A crew member on the new BATMAN movie has been killed in an onset accident. The special effects expert was following the Batmobile on a racetrack in Surrey, England when the car he was in crashed into a tree. It is believed the dead man was trying to figure out how to film a car chase scene. The unnamed victim, a married father of two, died at the scene of the crash. Police and the Health and Safety experts are investigating the incident. None of the film’s cast including Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Heath Ledger saw the accident. Batman: The Dark Knight is released next year (08).
Very sad news. The safety of filmmaking is often taken for granted by those who just watch the finished products. It’s not mining, but there’s still a danger. My condolences to the family.
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But what is with adding that Bale, Caine and Ledger didn’t witness the death? Does that contribute something to the story? Should the reader be concerned whether celebrities had been knocked down a peg by being reminded of human mortality? Over the summer there was an accident on the Valkyrie film and the biggest news seemed to be that Tom Cruise and Bryan Singer weren’t on the set when it happened. Is this the result of a population obsessed with celebrities, or one that needs reassuring that such accidents had nothing to do with the major talent and thus won’t significantly affect production, at least in their minds? It’s not even like the article says the actors weren’t involved, but it has to say they hadn’t seen it.
It seems to me the death alone is the news, not who wasn’t there or didn’t see it.
