1 00:00:45,393 --> 00:00:48,178 - I think the one film that really hit me hard, 2 00:00:48,265 --> 00:00:51,138 that came out of those formative years 3 00:00:51,225 --> 00:00:54,619 of me being a cinephile was The Crow. 4 00:00:54,706 --> 00:00:56,404 I was in high school. 5 00:00:56,491 --> 00:01:00,190 I was a big fan of the James O'Barr comic book. 6 00:01:00,277 --> 00:01:02,497 I remember travelling to New York to meet the man 7 00:01:02,584 --> 00:01:04,542 and have my graphic novel signed. 8 00:01:05,587 --> 00:01:09,199 - I first came across the comic, The Crow, 9 00:01:09,286 --> 00:01:10,809 when it was... 10 00:01:10,896 --> 00:01:14,509 a very small printing of its first edition 11 00:01:15,858 --> 00:01:18,991 and immediately was engrossed in the story 12 00:01:19,079 --> 00:01:21,516 of this first issue. 13 00:01:21,603 --> 00:01:25,302 - Its plot is about a guy who is killed too soon, 14 00:01:25,389 --> 00:01:29,219 and he comes back and he exacts vengeance. 15 00:01:29,306 --> 00:01:31,221 - It's just about a guy who was in love with a woman 16 00:01:31,308 --> 00:01:32,657 and, you know, she gets killed 17 00:01:32,744 --> 00:01:34,137 and you come back from the dead 18 00:01:34,224 --> 00:01:35,486 and, you know, you avenge her death. 19 00:01:35,573 --> 00:01:37,967 And as a high schooler, that uh... 20 00:01:38,054 --> 00:01:40,404 it was just angsty enough to connect with me. 21 00:01:40,491 --> 00:01:43,190 - The Crow is kind of a hand of God 22 00:01:43,277 --> 00:01:45,801 that allows that person, 23 00:01:45,888 --> 00:01:48,499 who's been taken to heaven, to return 24 00:01:48,586 --> 00:01:51,937 to put something horrible right. 25 00:01:52,024 --> 00:01:54,636 Within that lies a beautiful 26 00:01:54,723 --> 00:01:56,942 underlying story of love and... 27 00:01:57,029 --> 00:02:00,729 the conviction that if a... loved one is harmed, 28 00:02:01,730 --> 00:02:05,212 there is an opportunity to extract justice 29 00:02:05,299 --> 00:02:07,866 for those who have lost people dear to them 30 00:02:07,953 --> 00:02:10,173 through tragic circumstances. 31 00:02:10,260 --> 00:02:13,829 So that began my odyssey to option material, 32 00:02:13,916 --> 00:02:16,266 develop it and turn it into a feature film. 33 00:02:17,572 --> 00:02:19,226 We started filming 34 00:02:19,313 --> 00:02:21,793 on February 1st, 1993 35 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:24,709 in Wilmington, North Carolina. 36 00:02:24,796 --> 00:02:27,277 Everyone was invested a thousand percent 37 00:02:27,364 --> 00:02:30,062 in trying to make, you know, a film 38 00:02:30,150 --> 00:02:31,716 that would stand shoulder to shoulder 39 00:02:31,803 --> 00:02:33,588 with any studio release 40 00:02:33,675 --> 00:02:35,590 on a fraction of the budget. 41 00:02:37,374 --> 00:02:40,508 - I think there's plenty of material 42 00:02:40,595 --> 00:02:42,901 if you wanna find a curse 43 00:02:42,988 --> 00:02:45,382 in the making of the movie "The Crow". 44 00:02:45,469 --> 00:02:47,384 When they set up pre-production offices, 45 00:02:47,471 --> 00:02:49,473 they had a voicemail message that said, 46 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:52,868 don't make this movie, bad things will happen. 