When the Twilight Zone: The Movie first opened on June 24, 1983, it received mediocre reviews. Vincent Canby for The New York Times called it “a flabby, mini-minded behemoth,” and Colin Greenland, reviewing for the Imagine magazine, called it “macabre stuff, but not really very impressive as modern fantastic cinema from four of its grand masters.”
The 1983 film may have completely disappeared from the public view if it had not been for another story, grand jury indictments against five of the filmmakers, including director John Landis, for the deaths of three actors—including two children—in a stunt gone wrong on set.
The accident happened after 2 a.m. on July 23, 1982. The actor Vic Morrow was playing a drunk, loudmouthed bigot named Bill Connor who got a taste of his own medicine as he was teleported through Nazi-occupied France, the 1950s Klan-era South, and the Vietnam War.
Morrow’s character was supposed to carry two children, played by Myca Dinh-Le, age 7, and Renee Shin-Ye Chen, age 6, across a river to safety while being chased by a military helicopter as a village exploded in the background. However, a metal lid from an air mortar struck the tail rotor of the Bell UH-1 Iroqouis, causing the pilot, veteran Dorcey Wingo, to lose control.The helicopter fell on top of the actors, decapitating Morrow and Dinh-Le and crushing Chen.
In October 1984, the National Transportation Safety Board released its report on the crash. The Board determined that the explosions were too close to the helicopter, breaking one rotor blade and causing structural failure of another. The damage resulted in the tail rotor breaking off, causing the helicopter to spin out of control. Additionally, lack of communication between ground crew and the pilot caused the helicopter to be too low. As a result of the accident, the Federal Aviation Administration changed its rules about aircraft in film sets to apply to all aircraft and not just fixed-wing aircraft.
Additionally, investigators determined that the very presence of the children was illegal. California child labor laws required permits to hire children, and they did not allow children to work at night. Landis also failed to inform the children’s parents that they would be near explosions or a helicopter. The children would be paid in cash and their names would not be on the official cast to illicitly avoid child labor regulations.
The case went to trial three years after the indictments were released. Landis, producer George Folsey Jr., and three other defendants were charged with involuntary manslaughter. Despite the deaths and Landis’ questionable behavior during the film shooting, he and the other defendants were acquitted on all charges, and additionally, supported by the film industry. Sixteen famous directors signed a letter defending Landis. However, the filmmakers and Warner Bros. still had to pay fines for labor violations and settlements to families of the deceased.
After the deaths, the Directors Guild of America set down formal, stricter safety guidelines. However, there have still been fatal accidents on movie sets. The day the verdict was handed down, a S-76 helicopter crashed on the set of Braddock: Missing in Action III in Manila, killing 4 Filipino soldiers and police officers. In 2014, a freight train on the set of the low-budget film Midnight Rider killed camera assistant Sarah Jones. In 1993, actor Brandon Lee was fatally shot on the set of Crow. And in 2021, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed on the set of Rust.
The only public statement on the accident of Twilight Zone came from Steven Spielberg, who did not support Landis. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, he said, “No movie is worth dying for. I think people are standing up much more now than ever before to producers and directors who ask too much. If something isn’t safe, it’s the right and responsibility of every actor or crew member to yell, ‘Cut!’”
Sources
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/25/movies/the-twilight-zone-the-movie-accident.html
http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/aircraft-accident-reports/AAR84-02.pdf
The 1983 film may have completely disappeared from the public view if it had not been for another story, grand jury indictments against five of the filmmakers, including director John Landis, for the deaths of three actors—including two children—in a stunt gone wrong on set.
The accident happened after 2 a.m. on July 23, 1982. The actor Vic Morrow was playing a drunk, loudmouthed bigot named Bill Connor who got a taste of his own medicine as he was teleported through Nazi-occupied France, the 1950s Klan-era South, and the Vietnam War.
Morrow’s character was supposed to carry two children, played by Myca Dinh-Le, age 7, and Renee Shin-Ye Chen, age 6, across a river to safety while being chased by a military helicopter as a village exploded in the background. However, a metal lid from an air mortar struck the tail rotor of the Bell UH-1 Iroqouis, causing the pilot, veteran Dorcey Wingo, to lose control.The helicopter fell on top of the actors, decapitating Morrow and Dinh-Le and crushing Chen.
In October 1984, the National Transportation Safety Board released its report on the crash. The Board determined that the explosions were too close to the helicopter, breaking one rotor blade and causing structural failure of another. The damage resulted in the tail rotor breaking off, causing the helicopter to spin out of control. Additionally, lack of communication between ground crew and the pilot caused the helicopter to be too low. As a result of the accident, the Federal Aviation Administration changed its rules about aircraft in film sets to apply to all aircraft and not just fixed-wing aircraft.
Additionally, investigators determined that the very presence of the children was illegal. California child labor laws required permits to hire children, and they did not allow children to work at night. Landis also failed to inform the children’s parents that they would be near explosions or a helicopter. The children would be paid in cash and their names would not be on the official cast to illicitly avoid child labor regulations.
The case went to trial three years after the indictments were released. Landis, producer George Folsey Jr., and three other defendants were charged with involuntary manslaughter. Despite the deaths and Landis’ questionable behavior during the film shooting, he and the other defendants were acquitted on all charges, and additionally, supported by the film industry. Sixteen famous directors signed a letter defending Landis. However, the filmmakers and Warner Bros. still had to pay fines for labor violations and settlements to families of the deceased.
After the deaths, the Directors Guild of America set down formal, stricter safety guidelines. However, there have still been fatal accidents on movie sets. The day the verdict was handed down, a S-76 helicopter crashed on the set of Braddock: Missing in Action III in Manila, killing 4 Filipino soldiers and police officers. In 2014, a freight train on the set of the low-budget film Midnight Rider killed camera assistant Sarah Jones. In 1993, actor Brandon Lee was fatally shot on the set of Crow. And in 2021, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed on the set of Rust.
The only public statement on the accident of Twilight Zone came from Steven Spielberg, who did not support Landis. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, he said, “No movie is worth dying for. I think people are standing up much more now than ever before to producers and directors who ask too much. If something isn’t safe, it’s the right and responsibility of every actor or crew member to yell, ‘Cut!’”
Sources
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/25/movies/the-twilight-zone-the-movie-accident.html
http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/aircraft-accident-reports/AAR84-02.pdf
