Is Kevin Hart okay? What went wrong on Netflix’s movie set?
Tragedy struck on the set of a comedy.
A very serious accident occurred on the set of a new Netflix comedy movie starring Kevin Hart & Mark Wahlberg. Details are not completely clear at this time but a 911 call was made at 7:04 AM on Tuesday morning reporting that someone had taken a “long fall”.
Accident
Sources say a man, believed to be a stage technician, fell from scaffolding above the stage. There are conflicting reports that suggest the man could have fallen anywhere from thirty to eighty feet on a soundstage at Sunset Gower Studios in Los Angeles.
Reports say the man was not breathing after the fall. He is said to have suffered “massive trauma” that included fractured legs & arms. Medics on the scene restarted the man’s breathing before rushing him to a regional trauma center.
“He has a fighting chance of survival, and I want to emphasize fighting,” said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Brian Humphrey. “He was in a very critical condition”.
Me Time
The accident occurred on the set of the new Netflix movie Me Time. The movie stars Kevin Hart as Sonny, a stay-at-home father whose wife & kids go on a vacation giving him some much-needed time to himself. Mark Wahlberg plays Sonny’s former best friend Huck. The two embark on a wild weekend that changes Sonny’s life.
Kevin Hart signed a long-term deal with Netflix early this year. His stand-up movie Zero F*cks Given was the number one comedy special on Netflix in 2020. Hart’s special is said to have been streamed nearly 21 million times in its first month. The Philly-native’s films have brought in around $4 billion worldwide at the box office.
Me Time will be the first movie in the four film Netflix deal. Hart is the streaming giant’s latest comedy acquisition after Adam Sandler renewed his deal to the tune of $150 million. Me Time will be produced by Hart’s HartBeat Productions. It is believed that part of Hart & Netflix’s pact includes significant producer opportunities for the Philly-native.
Regina Hall, Jimmy O. Yang, and Luis Gerardo Méndez are said to be among the cast of the new Kevin Hart movie. Though the tragic on-set accident may impact the production, the movie is scheduled to hit Netflix sometime in the spring or summer of 2022.
Film set accidents
Unfortunately, accidents can occur on film sets. While members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees do everything they can to ensure that sets are safe places to work, accidents can cause significant harm or loss of life.
One of the most tragic on-set accidents occurred during the 1983 production of a film version of The Twilight Zone. The film included segments directed by Stephen Spielberg, George Miller, Joe Dante, and John Landis. During the production of Landis’ segment, a stunt involving an exploding helicopter went horribly awry.
A piece of the helicopter was damaged, causing it to come crashing down on veteran actor Vic Morrow, as well as two child actors, Myca Dinh Le & Renee Shin-Yi Chen. The child actors were hired illegally to circumvent child labor laws. Landis was ultimately acquitted of responsibility.
Perhaps the most famous on set accident in Hollywood history is the tragic death of Brandon Lee. Lee, the son of martial artist Bruce Lee, was filming a scene in which his character is shot when a blank cartridge caused a piece of debris to fly into Lee’s chest. Despite medical attention, Lee bled to death in a nearby hospital.
Had the production stuck to union guidelines the accident wouldn’t have happened. The film was shot in North Carolina, a state which did not require union oversight on film productions. While art enriches our lives, no art is worth someone’s health, safety, or life.
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