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UPDATE, 4 PM: NuImage/Millennium Films released an update today on the accident that killed one stuntman and seriously injured another last week during filming on a 2nd Unit location for The Expendables 2 on Lake Ognyanovo, Bulgaria. Those men are now identified, and other information is clarified in the statement below.
“Our deepest condolences go to the family of Kun Lieu. His passing is tragic. Our sympathies also go to Nuo Sun who was seriously injured as a result of the same explosion. We have been informed his condition has stabilized. He has been transported to Munich, Germany, where he is receiving top medical care from the best specialists,” said Nu Image/Millennium Films.
Regrettably, Bulgarian language newspapers have incorrectly reported that stunt doubles for Jet Li and Sylvester Stallone were involved in the accident. This is absolutely false and inaccurate. At the time of the accident neither Li’s or Stallone’s stuntmen were on or near the Second Unit set, nor were any of the film’s main actors, director Simon West or any of the Main Unit crew.
Only Second Unit filming has been temporarily suspended and will resume shortly. The filmmakers continue to work with authorities investigating this accident. Main Unit production has not been interrupted and continues as scheduled.
PREVIOUSLY, OCT. 27, 11:57 PM: A stuntman has died on the set of The Expendables 2, which is filming in Bulgaria. The accident happened a little after 7 PM local time on Thursday while the movie’s second unit stunt team was filming a scene on reservoir Ognyanovo 15 miles outside the capital Sofia. Two stuntmen participated in the stunt, which involved an explosion. One of them died, while the other was injured and is in a hospital in critical but stable condition. The local police have launched an investigation into the incident, which happened while the film’s main unit, led by director Simon West and star-producer Sylvester Stallone, was filming in the picturesque mountain resort village of Bansko 2 1/2 hours away.
“It is with great regret that we confirm this unfortunate accident,” Nu Image/Millennium Films, the production company behind The Expendables 2, said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to the families and those on the production affected by this tragedy. The filmmakers are working closely with the authorities in responding to and investigating this accident.” In consideration of the families of the victims, names and other details are not being released at this time, a spokesman for the production said. The Expendables 2, the sequel to Stallone’s 2010 sleeper-hit action-hero actioner, boasts a star-studded ensemble cast that includes Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Liam Hemsworth, Terry Crews, Jet Li, Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
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Well, the movie is called The Expendables 2.
2 soon?
Michael
We know to
It seems that the last movies that are in production in Europe, are under a curse. World War Z was postponed because the “arsenal” bought by Brad Pitt, now this. Is it Hollywood being lazy with security in high-budget movies?
I wonder if the fact they shot the film in Bulgaria to take advantage of film subsidies led to an inexperienced crew and unsafe situation.
The Pyro tech crew on this movie is veery experienced and well known for big movies….from UK…
You’ve nailed it.
Or the story takes place in Bulgaria. Just a thought.
Pressed send too early. – just as you too must have.
A stunt person died tonight. Guy or girl was focused on the work – the stunt. no words here other than respect – tonight – are worthy.
Go there.
Yes. Quite a bit actually.
Still no Oscar category recognizing the only people on a movie set that risk their lives.
At the very least, has any stunt performer that has died on set ever been mentioned in the “in memoriam” segment?
First of all, WTH does an Oscar have to do with ‘risking your life’? Why should that even be a consideration? Secondly, if you think for one second that the stunt performers are the “ONLY” people on the crew that risk their lives, you need to do some research into how many below the line members are hurt and killed.
Oscar. Jesus. So not important or relevant.
VFX soldier – A film this size would probably bring western department heads so one would hope that the eastern Europe location was not a factor. Terrible news no matter where or when something like this happens.
It’s pretty well known the advantages of shooting in Eastern Europe are the lax oversight and little or no regulation. Blade 2, Cold Mountain, Aliens v. Predator….the list goes on of anecdotal stories of unsafe working conditions.
yeah lets just generalize all the Eastern European working conditions. there are some bad experiences I am sure. But countless other examples prove that working here is safe, fun and fruitful. Believe it or not it is not the third world, the highly capable filming crews are working here with the latest technology.
Great to see Jean Claude rightfully amongst that list.