47 00:02:52,955 --> 00:02:55,914 - On the very first day of principal photography, 48 00:02:56,001 --> 00:02:59,875 two of our electricians had a very un... 49 00:02:59,962 --> 00:03:02,878 a... a terrible accident. - Everything's ready to go. 50 00:03:02,965 --> 00:03:04,445 Remember, they only shot at night. 51 00:03:04,532 --> 00:03:06,360 So night had fallen. 52 00:03:06,447 --> 00:03:09,014 - They were driving their... 53 00:03:09,101 --> 00:03:11,452 uh, pickup truck with a cherry picker. 54 00:03:11,539 --> 00:03:14,106 - He backed his cherry picker up into a live wire. 55 00:03:14,194 --> 00:03:15,847 He caught on fire. 56 00:03:15,934 --> 00:03:18,720 - He had ended up hitting the high-tension wire, 57 00:03:18,807 --> 00:03:21,201 a high electric wire that, uh, 58 00:03:22,376 --> 00:03:24,682 would, uh, carry the voltage 59 00:03:24,769 --> 00:03:27,511 to run all the lights and the backlot set. 60 00:03:27,598 --> 00:03:29,296 - He was rushed to the hospital. 61 00:03:29,383 --> 00:03:31,254 He had second and third degree burns all over his body. 62 00:03:31,341 --> 00:03:34,475 He didn't die. He lost his ears. 63 00:03:34,562 --> 00:03:36,477 But it was a terrible tragedy 64 00:03:36,564 --> 00:03:38,305 and then they had to start shooting. 65 00:03:39,697 --> 00:03:42,918 - We went through the storm of the century. 66 00:03:43,005 --> 00:03:45,137 Reporter: The hurricane is now at its peak 67 00:03:45,225 --> 00:03:46,530 with winds reaching speeds 68 00:03:46,617 --> 00:03:49,446 of more than 115 miles an hour. 69 00:03:50,665 --> 00:03:53,363 - That was a terrible hurricane 70 00:03:53,450 --> 00:03:55,757 that destroyed our backlot set. 71 00:03:58,150 --> 00:04:01,589 Word had gotten back to people in Hollywood and... 72 00:04:02,764 --> 00:04:05,114 there was an article from Entertainment Weekly 73 00:04:05,201 --> 00:04:07,334 that called what was going on in our location 74 00:04:07,421 --> 00:04:09,336 "the curse of The Crow." 75 00:04:09,423 --> 00:04:11,990 One of the staff in the production office 76 00:04:12,077 --> 00:04:15,298 decided to make an ill-timed comment 77 00:04:15,385 --> 00:04:18,345 that things have happened, but... 78 00:04:18,432 --> 00:04:21,478 she said, it's not like anyone has died. 79 00:04:24,438 --> 00:04:27,179 - When I had learned that they were making "The Crow", 80 00:04:27,267 --> 00:04:29,051 I followed that like crazy. 81 00:04:29,138 --> 00:04:31,358 You know, I read Fangoria, I read Entertainment Weekly. 82 00:04:31,445 --> 00:04:35,057 I was following everything that was going on with Brandon Lee. 83 00:04:36,928 --> 00:04:39,931 - What we needed for the role was... 84 00:04:40,018 --> 00:04:42,369 someone who was a true athlete 85 00:04:43,413 --> 00:04:45,894 and a great actor. 86 00:04:45,981 --> 00:04:49,767 We'd got an opportunity to see "Rapid Fire". 87 00:04:49,854 --> 00:04:51,769 We were absolutely sold. 88 00:04:51,856 --> 00:04:54,685 The only person we made an offer to was Brandon Lee. 89 00:04:56,426 --> 00:04:59,168 - Brandon Lee was trying to make a name for himself, 90 00:04:59,255 --> 00:05:03,215 was trying to kind of come out from the shadow of his father, 91 00:05:03,303 --> 00:05:06,131 and was making films which, 92 00:05:06,218 --> 00:05:09,091 in the realm of action films, weren't so bad. 93 00:05:09,178 --> 00:05:11,833 "Rapid Fire", "Showdown in Little Tokyo". 