Movies take us to another world and let us forget about the one we live in – and that’s why we love them. Understandably, a lot of money is spent to ensure that movies remain interesting for the audiences. Whether there is spending money on expensive CGI or re-shooting scenes, the filmmakers are ready to spend a lot of money to make sure everything goes perfectly. However, there is always room for error. Here is a list of movies that were too dangerous that some people had to pay the price. The list also includes movies that had to pay a hefty amount of money to rectify the mistakes made in them. Grab your popcorns and let's get rolling.
1. It Wasn't All Fun and Games While Filming Hangover Part II
People who have watched the Hangover series can tell you that it is hilarious. But not many people know that it wasn't all fun when the cast and crew were filming the movie. Scott McLean was the stunt double of Ed Helms and in one scene he had to stick his head out of a moving truck only to have his head narrowly miss an oncoming car. However, it didn't go as planned.
Mclean experienced severe head trauma after his head hit the other vehicle. He was then airlifted to the hospital. He has recovered since then and has relearned how to walk and talk. He and his wife blame stunt coordinator Russel Solbery for the injury.
2. A Sad Tragedy On The Set of Film Jumper
When Jumper movie was released in 2008, it received a lukewarm response from critics but went on to make 222.2 million USD on a budget of 85 million USD. Not many people know that the making of the film put several people's lives in danger, even leading to one person's death. Such was the impact of the tragedy that set dressers found themselves tearing down when the unimaginable happened.
Four workers were sorting lumber debris when frozen sand and gravel adhering to a wall broke away and fell on top of two workers. It instantly killed 56-year-old David Richie and another worker received really severe injuries to the head and shoulder. Although it was described as a "fluke accident", the film production company was fined $250,000.
3. Roar is the Most Dangerous Film of All Time
It won't be wrong to say that the idea of Roar movie was just plain stupid. The movie which was completed in 1981 is about a family who is attacked by wild animals during their visit to the home of an animal researcher. Although the idea wasn't that stupid, what made it so moronic was the use of real predatory animals. Yes, the filmmakers went on to bring in real lions, tigers, leopards, and other wild animals. They shot the movie on a ranch where they coexisted with - you've guessed it right - wild animals.
It took 11 years to complete the production and over 70 members of the cast and crew were injured by the wild animals. Ironically, the filmmakers were also close to getting killed from various incidents such as bone fractures, scalping, and gangrene.
4. A Too Extreme Scene for An Extreme Film xXx (also known as Triple X)
The 2002 action film xXx was filled with countless action scenes and stunts. As the movie progresses, we see that each scene starts to become more outrageous and so does the danger. Unfortunately, one of the stunts cost aerial stuntman Harry O'Connor his life. He was acting as Vin Diesel's character, Xander Cage, in which Xander had to land on a moving boat by zip-lining down the cable of his paraglide, hence barely making the landing.
However, O'Connor wasn’t able to make it under the bridge and struck a pillar at a fast speed. It instantly killed the 45-year-old stuntman. The scene finally made into the final cut of the movie, but it was edited to make it look like nothing bad happened.
5. Deadly Explosives In Rambo: First Blood Part II
When the title of the movie is Rambo, it is guaranteed to have everything that satisfies action fans all over the world. The Rambo: First Blood Part II was also filled with enough violence and stunts. However, one of the dangerous stunts led to the death of special effects technician Cliff Wenger Jr.
Wenger was in charge of setting up countless explosions in the film and unfortunately, it took his life. There is still uncertainty about his death as some claim he fell off a waterfall while rigging up explosive while others think that his death was a result of premature detonation.
6. When The Set of Twilight Zone: The Movie Became Death Zone
During the filming of 1983’s Twilight Zone: The Movie, the improperly timed special effects and the reckless use of a helicopter on the set resulted in the unthinkable. It caused the death of two child actors (Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen) and actor Vic Morrow – the American actor was famous for roles in King Creole, Blackboard Jungle, Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, and The Bad News Bears.
The accident happened when the helicopter which was flying dangerously low above the scene crashed on top of three actors due to a poorly timed explosion. It was a horrible scene to witness as the helicopter crashed on child actor and decapitated the other child actor, along with Morrow. The horrifying accident led to a high-profile legal case and director John Landis, the special effects coordinator, and the helicopter pilot were charged with involuntary manslaughter. All of them were later acquitted. However, the film was later released and it received mixed reviews.