Jean Claude is a wanker who loves himself too much
I know and have worked with many of the crew that are working on this show and these guys are at the very top of their respective fields worldwide. Terrible and tragic news but it doesn’t sound like cost cutting or inexperience played a role here. To suggest otherwise is disrespectful. RIP.
I need to know the name of these two stuntmen. I have a good friend who is a stuntman (TRM – initials) and his specialty is pyro. I pray that he was not one of them. I also pray for the families and the stuntman that is in the hospital.
A tragedy, indeed… and sadly, probably a preventable one… This is all about skirting the rules and regulations; bigger, better, best for cheap, cheaper, cheapest. American companies make movies in Bulgaria for the same reason they manufacture flammable children’s pajamas in Mexico, they can cut corners on labor and ignore the safety standards … and the governments let them get away with it. This is what “small government” looks like… RIP, Stuntman.
Flammable children’s pajamas? When did that happen?
Cool, you’ve made this stuntman a martyr for your political beliefs. That’s showing some respect. Jerk.
Lack of regulations and disorganized labor often have deadly consequences, Jerk — see mining and the Mariettas, etc. — if that’s political, so be it.
Yes please, please nobody look at the man behind the curtain, please. PLEASE!
I freely admit that I’m not expert on these matters, but isn’t a little soon to be blaming cost cutting, negligence, or anything else for this before it’s revealed what caused this tragic accident? For all any of us know, it could have been equipment malfunction that caused the event, and that equipment could have been checked and double checked before the stunt. Someone could also have missed their mark….there are countless things that could have gone wrong, but the crew may very well have done all reasonable precautionary prep work.
Very sad. This is what happens when greedy producers are looking for cheap labor and tax credits to maximize their profits. The best special effects technicians are here in Hollywood.. That cast should know better but the three of them are ego maniac millionaires who could give a shit. Arnold making a movie in Bulgaria? What happened to the state you just represented? Everyone is after the almighty dollar and this is sickening…
Stacey
What makes you think that these Stunt Men were underpaid? Or for that matter inexperinced. Remember that movies have been made there for over a decade.
WWZ was not delayed and is in fact on schedule as originally planned, will complete its shoot in Budapest exactly as planned. Tabloid sensanalism is not truth. Skilled stunt people work these films but as with any action things can and do go wrong. My sympathy to their loved ones. And when are the Oscars ever going to recognize this group of performers?
The worst crew ever… they cant do anything right.
it was awful
who would be so silly as to bring A list actors there?
Ex-Pat, what a douche-bag comment. An accident happened and with no knowledge whatsoever you proclaim the reason for a death and severe injury. STFU with your injection of politics into this. Fucking liberal tripe. A man died and one is in serious condition, maybe you could show some respect.
Shooting films in the eastern block is to save money and skirt the regulations of Hollywood (regulations that have saved many lives) … there is no doubt about this — sorry this interferes with your narrow small government world view… I’m not cool with this happening again… if that’s political, I’m fine with that.
I’m going to go out on a limb and guess you care far, far more that ex-Pat uttered “liberal tripe” than you do about the stuntmen here, or on any film. You’re hiding.
The writing for accidents like this has been on the wall for some time, at least going back to 2005 according to some LA Times articles mentioned in the story in the link below…
http://www.stop-runaway-production.com/2011/10/19/runaway-production-at-its-worst-new-tom-sawyer-film-shot-in-bulgaria/
RIP
And the chance of investors spreading this to promote the film? Oh wait, the movie’s already getting its hype with this news spreading all over, if this gets played off a little bit more than eventually people will be going to see this as “that movie where someone actually died in, like Dark Knight” and success~
But seriously, RIP guy, and may all other stunt men and women be safe while they risk their lives instead of the actors that sit back, read a script and get all the credit.
We greatly regret hearing of this explosive water tragedy on the set of Expendables 2, and our thoughts and prayers are with the deceased and injured. Let us all log lessons learned and install mitigating factors to avoid recurrence in this stuntman business. AK
Some naive fools writing crap on here before they think. I mean, suggesting that they would use a cheap Eastern European crew, thats only previous experience with explosives, was letting off firecrackers on new years eve. Wake up fools.