94 00:05:18,100 --> 00:05:19,841 He, like his father, 95 00:05:19,928 --> 00:05:22,234 had so much potential. 96 00:05:22,322 --> 00:05:24,454 You were seeing his star rise, 97 00:05:24,541 --> 00:05:26,804 and then... 98 00:05:26,891 --> 00:05:28,545 he got robbed, 99 00:05:28,632 --> 00:05:30,330 just like his father did. 100 00:05:32,462 --> 00:05:34,551 I'm Lance Anderson and I worked on "The Crow" 101 00:05:34,638 --> 00:05:37,902 as a Special Make-Up Effects Artist. 102 00:05:37,989 --> 00:05:41,210 My job was to take care of Brandon, 103 00:05:41,297 --> 00:05:44,039 to do all of his make-up throughout the film. 104 00:05:45,519 --> 00:05:47,956 This is the original script 105 00:05:48,043 --> 00:05:49,827 that I've kept. 106 00:05:49,914 --> 00:05:53,440 It has a lot of my original continuity shots. 107 00:05:54,702 --> 00:05:56,443 This is establishing make-up. 108 00:05:59,533 --> 00:06:02,927 As it progresses, the make-up starts to get... 109 00:06:03,014 --> 00:06:04,668 more worn. 110 00:06:10,848 --> 00:06:14,243 This is when he falls out the window. 111 00:06:19,944 --> 00:06:23,295 - It's kind of strange looking at those photos. 112 00:06:23,383 --> 00:06:24,558 - Yeah. 113 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:32,435 - We hired the immensely talented actor Michael Berryman 114 00:06:32,522 --> 00:06:35,177 to play the role of the skull cowboy, 115 00:06:35,264 --> 00:06:36,831 which was a... 116 00:06:36,918 --> 00:06:39,486 character that appears intermittently 117 00:06:39,573 --> 00:06:42,837 in James O'Barr's comic, "The Crow". 118 00:06:42,924 --> 00:06:44,447 - Well, I got a call from my agent 119 00:06:44,534 --> 00:06:46,449 and went to a meeting, 120 00:06:46,536 --> 00:06:50,453 and the next thing I knew I was flying to um... 121 00:06:50,540 --> 00:06:52,586 North Carolina, to Wilmington. 122 00:06:54,022 --> 00:06:55,545 I spent hours and hours and hours 123 00:06:55,632 --> 00:06:59,462 getting a full body cast and head cast. 124 00:06:59,549 --> 00:07:02,465 - We made this suit for Michael Berryman 125 00:07:02,552 --> 00:07:05,512 and it had a complete bodysuit sculpture 126 00:07:06,817 --> 00:07:08,471 for the whole ribs and the whole thing. 127 00:07:08,558 --> 00:07:11,779 He basically wore a giant suit 128 00:07:11,866 --> 00:07:14,390 and articulated fingers. 129 00:07:15,304 --> 00:07:18,133 - It was very difficult to wear. 130 00:07:18,220 --> 00:07:21,528 And then on my head, I had a mandible jaw 131 00:07:21,615 --> 00:07:23,486 that was acrylic 132 00:07:23,573 --> 00:07:25,532 and it was bolted front to back 133 00:07:26,707 --> 00:07:29,318 with a top piece that had... 134 00:07:29,405 --> 00:07:31,668 these little servo transmitters. 135 00:07:32,930 --> 00:07:35,890 And these little paddles would move the flesh 136 00:07:35,977 --> 00:07:37,631 underneath the latex. 137 00:07:39,110 --> 00:07:41,156 - It was pretty extensive make-up. 138 00:07:43,375 --> 00:07:47,379 - I've been asked where did the skull cowboy originate from, 139 00:07:47,467 --> 00:07:49,120 and it obviously came out of the... 140 00:07:49,207 --> 00:07:51,558 creativity of James O'Barr. 141 00:07:52,602 --> 00:07:55,300 James wrote because... 142 00:07:55,387 --> 00:07:57,346 it was part of his therapy. 143 00:07:58,608 --> 00:08:01,785 His fiancée was killed by a drunk driver. 