On This Date March 31st in Movie History: Brandon Lee Was Accidentally Gunned Down - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian Damage · 03-31-2010, 10:03 PM

On March 31, 1993, while making The Crow, the crew filmed a scene in which Lee's character walked into his apartment and discovered his girlfriend being beaten and raped by thugs. Actor Michael Massee, who played one of the film's villains, was supposed to fire a gun at Lee as he walked onto the scene.

Because the movie's second unit team was running behind schedule, they decided to make dummy cartridges (cartridges that outwardly appear to be functional but contain no gunpowder or primer) from real cartridges by pulling out the bullet, dumping out the gunpowder and reinserting the bullet. However, the team neglected to consider that the primer was still live and, if fired, could still produce enough force to push the bullet off the end of the cartridge. At some point prior to the fatal scene, the live primer on one of the constructed dummy rounds was discharged by persons unknown while in the pistol's chamber. It caused a squib load, in which the primer provided just enough force to push the bullet out of the cartridge and into the barrel of the revolver.

The malfunction went unnoticed by the crew, and the same gun was used again later to shoot the death scene, having been re-loaded with low-power black powder blanks. However, the squib load was still lodged in the barrel, and was propelled by the blank cartridge's explosion out of the barrel and into Lee's body. Although the bullet was traveling much slower than a normally fired bullet would be, the bullet's large size and the point-blank firing distance made it powerful enough to fatally wound Lee.

When the blank was fired, the bullet shot out and hit Lee in the abdomen and lodged in his spine. He fell down instantly, and director Alex Proyas shouted "Cut!". When Lee did not respond, the cast and crew rushed to him and found that he was wounded. He was immediately rushed to the hospital. Lee’s heart stopped once on the set and once in the ambulance. Following a six-hour operation to remove the bullet, and despite being given 60 pints (or 28 liters) of blood[citation needed], Lee was pronounced dead at 1:03 pm on March 31, 1993. He was 28 years old.

JamesG · 03-31-2010, 10:14 PM

This happened as soon as he was just starting to make a name for himself and get out of his father's shadow.

A lot of people in the industry say he was going to be big... sad.

catlover79 · 03-31-2010, 11:05 PM

I remember that day so well...

Brandon!

browneyes106 · 04-01-2010, 12:05 AM

RIP Brandon you died too young.

Vahan · 04-01-2010, 03:01 AM

It is said that Mr. Massee felt devastated over what happened, and took a year off because of that.

There's a saying that "Life Imitates Art", and nowhere is this more evident than in the murder of Brandon Lee. In Game of Death (The version that Robert Clouse finished, not the version that Bruce Lee intended), there's a scene where the lead character, Billy Lo, is filming his final scene for a movie, and he has a near-death expereince, when one of the villians, Jim Marshall (played by Gig Young in his final movie role) literally shoots him on the set.

03-31-2010, 10:03 PM	#1
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	On This Date March 31st in Movie History: Brandon Lee Was Accidentally Gunned Down On March 31, 1993, while making The Crow, the crew filmed a scene in which Lee's character walked into his apartment and discovered his girlfriend being beaten and raped by thugs. Actor Michael Massee, who played one of the film's villains, was supposed to fire a gun at Lee as he walked onto the scene. Because the movie's second unit team was running behind schedule, they decided to make dummy cartridges (cartridges that outwardly appear to be functional but contain no gunpowder or primer) from real cartridges by pulling out the bullet, dumping out the gunpowder and reinserting the bullet. However, the team neglected to consider that the primer was still live and, if fired, could still produce enough force to push the bullet off the end of the cartridge. At some point prior to the fatal scene, the live primer on one of the constructed dummy rounds was discharged by persons unknown while in the pistol's chamber. It caused a squib load, in which the primer provided just enough force to push the bullet out of the cartridge and into the barrel of the revolver. The malfunction went unnoticed by the crew, and the same gun was used again later to shoot the death scene, having been re-loaded with low-power black powder blanks. However, the squib load was still lodged in the barrel, and was propelled by the blank cartridge's explosion out of the barrel and into Lee's body. Although the bullet was traveling much slower than a normally fired bullet would be, the bullet's large size and the point-blank firing distance made it powerful enough to fatally wound Lee. When the blank was fired, the bullet shot out and hit Lee in the abdomen and lodged in his spine. He fell down instantly, and director Alex Proyas shouted "Cut!". When Lee did not respond, the cast and crew rushed to him and found that he was wounded. He was immediately rushed to the hospital. Lee’s heart stopped once on the set and once in the ambulance. Following a six-hour operation to remove the bullet, and despite being given 60 pints (or 28 liters) of blood[citation needed], Lee was pronounced dead at 1:03 pm on March 31, 1993. He was 28 years old. Attached Images
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03-31-2010, 10:14 PM	#2
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,136	This happened as soon as he was just starting to make a name for himself and get out of his father's shadow. A lot of people in the industry say he was going to be big... sad. Attached Images

03-31-2010, 11:05 PM	#3
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,382	I remember that day so well... Brandon!
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04-01-2010, 12:05 AM	#4
browneyes106 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 01, 2008 Posts: 6,094	RIP Brandon you died too young.

04-01-2010, 03:01 AM	#5
Vahan Member Senior Member Join Date: Jan 14, 2008 Posts: 2,712	It is said that Mr. Massee felt devastated over what happened, and took a year off because of that. There's a saying that "Life Imitates Art", and nowhere is this more evident than in the murder of Brandon Lee. In Game of Death (The version that Robert Clouse finished, not the version that Bruce Lee intended), there's a scene where the lead character, Billy Lo, is filming his final scene for a movie, and he has a near-death expereince, when one of the villians, Jim Marshall (played by Gig Young in his final movie role) literally shoots him on the set.