And the dude that was carrying on about the America & mexian flammable pyjama crap is the most naive of all…I mean, look at the state of the U.S. economy at present & over the past ten years or so. Cheap knock off products coming in from China & India (predominantly) are killing western businesses, unless they adapt & go offshore to these cheaper countries to produce. They don’t just get up one morning & think, “Lets call all the suits in for a meeting I have an idea”…Then once all suits are wrangled & in the board room, big Hazza the company boss says, “alright ladies & gents, it’s time to address the big issues here,….we have a over population issue & seeing we’re only taking home 20million a year each, we obviously need more money to merely survive……so I’ve come up with the ultimate 2 for 1 solution…….we are moving production to Mexico, sacking all the dumbarse manufacturing staff, & we’ll pay Mexican homeless bums $5 a year to manufacture, & we’ll make sure we use the cheapest, nastiest, gasoline based material we can”. Hoolahan asks: “but sir, we make kids pyjamas & other kids clothing, won’t that be dangerous?”.
Big Hazza: “Of course it is you dumbf*@ck Hoolahoop, that’s the point, we lower not just production costs here my friend,…..but we also lower the world popula when cigarette smoking adults light up & spontaniously combust, or a kid watching television gets a bit to close to the heater & poof, up in flames for that little air thief, Hoolahoop, clear out your locker you anus, take one of our new line of C4 based jackets & go buy a pack of Camels & some matches & relieve the stress of losing your job”.
American businesses have been going kaput for the past 5, or more years. Look at the poor bastards that work for Chev, Ford & co. that have been laid off in droves thanks to cheap asian vehicles stealing there market share, bigtime….whole towns in the U.S. are up sh#t creek without a paddle, towns that once thrived with hard working very decent popula, have now been turned into crime riddled, hellholes, with the once decent working man been forced to rob, drink, get on the gear, pimp, kill & basically having little other choice in the direction of there own lives.
The U.S. government had to bail out Ford & Chev with copiuos ammounts of money just to keep them in the country & afloat….and they are only just afloat & have still had to move much of there production to asia. Detroit was formely one of these towns, & I believe was once thriving & the epicentre for car manufacture in the U.S.
Even the Japanese giants in electronics like Panasonic, Sony, etc,etc, all have had to move production to China & other countries due to the Korean electronics invasion. MS makes there Xbox’s in turkey & such. And the list goes on.
And the sad fact is that many, if not all, have had problems with the transition to these cheaper, less indutrialised, 3rd world countries, & unfortunately some of these teething problems can go undetected & be passed onto the consumer & can be very dangerous, even lethal…..It’s very sad, but also very true.
I mean MS had 360′s that were burning houses down, then the disatrous RROD problem that saw a 100% failure rate for consoles made before a certain date & that problem went on for 3 years or so, which is more down to total incompetence on MS’s part.
Then Sony had exploding, or laptop batteries that got so hot they caught fire, & the list goes on…. It is pretty rare for such big, dangerous problems to occur, but it happens & probably always will.
The fact is, that these are professional stuntmen…which means that they do take risks that may end there lives, put them in a wheelchair or such….that is the nature of there business. I mean youtube The Fall Guy stuntman death & you’ll see a stuntman attempt a jump off a water tower onto one of those inflatable giant matresses. He is going for the highest jump ever, & guess what, he jumps & fall for what seems forever, then whammo, he goes STRAIGHT through the air matress & splats on the concrete underneath. Absolutely horrible, but hey, look at the job he was doing…it is a high risk job, but everything is so well planned that hardly ever do we see this kind of thing….Fact is, it happens….And as we know, after 9/11, even sitting in an office chair 100 stories above the ground carries a risk.
