Current:Home > StocksThe tragic true story of how Brandon Lee died on 'The Crow' movie set in 1993 -MarketLink
The tragic true story of how Brandon Lee died on 'The Crow' movie set in 1993
View
Date:2025-04-21 20:42:46
Before Bill Skarsgård smeared on Eric Draven’s sinister black and white face paint, a burgeoning Brandon Lee embodied the resurrected superhero at the center of James O'Barr’s comic.
“The Crow,” released in 1994, could easily have been a breakthrough role for Lee, who was just 8 when his father, action star Bruce Lee, died of brain swelling. Critic Roger Ebert declared the movie “more of a screen achievement than any of the films of his father” in his review.
Rupert Sanders, who directed the remake taking flight Friday in theaters, praises Lee’s performance in an interview with USA TODAY: “He’s very, very good in the movie and he's got a kind of deadness to him that's really strong.“
Filming began on Feb. 1, 1993, the day the actor turned 28, with Lee playing a rock star who rises from his grave for revenge after he and his fiancée are mercilessly murdered. Lee planned to marry personal assistant Eliza Hutton on April 17 in Mexico after the production concluded in Wilmington, North Carolina. But on March 31, Lee was killed in an accidental shooting while filming a scene in which his character dies.
Ahead of the new “Crow,” we revisit the tragedy of the original.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
'The Crow':How FKA Twigs' new movie taught her she deserves love and respect
How did Brandon Lee die on the set of ‘The Crow’?
In the scripted moment not seen in the finished movie, Eric is shot by ruffian Funboy (Michael Massee). As cameras rolled, Lee was shot in the abdomen with a piece of a dummy bullet left in the gun's barrel from an earlier scene.
The .44 Magnum was loaded with blanks, hastily made by a crew member who removed gun powder from live bullets. The blank cartridge fired the fragment with the force of a real bullet, striking Lee from about 15 feet away.
The actor suffered extensive internal damage and significant blood loss. He died at New Hanover Regional Medical Center after hours of surgery.
Criminal charges were not filed in Lee’s death. But the actor's mother, Linda Lee Cadwell, filed a negligence lawsuit naming producers and 13 other corporations and individuals. The suit, which also included Hutton, was settled for an undisclosed amount.
How did filmmakers finish ‘The Crow’ after Brandon Lee died?
The film was completed with the help of special effects company Dream Quest Images and stunt performer Chad Stahelski, who went on to direct the four “John Wick” movies.
A few months after the shooting, stunt coordinator Jeff Imada phoned Stahelski, a friend of Lee's, and asked if he’d help finish “The Crow.” Stahelski flew to meet with director Alex Proyas and review footage of Lee.
“For the next two days, it was just (Alex) and I in a room, teaching me how to walk and talk, showing me the footage and saying, ‘This is what I need from you,’ ” Stahelski told Yahoo Movies UK in 2019. “To this day, I still believe that Brandon would have wanted the thing done, and done well, and today it’s still a cult classic, it’s still one of my favorite films.”
First look:'The Crow' reboot unveils Bill Skarsgård in Brandon Lee role
For ‘The Crow’ remake, director Rupert Sanders insisted on no live-fire weapons
Sanders reinforced the importance of safety on his sets to USA TODAY.
“We work in a very dangerous environment,” Sanders says. “There's always a fast car with a crane attached to it, or a horse galloping at speed, or shooting takeoffs on the USS Roosevelt. You're always in the firing line, but it’s safety first for me. It’s just not worth the risk.
“One of the things that I was very strict about Day 1 with the armorer was no live-firing weapons,” Sanders says. He insisted on airsoft guns, which look like real weapons but use compressed air to fire.
Sanders wanted not “one bit of blank ammunition on set. So everything we shot with was done digitally, and I don't think it changes the dynamic of how you view them in the movie. If anything, blanks don't really react the same way as a live-firing round does anyway, so it's already a bit faked. You're actually able to get a more realistic approach by using (visual effects).”
Contributing: Patrick Ryan and Maria Puente
veryGood! (69)
Related
- The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
- This 'Euphoria' star says she's struggled with bills after Season 3 delays. Here's why.
- Gisele Bündchen Addresses Her Dating Life After Tom Brady Divorce
- Workers asked about pay. Then reprisals allegedly began, with a pig's head left at a workstation.
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Explosions, controlled burn in East Palestine train derailment were unnecessary, NTSB official head says
- Bill that could make TikTok unavailable in the US advances quickly in the House
- A small earthquake and ‘Moodus Noises’ are nothing new for one Connecticut town
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- Alabama lawmakers have approved a school choice program
Ranking
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- Lululemon's We Made Too Much Section Seems Almost Too Good to be True: $118 Bottoms for Just $49 & More
- Authorities now have 6 suspects in fatal beating of teen at Halloween party
- Dive into the Epic Swimsuit Sales at J.Crew, Swimsuits for All & More, with Savings up to 70% Off
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Millions of Americans overseas can vote — but few do. Here's how to vote as an American living abroad.
- Miami Seaquarium gets eviction notice several months after death of Lolita the orca
- 'You get paid a lot of money': Kirsten Dunst says she's open for another superhero movie
Recommendation
Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
US applications for jobless claims hold at healthy levels
Horoscopes Today, March 7, 2024
Georgia House advances budget with pay raises for teachers and state workers
Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
US applications for jobless claims hold at healthy levels
Amy Schumer's Parenting Milestone With 4-Year-Old Son Gene Will Have You Exhausted
Explosions, controlled burn in East Palestine train derailment were unnecessary, NTSB official head says