Maze Runner: The Death Cure
The star of this young adult franchise, Dylan O’Brien, suffered some injuries while filming The Death Cure, falling off a set piece. He reportedly broke a cheekbone or an orbital socket, but in actuality it was far worse than that. O’Brien’s condition is so bad that principal photography had to be put on hold until he makes a full recovery. The rest of the cast and crew have been released from the film until an unspecified time, meaning the Death Cure’s release date will most likely be postponed as schedules are reworked. Hopefully O’Brien recuperates soon and the film gets back on track.
Thor: The Dark World
Lady Sif is a powerful Asgardian warrior, but Jamie Alexander is a mortal human. The actress learned this the hard way while filming Thor: The Dark World. Alexander took a nasty fall after slipping on a metal staircase and wasn’t able to work for about a month. She displaced a disc in her spine, chipped 11 vertebrae, and dislocated her shoulder among other injuries. Thankfully Alexander made a full recovery and was able to complete the movie without any further issues. With Alexander returning for Thor: Ragnarok, hopefully she can get through production cleanly.
The Hunger Games : Mockingjay – Part 1
Panem’s Hunger Games are a dangerous event for its participants, and that includes the actors playing the tributes. When running through a tunnel, star Jennifer Lawrence encountered a malfunctioning smoke machine, which filled the whole area up with smoke. Lawrence couldn’t breathe and reportedly narrowly escaped suffocating to death. Fortunately, the crew was able to rescue her and Lawrence only suffered from nausea and vertigo afterwards. It could have been much worse, and a horrible crisis was averted. Turns out even when you rehearse sequences and plan them out, things can still go wrong.
Back to the Future Part III
Michael J. Fox is so believable as Marty McFly, it’s hard for people to separate the two – including his own director! In Back to the Future 3, there’s a scene where Marty is being hung by the neck in the Old West. During filming, Fox shot a take where he didn’t use a box for safety and was actually hanging in the air. He was off a bit on his timing and ended up passing out. He was unconscious for 30 seconds before anyone realized something was wrong and removed him from the rope. Great Scott, indeed.
Now You See Me
Sometimes movie magic can go wrong. During a scene in which Isla Fisher’s character has to escape from a water tank before piranhas are dumped on her head, the actress could not escape from her chain. The chain got stuck and Fisher had to really swim down to the bottom for the sequence. Everyone was so enamored with her performance, nobody noticed that the actress was actually drowning. Luckily, the tank came equipped with a safety switch, which Fisher used and received help from a stuntman. Fisher isn’t back for the sequel, and we have to wonder if this experience is a reason why.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Stunt doubles are aware of the risks their profession presents, and sometimes they suffer truly heartbreaking consequences. While filming an action sequence in which Harry would appear on a broomstick, Daniel Radcliffe’s double David Holmes was hanging from wires in front of a green screen. One of the wires snapped and Holmes crashed face first into a wall and fell down on the crash mat. He was conscious immediately following the incident, but lost feeling in his legs, which turned out to be a permanent condition. Radcliffe took the injury hard and offered Holmes plenty of emotional and financial support.