If Stuntmen, soldiers, cops, firies & the like wanted safe cushy jobs, they’d become stuffed teddy bear manufacturers or suffer from office ass,….but they don’t, they do a job that they are passionate about, yes it carries risks & they have a way better chance of dying, or being maimed than the average joe that works a safer type job,….but the fact is, they are doing something they f#@king love, that is obvious, as you don’t just fall into a job as a stuntman one day while browsing the paper for a career change, these guys have dreamed of this sh#t since a kid. Many of us (the way I’m going, me included), will work a sh@t job, that we don’t even know how, or why we ended up there, or as in my case, being pressured, and/or taking the easy way & working in a family business, that’s content holds not one iota of interest in your (my) heart & feeling stuck there for many years, until one day you wake up & you realise you’ve been in autopilot, in a job you not only aren’t passionate about, but now actually despise, & you come to the realization that you’ve wasted 10 or so years of your life stuck in a position you detest, feel like turning the car around every morning your on your way there, & basically feel stuck in & feel you have no options, so you will have to continue turning up to a craphole everyday, doing something that bores you sh#tless for the majority of your waking life, & keeping up that ruitine until you are back in a nappy & eating puree food again, mumbling incoherant dialogue, while looking out the window of a nursing home, where huge women from 3rd world countries throw you in & out of bed, like a f@cking cabbage patch doll. Then your family turn up to said nursing home & are outta there in 5-10 minutes, as they forgot to bring pegs for there noses to block out the smell of old people urine, feces & stale fruit, & when they leave your ears are burning with all the jokes & derogatory comments the grandkids are making about there insane old pop.
Off topic much….Sorry.
R.I.P. to the stuntman that passed..I love there trade, & movies would be boring as shit without these HEROES…..they should have a category to honor these awesome & brave men & women that risk life & limb to make the “stars” look great, as they are the least credited for what they do, & there involvement, out of any of the production crew. They also are one of the biggest sufferers in the industry, thanks to the computer revolution that makes ol’ school stunts less & less required in many films. These guys have it pretty hard these days, & they do get less work due to the aforementioned.
I mean, an example of what happens to these poor bastards is no more evident than what that idiot Van Damne did to one of the stuntguys on set during Cyborg. Basically, anyone that has seen Cyborg knows that the film is riddled with weapon based combat, & much of that is knife fighting..So anyhow, Van Damne & a rather large African American stuntman are going for it, doing there carefully choreographed, meticulously planned & rehersed knife fight……but Van Damne, not being a highly trained stuntman & weapon based stunt guy, f#cked up royally & stabbed the suntguy straight through one of the poor basterds eyes…Obviously the guys needed medical attention & obviously production had to be stopped & such. Now up until I read this story (that came straight from an interview from the said, now one eyed stuntman), I was a huge Van Damne fan, but after reading about his response to his movies production interuption I wasn’t so sold on this egotistical, twisted asshole. As he turned round to this poor stuntguy that was just doing his job, & to boot, was the only one doing it properly, & suffered the loss of one of his eyes thanks to this dickhead, he said to this bleeding, badly injured human being, “Get the fuck off my set, your ruining my movie”. Nice guy, that Van Damne.
Sad story, R.I.P men
My thoughts and prayers are with the families of these men.
I think the worst part about this press release, is that it spends more time covering their ass “the stars stunt doubles, nor the director were on set” and “don’t worry, we’re still shooting even though two people are dead”. Talk about priorities in the wrong place. The press release should have been that this terrible accident happened, we are taking care of the families and that is all that matters. Who gives a sh*t if they are still shooting at this point.
One person is dead, another is critically injured and many other peoples lives have been irrevocably changed.
It looks like this was a professional crew and something went tragically wrong. No one posting here knows what.
Both stunt and special effects professionals all over the world take calculated risks on a daily basis. Lately it seems that many in the industry has lost sight of the fact that is exactly that: a risk.
Machinery fails, combinations of pyrotechnic materials behave unexpectedly, wind gusts come out of nowhere. These are often complex events, executed at high speed, requiring precision timing from multiple individuals. On rare occasions stunt players miss a mark or pyrotechnicians miss a cue.
No two gags are ever the same. The big ones are often unique, even when they are planned and executed by highly experienced professionals with decades of experience sometimes the decisions are just off.
This is dangerous work, those of us who do it for a living do it because we enjoy it. We are very carefully holding a tiger by the tail and we all know that some day it may turn unexpectedly and bite us. So why not just wish the injured, their families and the crew involved our thoughts and respect. There may be a time for finger pointing or it may just be that something horrible happened because sometimes that’s just the way it goes down.
I hate the fact that the work is going out of town too, but there are no end of opportunities to bitch about that and be on topic. Please don’t trivialize this tragedy by using it for your own ends.
Thanks to all the stuntmen and Women who do what they do!!!! Also big thanks for getting Chuck Norris on the cast- this movie just got a whole lot better!!