7. Waterworld Almost Became a Deathtrap
When Waterworld was released in 1995 on a budget of 175 million USD, making it the most expensive film ever made at the time. It received a lot of praise for the futuristic setting and premise (shot in the Pacific Ocean off of the coast of Hawaii. Due to the unpredictability of the weather and the ruthless waves, the lives of several members of the cast, crew, and even main lead star were in danger.
The film's lead star, Kevin Costner, was lucky enough to escape after getting caught in a storm for about 30 minutes. He was tied to the mast of a boat and he made a very lucky escape. Even Costner's stunt double, Laird Hamilton, got lost at sea while "commuting" to the set on a jet ski and he had to be saved on time. Overall, the entire production seemed like a wreck because almost everything was falling apart. Luckily, everyone was able to come out of it unharmed.
8. Sylvester Stallone Getting Injured While Filming The Expendables 3
The cast of The Expendables 3 comprises some of the biggest stars of Hollywood, but there is no arguing that all of them are well past their prime. So, it isn't surprising that there was a list of injuries to actors when the shooting concluded. One of the worst injuries occurred when Sylvester Stallone fell and it resulted in him getting a metal plate inserted into his back.
Another accident happened that could've seriously injured Jason Statham. He was driving the truck when it accidentally launched off of a dock into the Black Sea. Although the actor appeared calm and composed, he later admitted that he feared for his life.
9. Head Injury While Filming Salt
Salt was a 2010 drama/action movie that did well at the box office and received a lukewarm response from critics as well. In the movie, Angelina Jolie plays the role of a CIA agent who is accused of being a Russian spy. As it was an action-packed thriller, it was obvious that there was going to be a lot of stunts and some injuries on the set as well.
One of the most notable injuries occurred when Angelia Jolie took a hard hit to her head. As there was a concussion, she was asked to stop working for several weeks. This resulted in costing thousands of dollars to the production company.
10. The Conqueror Movie Resulted In Death of Over 90 People
John Wayne was cast as Genghis Khan in the 1956 box office flop movie The Conqueror. It was a financial failure, but the highlight was that the director Howard Hughes almost killed the entire cast that worked on the film. It is because the film was shot in the Utah desert. It was not the heat that nearly killed the entire cast, it was something more sinister.
You see they shot the film in Utah desert downwind from the location where the US government had previously detonated 100 nuclear bombs from 1951 to 1962. As the filming began in 1953, eleven nuclear bombs had already been detonated by then. There wasn't much awareness of the nuclear fallout at that time and the Atomic Energy Commission declared the area as safe. However, in the following decades, over 90 members of the cast and crew died from cancer that many experts believe caused by their continuous radiation exposure during the time they spent on the set.
11. Ghostland Injury Lawsuit
Given the fact that there dying and chasing around in horror movies, they usually require a lot of stunts and special effects. Ghostland was no different as well. In the movie, actress Taylor Hickson's character was supposed to be thrown through a glass door, with of course nothing happening to her in reality.
However, the unexpected happened as the stunt resulted in the actress getting severe cuts on her face. It left her with a permanent scar on her cheek. It all happened because a wrong kind of glass was used in the stunt. She ended up suing the film company for their mistake in overlooking safety measures.
12. When Things Got Too Real While Filming Quantum of Solace
As Daniel Craig was filming a fight scene for his second James Bond film, he took a big hit on his face. A stuntman went for a free-kick that wasn't supposed to hit the actor's face, but it actually landed there and caused a lot of damage to his face.
The actor received eight stitches and the filming was put on hold for some time. Moreover, he also received a black eye. As a result of it, the production had to spend more money to digitally remove the damage around Craig's eye.
13. Troy Incident Leading To Crew Member's Death
During the filming of the 2004 war epic Troy, everything was going normal at first. However, when the extras in the film were given unclear directions during a crowd scene, the stuntman George Camilleri leaped into an unsuspecting crowd. It resulted in him getting serious damage to his lower leg. He was admitted to the hospital and later discharged. Unfortunately, he was re-admitted to the hospital and he passed away two days later due to pulmonary thromboembolism – it was due to a blood clot in his leg.