144 00:08:03,221 --> 00:08:05,876 And in order to remain here on this earth, 145 00:08:05,963 --> 00:08:07,922 in this physical plane, 146 00:08:08,009 --> 00:08:10,925 he had to come to grips with it, 147 00:08:11,012 --> 00:08:12,970 and so he wrote. 148 00:08:14,363 --> 00:08:15,930 Sometimes, in life, 149 00:08:16,017 --> 00:08:18,715 you can take from what you have experienced 150 00:08:20,369 --> 00:08:23,024 and bring a piece of that into the character 151 00:08:23,111 --> 00:08:25,287 that you're developing 152 00:08:25,374 --> 00:08:27,463 and it can help you heal. 153 00:08:28,638 --> 00:08:30,814 It can help you... 154 00:08:30,901 --> 00:08:33,077 have a cathartic experience 155 00:08:33,164 --> 00:08:35,602 and it enhances the performance. 156 00:08:37,691 --> 00:08:41,129 - There had been lots of press material 157 00:08:41,216 --> 00:08:43,610 touching on the cursed nature of the film. 158 00:08:44,915 --> 00:08:46,569 That perhaps it was a continuation 159 00:08:46,656 --> 00:08:48,310 of the curse of Bruce Lee, 160 00:08:48,397 --> 00:08:50,878 who died under mysterious circumstances 161 00:08:50,965 --> 00:08:52,619 while shooting a film. 162 00:08:54,142 --> 00:08:56,231 - Pretty much everyone's discovered Bruce Lee 163 00:08:56,318 --> 00:08:58,015 after he passed away. 164 00:08:58,102 --> 00:09:00,452 Then you start doing research on who he was... 165 00:09:00,540 --> 00:09:02,585 - Whaaaaaaa! 166 00:09:02,672 --> 00:09:06,458 - ...and then, as you look into how he passed away, 167 00:09:06,546 --> 00:09:08,765 that's when the theories start. 168 00:09:10,288 --> 00:09:12,421 There's theories that there was a hit on him 169 00:09:12,508 --> 00:09:15,076 from the Chinese Mafia 170 00:09:15,163 --> 00:09:17,731 for betraying martial arts' secrets. 171 00:09:18,949 --> 00:09:21,082 One of the interesting fantasy theories 172 00:09:21,169 --> 00:09:23,606 is that Bruce Lee was struck 173 00:09:23,693 --> 00:09:25,739 by a death blow. 174 00:09:25,826 --> 00:09:30,265 And a death blow is a specific type of strike... 175 00:09:32,789 --> 00:09:34,008 - Ahhh! 176 00:09:35,096 --> 00:09:37,185 Agh! Oh! 177 00:09:37,272 --> 00:09:40,275 - ...which its impact doesn't take effect 178 00:09:40,362 --> 00:09:42,364 until days, weeks, months, 179 00:09:42,451 --> 00:09:43,800 years later. 180 00:09:45,759 --> 00:09:49,023 There's one theory that Bruce Lee's passing 181 00:09:49,110 --> 00:09:51,591 was part of the Lee family curse. 182 00:09:52,766 --> 00:09:54,681 Bruce Lee's parents 183 00:09:54,768 --> 00:09:57,118 lost their first male son. 184 00:09:58,772 --> 00:10:01,296 This was attributed to a belief 185 00:10:01,383 --> 00:10:02,993 that there was a curse or a demon 186 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:05,779 after the males in the Lee family. 187 00:10:05,866 --> 00:10:07,955 - You had an older brother, you see. 188 00:10:08,042 --> 00:10:11,001 He died in childbirth. 189 00:10:11,088 --> 00:10:13,177 The demon took him away from us. 190 00:10:13,264 --> 00:10:15,527 The first-born man child is very valuable. 191 00:10:15,615 --> 00:10:18,052 - He was sometimes dressed in girl's clothing, 192 00:10:18,139 --> 00:10:20,315 sometimes referred to by a female name, 193 00:10:20,402 --> 00:10:22,317 again, in order to deflect 194 00:10:22,404 --> 00:10:24,972 and break the curse on the males of the family. 