They have no IMDB listing, they have no residuals. The fatal crash occurred on the final day of shooting for the movie, as the cast and crew prepared for the traditional ''wrap party.'' The movie was released in theatrical distribution and later as a videocassette.In 1982, 3 actors died on the set of a major motion picture, directed by Jon Landis. Wingo, the pilot, was the only other defendant who testified. Camomile denied any such carelessness.īesides Mr. Camomile, who they said carelessly set off an explosion at the wrong time. The defense lawyers also said the ultimate responsibility rested with the special-effects technician, Mr. ![]() The defense lawyers sought to convince the jury of their theory that the helicopter had been disabled by heat damage to its tail rotor during a burst of special-effects explosions and that such damage, and the resulting crash, could not have been foreseen. ''I said, 'Oh my God, where are Vic, Myca and Renee?' '' Theory on Heat Damage ''I watched Vic fall where we said he would fall and the helicopter crashed in front of me,'' Mr Landis testified. Landis on the stand as the first defense witness and, in a low-key, courtly style, by drawing from Mr. Neal, a nationally known defense lawyer from Nashville, countered forthrightly by putting Mr. The prosecutor set out to convince the jury that no responsible director would have combined actors, special-effects explosions and a low-flying helicopter in the same scene. He went on to testify later that, given the same circumstances, he would not attempt such a scene again. Landis testified that he had seen nothing inherently dangerous in plans for the scene in which the three actors died. Landis came to tears over the deaths, but his testimony also contradicted accounts of more than a dozen prosecution witnesses over the events that led to the crash. Among his films are ''National Lampoon's Animal House,'' ''Trading Places'' and ''The Blues Brothers.'' Landis Contradicted Others Landis, who has built a reputation in Hollywood as a talented and sometimes brash director. The spotlight in the trial inexorably fell upon the 36-year-old Mr. The defendants were represented by seven lawyers, with James Neal, a former Watergate prosecutor, representing Mr. D'Agostino presented her case over more than five months the defense case took less than two. In a self-examination of industry practices after the three deaths, the Directors Guild of America created a safety committee to promulgate safety guidelines. The trial generated fascination and apprehension in the movie-making industry. All defended their actions on the ground that the crash was an accident that could not have been foreseen. Landis were Paul Stewart, coordinator of special effects George Folsey Jr., associate producer Dan Allingham, production manager, and Dorcey Wingo, the pilot of the helicopter. Morrow and the two children were killed when the helicopter crashed on top of them after it was disabled amid special-effects explosions. As such, the trial attracted international attention. The deaths of three actors in the filming of the movie resulted in the first criminal charges against a movie director involving events in shooting a film. ![]() Rogers, asked if awe of the movie industry had influenced the jurors' decision, responded: ''Why should it? We're all from here and Hollywood is just part of our hometown.'' Some jurors said the five defendants were no more culpable than fire safety officials and others on the movie set, including a special-effects expert, James Camomile, who testified that he had set off some explosions too early. Landis would have been second-degree murder, said of the verdict, ''I'm shocked, appalled and disapointed.'' D'Agostino, who frequently had quarreled bitterly with the defense lawyers and had asserted that a more appropriate charge for Mr. ''You don't prosecute for an unforeseeable accident.'' ''In our minds, this was an unforeseeable accident,'' said the jury foreman, Lois M. In a quarter-hour discussion with reporters, the jurors said they voted to acquit because the prosecutor, Lea Purwin D'Agostino, who had presented 72 witnesses, had not proved that anyone could have foreseen the crash of the helicopter that killed the actor Vic Morrow, 53 years old, and two child actors, Myca Dinh Le, 7, and Renee Shinn Chen, 6, on July 23, 1982. ![]() The five Hollywood figures exchanged warm hugs with the jury members, who beamed with satisfaction. Before long, the former defendants, their wives and lawyers were brought together with the jurors, first in a rear room, then in a meeting with reporters. For 10 months the jurors had been together, although they were never sequestered, and at the end many embraced and grinned.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |