Two days after a stuntman working on "The Walking Dead" was seriously injured and declared brain-dead this month, a personal injury lawsuit accusing 20th Century Fox and others involved with the production of "Sleepy Hollow" of failing to take reasonable safety precautions was filed in DeKalb County.
Three days after that, a jury awarded $11.2 million in a wrongful death lawsuit filed a deadly train wreck on the set of "Midnight Rider."
Whether the spate of coincidentally timed incidents is just happenstance or indicates any kind of trend is hard to say.
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Credit: Jennifer Brett
A search of Occupational Safety and Health Administration records from 1972, the first year records are electronically available, to the present shows only five film-industry enforcement reports in Georgia, including the one just launched into the “Walking Dead” fatality. All were from 2010 to 2014.
A look at other states that have become filming destination also found few OSHA enforcement reports. Two have been generated in Louisiana, including one from a 2011 fatality. A worker dismantling the set of “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” was operating a piece of heavy equipment called a scissor when the lift fell off a ramp, documents show. Michael Huber died from head injuries. Three reports turn up from North Carolina, none involving injuries. (In California, on the other hand, there were 13 reports, nine of which were accidents, in just the past year.)
Georgia’s recent high-profile film-set incidents have renewed an focus on safety industry-wide.
She never leaves a filming set without having made some recommendation regarding safety practices, she said.
“Everyone’s worried about getting their day, getting that shot,” she said. “There’s a certain amount of ‘bigger and better.’ We’ve been dealing with that since ‘Jaws’ came out.”
She worries that people new to the industry may be wary of voicing safety concerns, fearful of hindering their careers. According to a Coweta County Sheriff's Office report said, a ssistant director Matthew Goodwin told authorities Bernecker had given a thumbs-up sign prior to the jump; actor Austin Amelio told officers that Bernecker "seemed a little nervous."
She stressed she isn’t pointing fingers at anyone, but urged a pause when appropriate to ensure safety.
“Five minutes of everyone stopping and thinking versus going to a funeral,” she said.
Film industry tax credits enacted in 2008 have lured a growing stream of big and small screen projects, leading Georgia to nab honors as the world’s top destination for major-motion picture filming in 2016. During fiscal-year 2016, 245 feature films, television movies and series, commercials, and music videos were filmed here. The fiscal-year 2017 number exceeds 300.
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Having covered the film industry for years, particularly since 2008, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has had the opportunity to visit numerous filming locations. When the topic of safety comes up, it’s almost always a positive conversation.
"Parental Guidance," a 2012 family comedy with Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, Marisa Tomei and Tom Everett Scott, filmed a scene in Piedmont Park featuring skateboarding pro Tony Hawk. Crews constructed a professional half-pipe for a scene involving young actors, and on-set safety monitors watched the kids like proverbial hawks.
MORE: Behind the scenes on the Atlanta set of "Spider-Man: Homecoming"
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Credit: Jennifer Brett
The “Captain America” scene filmed on a blazing hot day. After every "cut!" the extras congregated for crowd scenes were urged to seek respite in the shade off-set, and Chris Evans’ stunt double handed out bottled water, to make sure everyone stayed properly hydrated.
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Credit: Jennifer Brett
We’ve also heard, off the record, as sources are hesitant about damaging their opportunities for future work, about sets where stunt people didn’t have proper safety equipment, incidents where extras were asked to perform physically dangerous moves at no additional pay (or safety procedures) or other unsafe practices.
The extra pushed back while working on a scene for 2012’s “The Three Stooges.”
“They wanted us up on this slanted roof and I said, I’m not comfortable doing this. They said, fine,” he said. 20th Century Fox Studios was fined for several issues pertaining to that production, OSHA records show. Violations involved wiring methods, components, general-use equipment, aerial lifts and head protection. The head protection item was later deleted.
20th Century Fox Studios didn't respond to a request for comment.
“I’m excited about the fact we’re getting all these movies in Georgia," he said. "It's great for the economy.”
Still, he urged a focus on safety amid all the action.
“You have these people working all kinds of hours," Harris said. "Some of them are young, some of them are new to the industry. A movie set is like a big factory, except in a factory you have the same people doing the same jobs. A movie set is like taking a big factory that has things going on that are dangerous and moving it around and then doing things that might be dangerous, like blowing stuff up.”
Given Georgia’s booming film industry, he added, “I’m surprised there aren’t more accidents.”
Contributing: Martha Michael, Jennifer Peebles, The Associated Press
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