195 00:10:25,059 --> 00:10:26,887 - We dressed you in dresses 196 00:10:26,974 --> 00:10:29,846 so the demon wouldn't know I had another son. 197 00:10:29,933 --> 00:10:31,500 But now he knows! 198 00:10:33,458 --> 00:10:34,764 And he's coming for you. 199 00:10:34,851 --> 00:10:36,548 - In "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story," 200 00:10:36,636 --> 00:10:39,987 Bruce Lee is portrayed as being haunted by a demon, 201 00:10:40,074 --> 00:10:43,294 this kind of dark figure in Samurai armour, 202 00:10:43,381 --> 00:10:45,906 and there's a scene where he's trying to protect his son 203 00:10:45,993 --> 00:10:48,735 in these kind of dream-like pursuits. 204 00:10:52,390 --> 00:10:54,566 - Brandon, run! 205 00:10:54,654 --> 00:10:57,308 Dad's gotta go! Gotta go! ?? 206 00:10:57,395 --> 00:11:00,094 - The actual circumstances around Bruce Lee's death 207 00:11:00,181 --> 00:11:02,531 are much more banal. 208 00:11:03,837 --> 00:11:08,276 Yes, he was found dead at the apartment of a young starlet, 209 00:11:08,363 --> 00:11:10,931 who he may or may not have been having an affair with. 210 00:11:12,149 --> 00:11:15,457 While at this apartment, he took a painkiller. 211 00:11:15,544 --> 00:11:16,763 He went for a nap 212 00:11:16,850 --> 00:11:18,329 and didn't wake up. 213 00:11:18,416 --> 00:11:19,853 They attributed his death 214 00:11:19,940 --> 00:11:22,290 to having a hypersensitivity 215 00:11:22,377 --> 00:11:24,814 to this particular painkiller. 216 00:11:24,901 --> 00:11:27,556 Recently there's been a biography published - 217 00:11:27,643 --> 00:11:29,558 "Bruce Lee: A Life" by Matthew Polly - 218 00:11:29,645 --> 00:11:31,560 and he puts this theory forward 219 00:11:31,647 --> 00:11:33,083 that it was a heat stroke 220 00:11:33,170 --> 00:11:35,085 which killed Bruce Lee. 221 00:11:35,172 --> 00:11:38,306 Leading up to the last year of his death, 222 00:11:38,393 --> 00:11:40,743 he had his sweat glands removed 223 00:11:40,830 --> 00:11:44,051 because he wanted to look good onscreen. 224 00:11:44,138 --> 00:11:47,097 A month or so before the day that he passed away, 225 00:11:47,184 --> 00:11:50,622 he actually had a seizure and a stroke, 226 00:11:50,710 --> 00:11:52,537 and so... 227 00:11:52,624 --> 00:11:54,757 this potentially could just be the reverberations 228 00:11:54,844 --> 00:11:57,629 of the previous misdiagnosed heat stroke. 229 00:12:03,331 --> 00:12:05,115 - "Game of Death" is Bruce Lee's final film. 230 00:12:05,202 --> 00:12:06,987 He doesn't live to finish it. 231 00:12:07,074 --> 00:12:09,293 And that's already a weird parallel 232 00:12:09,380 --> 00:12:11,643 with what happens to Brandon Lee in "The Crow." 233 00:12:11,731 --> 00:12:13,384 - Get ready for the reverse angle. 234 00:12:13,471 --> 00:12:14,821 - It gets even weirder when you consider 235 00:12:14,908 --> 00:12:17,519 that Bruce Lee's character is shot 236 00:12:17,606 --> 00:12:19,869 on the set of a film in "Game of Death", 237 00:12:19,956 --> 00:12:23,090 which is exactly how his son dies in 1993. 238 00:12:23,177 --> 00:12:25,657 - Gentlemen, these are blanks. 239 00:12:25,745 --> 00:12:27,790 Only aim upward. 