Brandon Lee Death

Two weeks before he was due to be married, actor Brandon Lee was tragically killed on the North Carolina movie set of the motion picture The Crow. A scene in the movie called for Lee to enter a room where actor Michael Massee was to shoot him using a revolver loaded with blanks. When the handgun was fired during the filming of the scene, a projectile penetrated Lee's abdomen and lodged next to his vertebrae. He was rushed to hospital but died in the operating room.

An investigation into his death revealed that several weeks prior to the fatal night of March 31 1993, the same handgun had been loaded with dummy cartridges for a close-up shot of cartridges being loaded into the chambers. (A dummy is a fake cartridge that contains a bullet but no gunpowder.) To make the dummies for this production, real cartridges were purchased from a local gun shop, the bullets removed, the gunpowder dumped out and the bullets reinserted into the empty cases.

The inexperienced crew did not realize the hazards inherent in this dangerous practice and were being pressured to finish these scenes on time and under budget.

According to the investigation, the handgun that was loaded with the dummy cartridges for the close-up scene was then used to fire blanks two weeks later. At some point during the previous scene, a bullet had become accidentally lodged in the barrel so that when the handgun was fired with a blank, the previously stuck bullet was propelled out the barrel with explosive force.

How the bullet became lodged in the barrel was never conclusively proven, but some witnesses stated they saw an unsupervised actor playing with the gun and pulling the trigger. This would have caused the one of the primers to discharge, leaving the bullet stuck part way up the barrel.

Experienced firearms professionals always check a barrel for obstructions before and after any weapons handling expressly because of the rare possibility of a bullet becoming accidentally lodged in the barrel when a cartridge is fired without gunpowder. This is referred to as a "primer pop" as the primer alone only has enough energy to silently propel the bullet forward and inch or two. But the production company had sent the weapons specialist home early to save money and turned the firearm over to an inexperienced prop assistant who did not bother checking the barrel for obstructions when the handgun was put away.

On the night of Lee's death, again no one thought to check the barrel for obstructions before loading it with blanks. (A blank has more gunpowder than an actual cartridge in order to create the bright flash out the muzzle.) The gun was loaded, pointed directly at Lee during the scene and fired. When he collapsed, it took a few seconds for the crew to realize he had been seriously hurt. He was rushed to the hospital and died 13 hours later.

Brandon Lee's mother sued the production company for negligence, and eventually won an undisclosed settlement. No criminal charges were laid and actor Michael Massee was deemed not responsible for Lee's death.

A chain of errors, ill advised cost cutting, lack of adequate supervision, and pressure from the production to finish a scene with an inexperienced crew were all found to be contributing factors in the death of a promising young actor.

The production saved themselves about $100 by sending the weapons specialist home early that fateful night.

It seems simple enough. Dummy cartridges are needed for a close-up scene. The firearm is empty and the dummy cartridges are totally safe.

But are they?

Even the most experienced actors and crews underestimate the potential danger of this seemingly simple scene if not done properly.

Dummy cartridges have to look real but must NEVER contain gunpowder or real primers. Experienced safety specialists never purchase dummy cartridges but make them personally by hand.

Are these real or are they fake? There is NO way to tell!
Dummy cartridges with real primers have no place on a film set.
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The ONLY acceptable way to make dummy cartridges is to remove the primers completely. This way everyone knows that they are safe and there is no possibility of ever mixing live rounds with dummies.

Diagrams showing his injuires


USE TO BE HAPPY FAMILY TOGETHER.....



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