New forum: Surviving your own stunts.com, anyone?

Saul Rodgar · January 11, 2008

Maybe someone should really start a forum called "surviving your own stunts.com" :P Ahh, the allure of Jackass!

Man accidentally hangs self in amateur stunt

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - A man was recovering in a Vancouver-area hospital after an attempt to film a mock hanging as a stunt accidentally became the real thing, police said on Thursday.

The 23-year-old man thought he had protected himself by wearing a harness when he went to a suburban park on Wednesday to have a friend record him dangling lifelessly from a tree, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

"Unfortunately things did not go as planned and the male was unintentionally hung from the rope he had placed around his neck," according to a police spokesman who said the friend initially did not realize anything was wrong.

Neither man was trained as a stunt actor, according to the police statement that added: "The 'Don't Try This at Home!' disclaimers on commercials and movies are there for a reason."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080111/od_nm/...RbS0BBqdBGs0NUE

Hal Smith · January 12, 2008

.................the friend initially did not realize anything was wrong.

The friend was quoted as saying "Hey dude, you really look like you're strangling, cool!"?

robert duke · January 12, 2008

The friend was quoted as saying "Hey dude, you really look like you're strangling, cool!"?

Sometimes I think we as a society are impeding Darwinian efforts to kill off the stupid people.

Martin Hawkes · January 13, 2008

Film sets gone wild. A new reality show.

Check this story out:

2 dead as Angola film set erupts in real-life violence

Last Updated: Tuesday, December 18, 2007 | 12:03 PM ET

CBC News

An Angolan movie crew filming a crime drama was interrupted by real-life violence on Monday, with two actors apparently shot dead by police, according to the director.

Filmmaker Radical Ribeiro was filming scenes in a crime-ridden neighbourhood near the capital city of Luanda, when police officers suddenly showed up and opened fire, the director told reporters on Tuesday.

"We saw the [police] pickup speeding towards us. It looked empty but then suddenly it stopped and people appeared on the back and without asking any questions they started shooting at everybody at close range," said Ribeiro, according to Agence France-Presse.

The stunned director said he was just metres away and was incredulous that he escaped being shot.

He alleges that the officers continued to fire on his cast and crew until he shouted out, "Please don't shoot, this is a movie!"

The officers then sped away without attending to the injured, he added. Aside from the two actors who died, three others were injured and taken to hospital.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/12/18/a...ng.html?ref=rss

Saul Rodgar · January 13, 2008

Film sets gone wild. A new reality show.

Check this story out:

2 dead as Angola film set erupts in real-life violence

Wow, That's really crazy . . .

3-4 years ago we shot the Arizona portion of Akon's In the Ghetto video clip in Fort Defiance, Az. One of the locations was a local neighborhood where every other house was burned down or boarded up or somehow abandoned and completely tagged by the local gangsters. The moronic production team wanted real Native American gangsters in the video. So of course they call some, who arrive completely jacked up on crystal meth. I remember one who approached me and the sound guy, completely tweaking and carrying a hatchet in his hand, wondering who the director was.

Well, right before we come back from lunch. Two members of a rival local gang show up, right? To make the story short, obviously a fight broke out right in front of crafty between the new comers and the other guys, including the character with the hatchet. So one of them gets stabbed, others get cut, and all of them get punched and kicked repeatedly in the ensuing battle. Then the newcomers retreat and get in their car and lunge it into the production crew - local resident- rival gang members crowd that was standing on the side of the road. No one was seriously hurt from that, but the two kids in the car are now going to get a gun, big rocks are raining on the car and the hatchet guy is running alongside the passenger side, repeatedly smashing windows and putting huge dents in the body with the hatchet, trying to nail the guy in the passenger seat in the head with his blade as the crew watches in horror. So now we have to scramble to get out of there before the two kids come back with whatever fire power to settle the score. And as we try to do that, that douche-bag director Lil X wants to get footage of the warriors covered in blood celebrating their "victory" in front of one of the burned houses . . .

I have never felt so much scorn for the producers and director of any project I have ever worked for. These people were the biggest jerks EVER, and I have seen bad producers too, their egos were incredibly overblown and the fact that they put the entire crew in jeopardy to get a shot was astoundingly criminal. Besides, they treated the crew like we were subhuman too, it was really sick. I have no respect for these people whatsoever. Shame on them. If you are ever unlucky enough to work for Lil X, Mister Terry et al, watch out!

You can view the video below, the neighborhood I refer to is the one labeled "Navajo Nation, Az" and there is some footage of the gangsters before and after the battle. The guy with the bandana covering his mouth is the one who carried the hatchet.

http://www.videocodezone.com/videos/a/akon/ghetto.html

Edited January 13, 2008 by saulie rodgar

Martin Hawkes · January 14, 2008

Wow, That's really crazy . . .

3-4 years ago we shot the Arizona portion of Akon's In the Ghetto video clip in Fort Defiance, Az. One of the locations was a local neighborhood where every other house was burned down or boarded up or somehow abandoned and completely tagged by the local gangsters. The moronic production team wanted real Native American gangsters in the video. So of course they call some, who arrive completely jacked up on crystal meth. I remember one who approached me and the sound guy, completely tweaking and carrying a hatchet in his hand, wondering who the director was.

Sounds mental, man. And rather speculative of the filmmakers. They know that no gang members will want to lose face with the camera around.

The video did convey desperation. Were you the shooter?

Later,

Martin

Saul Rodgar · January 14, 2008

The video did convey desperation. Were you the shooter?

Martin

No. I was the lowly video assist guy. Had I been the shooter, probably I would have realized these guys were crazy earlier and would have walked away before the madness . . .