240 00:12:27,877 --> 00:12:29,487 There's a wad of paper that comes out 241 00:12:29,574 --> 00:12:31,576 and can injure someone. 242 00:12:35,406 --> 00:12:37,104 - Okay, roll sound! 243 00:12:41,935 --> 00:12:42,849 Action! 244 00:12:48,506 --> 00:12:49,812 Cut! 245 00:12:58,038 --> 00:13:00,301 - It was the night of... 246 00:13:00,388 --> 00:13:02,129 March 30th, 1993. 247 00:13:03,130 --> 00:13:05,828 We were day 47 248 00:13:05,915 --> 00:13:09,484 out of what had then grown to 52 days 249 00:13:09,571 --> 00:13:12,182 and nearing the end of production. 250 00:13:12,269 --> 00:13:16,708 In the scene, Eric Draven has just returned 251 00:13:16,796 --> 00:13:19,146 and the villains are already in the home 252 00:13:20,190 --> 00:13:23,237 and have been treating... 253 00:13:23,324 --> 00:13:26,066 Sofia Shinas's character, Shelly, very violently. 254 00:13:28,546 --> 00:13:31,114 - I was down in the trailer getting a rig 255 00:13:31,201 --> 00:13:34,248 that I had rigged for Brandon to wear, 256 00:13:34,335 --> 00:13:36,946 where a knife is thrown at him 257 00:13:37,033 --> 00:13:38,905 when he comes through the door. 258 00:13:38,992 --> 00:13:43,300 And I built a harness. They would throw the knife 259 00:13:43,387 --> 00:13:46,738 and then the knife would be embedded in his chest. 260 00:13:46,826 --> 00:13:48,479 So I was down there getting that ready 261 00:13:48,566 --> 00:13:50,917 and they told me they need me on set. 262 00:13:51,004 --> 00:13:53,354 And the director said, we're changing that scene. 263 00:13:53,441 --> 00:13:54,964 He's gonna come through the door 264 00:13:55,051 --> 00:13:57,314 and he's gonna get shot. 265 00:13:59,142 --> 00:14:01,928 - Eric puts himself between these villains 266 00:14:03,146 --> 00:14:05,061 and Shelly. 267 00:14:05,148 --> 00:14:08,412 And Michael Massee, as Funboy, takes a gun 268 00:14:08,499 --> 00:14:09,326 and fires at uh... 269 00:14:11,763 --> 00:14:13,156 the character of Eric Draven. 270 00:14:13,243 --> 00:14:15,898 - The camera was in the wrong position 271 00:14:15,985 --> 00:14:18,118 when he came through the door and it didn't look like... 272 00:14:18,205 --> 00:14:20,903 he was aiming the gun at Brandon. 273 00:14:20,990 --> 00:14:22,992 So they either moved the actor 274 00:14:23,079 --> 00:14:24,515 or they moved the camera or something 275 00:14:24,602 --> 00:14:26,561 to get a better angle, 276 00:14:26,648 --> 00:14:27,954 so it looked more realistic 277 00:14:28,041 --> 00:14:30,782 that he's being shot. 278 00:14:30,870 --> 00:14:32,001 When he came through the door 279 00:14:32,088 --> 00:14:34,612 with the grocery bag, 280 00:14:34,699 --> 00:14:36,223 they do the shot, 281 00:14:36,310 --> 00:14:37,920 and then he drops down 282 00:14:38,007 --> 00:14:41,054 and everybody waits for him to get up. 283 00:14:42,098 --> 00:14:43,970 And he didn't get up. 284 00:14:44,057 --> 00:14:46,320 He just... stayed there. 285 00:14:47,887 --> 00:14:49,976 He just didn't move. 286 00:14:50,063 --> 00:14:51,368 And somebody says, 287 00:14:51,455 --> 00:14:53,414 I think he's really hurt. 288 00:14:54,850 --> 00:14:57,244 And uh... 289 00:14:59,202 --> 00:15:01,552 Call a medic, call a medic. 