These 3 Films Faced The Most Deadliest Mishaps Of All Time
Most artists would agree that failure is necessary to build meaningful art, but to only an extent. A failed romance or two can motivate musicians and poets to dig to the depths of their souls, for example, but it’s absurd that anybody ever made a successful record after getting wounded by a lion or speeding a truck off a cliff into the sea. Guess that type of suffering seems to be reserved only for those whose art is the Hollywood film, these movies were among the most dangerous ever to the health (and sometimes the lives) of cast & crew.
1. Waterworld (1995)
While it’s looked at today with curiosity, it’s easy to have forgotten that Waterworld was seen both pre-release to and post its release as a majorly misguided, perhaps dead-end career failure for Kevin Costner. As it is expected from a film that is shot in a world covered in ocean, the oceanic shoot was way more than a little dangerous and almost killed several cast and crew including the lead.
Everyday hurdles comprised of seasickness and non-stop jellyfish stings; one expensive set sunk, and a diver nearly lost his life by the bends during the retrieval effort. The female lead, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and child actress Tina Majorino had to be rescued by expert divers when their sailboat unexpectedly fell apart, and Costner was battered by strong winds and seawater for over half an hour while elevated 40 feet for a stunt.
2. The Expendables 3 (2014)
With the age of their casts, it must be well reasoned that the Expendables films have gifted out a few injuries to its cast, and The Expendables 3 really seemed to have an expensive budget looking at its cast. Then the 68-year old Sylvester Stallone faced a lethal fall that necessitated a metal plate in his back, adding to the one already in his neck from an injury suffered on the set of the first film in the franchise, and co-star Antonio Banderas wounded his knee in his very first take. But the production didn’t expect its worst mishap to be for Jason Statham—who is actually just as much of a badass off-camera as on.
Co-star Terry Crews tells, “We were supposed to be on the back of this truck. For some reason, we’re over there talking, sipping smoothies… we’re in Varna in Bulgaria, on the edge of the Black Sea. He literally is supposed to stop the truck, we get out, we shoot, the whole thing. The truck doesn’t stop. The truck goes over the dock, into the Black Sea with Jason Statham driving.” At this point, everybody lost their cool and panicked. However, Statham calmly swam to safety as the truck was swallowed by the sea.
3. Troy (2004)
The war film Troy—with a whopping $175 million budget—was yet one of the most costly, lavishly shot films to ever be so indifferently acclaimed. Its domestic box office was meager, and critical response was squarely in the center. It’s only remembered today, if it’s even remembered at all, for the strange accident of one of its stunt performers who lost his life, making it one of the most impactful mishaps in film history.
While shooting a crowd scene in which a member later alleged that extras were given ambiguous instructions, stuntman George Camilleri leaped into a crowd and suffered a severe injury on his lower leg. Some weeks post of surgery he was re-admitted into the hospital, and a couple of days after that he was declared dead of ‘pulmonary thromboembolism’ (common after an injury of his type).
The film’s lead actor Brad Pitt, cast as Achilles, also somehow injured his character’s namesake tendon while shooting, causing production to be delayed for ten weeks.
