers accountable for whatever happens. (At least I assume that is what the contract says).

Anybody who does stunts has the same knowledge that anyone who rides a motorcycle has... eventually, everyone goes down. It's tragic that someone died, and it's sad that someone else was severely injured, but nobody put a gun to their heads and said they had to choose that line of work. We are ultimately responsible. We pay for the tickets. The tickets pay for the productions. The productions pay for the whole mess, including the stunt people, who take all of the physical risks to make it look exciting. We get the rush, they get the risk. And more money than most jobs they could find with a similar thrill.

[motochik]

16. stunt doubles

I am responding to this post because obviously you are not in the business, otherwise you would not have said what you said. I am a stunt person by trade. One of my fellow "stunties" was KILLED on the job. In your job, how often can you say that happens? Another one is fighting for his life. The details of how this accident happened has yet to be released, and may never be released due to legalities. But let me just tell you, we did not sign up to be maimed or killed. To the contrary, the biggest part of our job is SAFETY. No one is supposed to be hurt or killed in our line of work. But just as you take a risk driving a car, getting on an airplane or buying a stamp at a post office, risk is inherent in our every day lives. Every stunt is planned out, calculated for it's risk and precautions are taken. We have safety meetings and have a keen awareness that things can go wrong. When pyrotechnics are involved, it's a whole new ball of wax. We put our lives in the hands of the special effects team, which means we lose some of the control.
Where the problem usually lies is when productions are rushed. Actors have been coddled and now it's the stunts that are being rushed because we're losing daylight. Or the producers want to cut the budget. Or the schedule has been turned upside down because of rain . . . and on it goes. There are many factors that can change things on a dime.
So when you start spouting off about how we as stunt people are reckless and it's our fault that we get hurt, please do your research. You will find we are not like that and we mourn the loss of our fellow performer and pray that the other one heals quickly so he can get back to the job he loves.

[RamboLiberal]

17. Welcome to DU Motochik - great insight

No one should die or be badly injured just to make a movie shot be more spectacular.