290 00:15:01,639 --> 00:15:03,337 The medic came... 291 00:15:04,512 --> 00:15:06,209 and uh... 292 00:15:08,559 --> 00:15:10,213 he's been shot. 293 00:15:12,433 --> 00:15:14,696 And I just... I felt all the blood rush... 294 00:15:14,783 --> 00:15:16,263 rush out of my body 295 00:15:18,352 --> 00:15:20,484 and I just dropped down 296 00:15:20,571 --> 00:15:23,313 and everybody was - around me - 297 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:25,925 was doing the same thing. They were just shocked. 298 00:15:34,716 --> 00:15:36,196 - Yes. Um... 299 00:15:42,071 --> 00:15:43,551 I... 300 00:15:48,599 --> 00:15:50,079 I don't wanna talk about going to the hospital. 301 00:15:50,166 --> 00:15:52,038 Can we, can we... 302 00:15:53,430 --> 00:15:55,041 Um... 303 00:15:57,391 --> 00:15:59,262 - We went to the hospital 304 00:15:59,349 --> 00:16:01,873 and we waited around for hours. 305 00:16:01,961 --> 00:16:03,440 And then they came out and told us 306 00:16:03,527 --> 00:16:05,399 that he'd passed on. 307 00:16:07,488 --> 00:16:10,404 It was... one of the most horrible things 308 00:16:10,491 --> 00:16:12,145 in my life 309 00:16:12,232 --> 00:16:14,625 to see that happen, to be there. 310 00:16:20,588 --> 00:16:22,242 - Michael Massee was... 311 00:16:22,329 --> 00:16:24,113 I mean, to put it mildly, beside himself. 312 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:26,942 He was... broken by the experience 313 00:16:28,204 --> 00:16:31,512 of, um, having pulled the trigger. 314 00:16:31,599 --> 00:16:34,080 Ah, I don't think he could have... 315 00:16:35,168 --> 00:16:37,083 taken on any greater responsibility 316 00:16:37,170 --> 00:16:38,519 on his own shoulders. 317 00:16:38,606 --> 00:16:40,564 Although it was not, by any means, 318 00:16:40,651 --> 00:16:42,697 his fault, plain and simple, 319 00:16:42,784 --> 00:16:44,655 and it wasn't his job to be responsible 320 00:16:44,742 --> 00:16:46,875 for that particular weapon. 321 00:16:58,147 --> 00:17:00,323 - "Chinese Mafia executed Bruce Lee" 322 00:17:00,410 --> 00:17:01,890 and "then his son." 323 00:17:01,977 --> 00:17:04,327 I mean, that's where things were going, 324 00:17:04,414 --> 00:17:06,503 you know, with the tabloids. 325 00:17:07,635 --> 00:17:08,723 "Blood on the Set." 326 00:17:08,810 --> 00:17:11,073 Um, "What Really Happened? 327 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:14,163 How could a bullet end up in the gun?" 328 00:17:14,250 --> 00:17:16,122 Well, it wasn't the bullet. 329 00:17:16,209 --> 00:17:18,515 It was a dummy's head. 330 00:17:18,602 --> 00:17:20,604 The dummy head was loc-- 331 00:17:20,691 --> 00:17:22,650 was still in the chamber 332 00:17:24,043 --> 00:17:26,480 and it blew it out. 333 00:17:26,567 --> 00:17:29,091 - What occurred was that 334 00:17:29,178 --> 00:17:31,137 there was a dummy bullet 335 00:17:31,224 --> 00:17:33,791 loaded two weeks before 336 00:17:33,878 --> 00:17:36,142 that had lodged a real bullet 337 00:17:37,491 --> 00:17:39,145 in the barrel of the gun. 338 00:17:41,234 --> 00:17:42,713 - These are different calibre dummy rounds that we have 339 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:44,628 and the whole goal to making dummy rounds 340 00:17:44,715 --> 00:17:46,152 is to make an imitation round 341 00:17:46,239 --> 00:17:47,762 that would lead the viewer to believe 342 00:17:47,849 --> 00:17:49,633 that it is a live round. 343 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:53,159 So this is the dummy round and this is the live round. 