Current:Home > StocksTradeEdge-The tragic true story of how Brandon Lee died on 'The Crow' movie set in 1993 -Capitatum
TradeEdge-The tragic true story of how Brandon Lee died on 'The Crow' movie set in 1993
Will Sage Astor View
Date:2025-04-06 09:56:11
Before Bill Skarsgård smeared on TradeEdgeEric 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! (344)
Related
- The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
- Matt Damon Reveals Why He Missed Out on $250 Million Offer to Star in Avatar
- Mega Millions jackpot is the 8th largest in the US at $820 million
- Raven-Symoné Reveals She Has Psychic Visions Like That's So Raven Character
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Banc of California to buy troubled PacWest Bancorp, which came close to failing earlier this year
- What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend viewing, listening and reading
- Could sharks make good hurricane hunters? Why scientists say they can help with forecasts
- Bodycam footage shows high
- Wendy's unveils new cold brew coffee drink based on its signature Frosty
Ranking
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- 2022 Books We Love: Realistic Fiction
- Researchers discover mysterious interstellar radio signal reaching Earth: 'Extraordinary'
- He's edited Caro, le Carré and 'Catch-22,' but doesn't mind if you don't know his name
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- From 'Dreamgirls' to 'Abbott Elementary,' Sheryl Lee Ralph forged her own path
- DeSantis cuts a third of his presidential campaign staff as he mounts urgent reset
- DeSantis is in a car accident on his way to Tennessee presidential campaign events but isn’t injured
Recommendation
Travis Hunter, the 2
$155-million teardown: Billionaire W. Lauder razing Rush Limbaugh's old Palm Beach estate
Viral sexual assault video prompts police in India to act more than 2 months later
Doug Burgum says he qualified for GOP presidential debate, after paying donors $20 for $1 donations
Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
Israel’s government has passed the first part of its legal overhaul. The law’s ripples are dramatic
After human remains were found in suitcases in Delray Beach, police ask residents for help
Josh Gondelman on Bullseye's End of Year Stand-Up Comedy Spectacular