Brad Pitt, who played fearsome Achilles, also damaged his Achilles tendon. The injury stopped the production for over two months before he was fit again.
14. The Death of Bruce Lee's Son in The Crow
Brandon Lee, son of legend Bruce Lee, starred in the 1994 film The Crow. He played the role of a murdered rock and roll musician who comes back to life just to take revenge on people who killed him. While filming one scene in which Lee's character is shot, a fluke accident occurred and killed the actor.
There was a piece of debris in the gun which wasn't cleaned properly and it was fired into Lee's chest. Although he was taken to the hospital without wasting any time, he bled to death. It was devastating news for everyone and it even led Michael Masse to quit his acting career for a year. The film was later dedicated in remembrance of Lee.
15. It Wasn't All CGI in Film Transformers: Dark Of The Moon
We all know that director Michael Bay loves to work on big-budget, over-the-top films and the majority of his films emphasize a lot on CGI, especially the Transformers series. However, not all the stunts and explosives are accomplished in his films by using CGI.
During the filming of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, a steel cable holding a car snapped and the car flew into the windshield where Gabriela Cedillo was sitting. As a result of the accident, Cedillo received severe lacerations on her face and also suffered from permanent brain damage. It led to a lawsuit and Paramount Pictures had to award the family $18 million.
16. Iron Man Suit Not Strong Enough
We all love Avengers, especially Iron Man. After all, The Iron Man series kick-started things and was a major success from the start. The films have always done well in the box office.
During the filming of Iron Man 3, Robert Downey Jr. who played Tony Stark in the series got his ankle injured during one of the action sequences. The entire production of the movie had to stop because there was no way for the actor to continue working. The ankle took about six weeks to recover.
17. Real-Life Apocalypse During Filming Apocalypse Now
If we look at the filming of the movie Apocalypse Now, we will notice that it is one of the most taxing and miserable shoots of all time. After all, the conditions in the area where it was filmed were quite challenging and the cast and crew had to battle with bad weather and diseases. But that's not it.
Martin Sheen was almost on the edge of a mental breakdown while he was battling with severe alcoholism. It eventually led him to have a heart attack. Dennis Hopper was abusing alcohol and drugs and Sam Bottoms spent most part of the year-long shoot on LAD. Moreover, Copolla lost 100 pounds and even threatened that he would kill himself...he threatened not one but three times. It was truly a miracle that no one died during the shooting.
18. No Need for Tom Cruise's Stuntman
There are not many actors who prefer to do their own stunts. However, Tom Cruise is the machine and he is very committed to doing his own stunts. He feels that it helps bring more authenticity and makes him feel closer to his characters. As a daredevil actor, Tom Cruise rarely requests a stunt double.
So, while filming for Mission Impossible – Fallout, the actor said he would do all his stunts. He was also doing them pretty well. However, during one of the action sequences, he ended up shattering his ankle. It left him out of commission for months and the film lost a lot of money due to it. Nevertheless, it didn't stop him from doing his stunts.
19. Resident Evil: Final Chapter Incident
There is no denying that the Resident Evil series has always attracted audiences, despite the fact that critics never really liked it. The action-packed series is full of dangerous stunts and each film in it attempts to outdo the previous one. In Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, stuntwoman Olivia Jackson almost lost her life in a motorcycle crash when a camera rig failed to get out of the way.
The accident caused the stuntwoman severe injuries. She was in a medically-induced coma as her body broke from different places and her face almost ripped off. Later, her left arm had to be amputated. Luckily, she survived her injuries. However, the same couldn't the said about another crew member Ricardo Cornelius who was crushed to death after a Humvee pinned him to the wall.
20. The Hobbit Trilogy Wasn't Safe for Animals
Although no humans were seriously harmed or killed during the filming of The Hobbit, the same cannot be said for the poor animals. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it only happened due to the relaxed standards of self-regulation of Hollywood. As a result of it, 27 animals died. Their death didn't happen on the set of the film, but where they were being housed.
There were enclosures built for over 150 animals on top of underground steams that led to sinkholes. The animals would fall down the sinkholes, break bones and even suffocate to death. It was heartbreaking to see so many animals die and the situation was definitely hard to ignore