Stunt performers: The most dangerous and glamorous profession in Hollywood.
Loss of life, lifelong disability, disability… are the risks that Hollywood stuntmen must trade for their roles. Behind billion-dollar ‘blockbusters’, many people have died.
Stuntwoman Olivia Jackson almost died on the set of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter in 2016. Her colleagues were not so lucky. During this series of famous “blockbusters”, many people have sacrificed their lives. However, the scary thing is: Who is responsible for this? And why are they still determined to pursue the profession of stuntman?
From d*ath to injury
In September 2015, Olivia Jackson and the film crew went to South Africa, where the movie Resident Evil: The Final Chapter was filmed. None of the stuntmen were equipped with rubber boots and raincoats on bad weather days. As usual, the 34-year-old actress was given battle scenes. However, at the last minute, the producers said they needed her to perform a stunt on a motorbike.
At a speed of nearly 70km/h, Olivia Jackson rushed towards a crane with a camera attached. However, on her first attempt, she encountered a problem. Sharing with The Hollywood Reporter, the veteran stuntman said: “I remember everything went quite smoothly until the collision happened.” She even remembers the moment she was taken to the hospital: “I lay in the ambulance, staring at the ceiling and then… the world gradually went dark.” The accident resulted in serious injuries, Olivia Jackson suffered nerve damage and was forced to have her left arm amputated.
Before the accident, she had a passion for motorbikes and was the top choice of Hollywood blockbuster producers.
Photo: Character Instagram
At that time, Olivia Jackson did not know that the job she had just accepted would almost kill her. Being a longtime motorbike racing enthusiast, she was lucky enough to become a stunt candidate for star Milla Jovovich, the film’s female lead. This opportunity happened by chance when the British-born actor met the production’s stunt coordinator. In addition, being proficient in Muay Thai also helps her score big points. In fact, the actress herself refused this job because of the unsatisfactory income, but after negotiating the salary, the two sides started working. During this time, Olivia Jackson was resting before returning to the land of mist to participate in the Wonder Woman project , but she did not expect that this would be a dark chapter in her life.
Olivia Jackson is currently after a series of surgeries from a studio accident
Photo: Character Instagram
Notably, Olivia Jackson’s case is not the only serious accident. Two months after she was hospitalized, another South African stunt artist named Ricardo Cornelius died on set. Ricardo Cornelius died while performing the stunt and accidentally slid off a rotating platform.
A source close to the film crew also revealed that a male stuntman suffered a torn ligament after colliding with a rock on set. This person spent 6 weeks on crutches and was warned by the doctor that he could never return to work.
Previously in 2011, on the set of Resident Evil: Retribution in Toronto (Canada), 16 extras dressed as zombies acted out the scene of falling from a model wheel. Notably, 12 of them were taken to the hospital with injuries to their legs, back and arms.
Whose responsibility is that?
In Hollywood, regulations regarding stunt work are still lax. Currently, there is still no official certification in the US for stunt actors and action sequence choreographers. Public opinion began to rise when a series of tragedies occurred: the d*ath of stuntman Joi Harris in Deadpool 2 , John Bernecker on the set of The Walking Dead in Atlanta… This event prompted the film industry to take a strict look. more strict in protecting stuntmen. The regulations were considered and supplemented by SAG-AFTRA, the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. However, this content is only valid until 2020, even though it has been proposed since 2018.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is considered one of the most horrifying “blockbusters” that caused many stunt actors to die.
Photo: Screen Gems
Upset about injustice, Olivia Jackson filed a lawsuit against director Paul W.S. Anderson, producer Jeremy Bolt and affiliated companies. She accused the filmmakers of “failing to comply with basic safety standards.” The South African-born actress said she was asked not to wear a helmet and not participate in important meetings. She was not even allowed to wear a communication device to control the crew’s actions during filming. Notably, the actress was also upset that the producers often “broke the rules” and “overruled” her: “Sometimes, the producers suddenly change the schedule and details. If you train for dangerous situations, you should know everything mathematically correct to calculate and ensure safety. But every time they change the location of their stunts, everything changes. That leads to life and d*ath becoming only a fragile boundary.”
Sharing with The Hollywood Reporter, a stuntman who refused to give his real name for fear of retaliation said: “Producers are very hasty in making decisions on set without taking any precautions.” What is the protection method for the cascadeur? In Olivia Jackson’s case, she had very little protective gear, no helmet, no glasses while it was raining. No one asked her how she felt.” In response to the accusations, the manufacturer was silent.
The South African-born stuntman’s lawsuit has highlighted an important issue in the film industry: insurance. Accordingly, manufacturers were indifferent to labor protection principles , as well as hiding legal responsibility when accidents occurred. It is known that the film’s producers took advantage of the lax insurance laws to spend $33,000 and $992 in remuneration for the unlucky actress’s case. According to Paul Raleigh, manager at Hollard Insurance: “Coverage limits can be set to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the cost the manufacturer is willing to pay.” Therefore, the cost may depend on the “discretion” of the producers, but the problem lies in whether they really care about the stunt actors or not.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson with a budget of 40 million USD. This is an action movie based on a popular video game, which has grossed more than 1.2 billion USD in 16 years. The work went through many filming sessions in live-action format (live-action version) and achieved significant commercial success. In particular, the Resident Evil series is considered one of the most thrilling, violent and dangerous series of works in the world for stunt actors. Olivia Jackson’s lawsuit is currently just one of hundreds of injury cases due to incidents on Hollywood film sets. Many cases are hidden or kept silent. Blockbuster movies are still continuously released to theaters with the praise of millions of global audiences, but the applause only belongs to the stars who show their faces.