344 00:17:54,682 --> 00:17:56,118 Even though this is a dummy round 345 00:17:56,205 --> 00:17:58,599 and it's had the gun powder removed, 346 00:17:58,686 --> 00:18:00,905 the primer hasn't been removed or struck. 347 00:18:00,992 --> 00:18:02,820 When we do a dummy round, 348 00:18:02,907 --> 00:18:06,389 it's always important to remove the primer cap from the centre. 349 00:18:06,476 --> 00:18:07,869 What happened on "The Crow" was 350 00:18:07,956 --> 00:18:09,740 when they put the dummy round in, 351 00:18:09,827 --> 00:18:12,003 they forgot to remove the primer. 352 00:18:12,091 --> 00:18:13,875 And what happens is, again, 353 00:18:13,962 --> 00:18:16,791 that primer has enough force to dislodge the lead round 354 00:18:16,878 --> 00:18:19,402 and actually push it into the barrel. 355 00:18:19,489 --> 00:18:21,143 We're actually gonna pull the trigger 356 00:18:21,230 --> 00:18:22,884 and it'll have just enough force 357 00:18:22,971 --> 00:18:25,147 to lodge the round in there. 358 00:18:26,627 --> 00:18:29,325 So you can see in there our dummy round. 359 00:18:30,413 --> 00:18:31,545 We'll index it. 360 00:18:31,632 --> 00:18:33,329 Three, two, one. 361 00:18:34,374 --> 00:18:37,768 So just with that simple action, that little snap, 362 00:18:37,855 --> 00:18:40,423 the cap's gone off, no gun powder, 363 00:18:40,510 --> 00:18:42,164 but what we'll be able to prove is 364 00:18:42,251 --> 00:18:44,427 the hung round inside the barrel. 365 00:18:46,777 --> 00:18:48,214 Inside that barrel, 366 00:18:49,258 --> 00:18:50,477 we have the obstruction. 367 00:18:50,564 --> 00:18:52,174 But if you look down the barrel 368 00:18:52,261 --> 00:18:54,045 you'll notice that there's no light coming through. 369 00:18:54,133 --> 00:18:56,004 So that would tell me that there's an obstruction. 370 00:18:56,091 --> 00:18:58,267 In this case, a lead round, 371 00:18:58,354 --> 00:19:00,313 a hollow point. 372 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:02,053 That's the one thing they didn't do. 373 00:19:02,141 --> 00:19:03,968 They didn't check the barrel for an obstruction. 374 00:19:04,055 --> 00:19:06,057 The problem with that is, when you put a blank in there, 375 00:19:06,145 --> 00:19:07,537 then after whatever's in there - 376 00:19:07,624 --> 00:19:09,452 be it rock, dirt, or a hung round - 377 00:19:09,539 --> 00:19:12,977 that round comes out flying at 3 to 5,000 psi. 378 00:19:13,064 --> 00:19:15,197 So when we're ready, I'll put a round in here. 379 00:19:15,284 --> 00:19:17,721 It's gonna be a blank, 380 00:19:17,808 --> 00:19:19,767 a half-load blank. This is it. 381 00:19:19,854 --> 00:19:21,943 There's no lead projectile. It's just crimped at the end, 382 00:19:22,030 --> 00:19:23,684 but it's got powder. 383 00:19:23,771 --> 00:19:26,208 The crimp's hot, but this produces enough powder 384 00:19:26,295 --> 00:19:28,819 to push this lead round into that board 385 00:19:28,906 --> 00:19:31,213 through two inches of plywood. 386 00:19:31,300 --> 00:19:33,259 So when we're ready. 387 00:19:34,695 --> 00:19:36,740 Three, two, one. 388 00:19:40,135 --> 00:19:42,224 The round's gone off. 389 00:19:42,311 --> 00:19:45,532 I can go check down range. 390 00:19:45,619 --> 00:19:48,230 We can actually see the round 391 00:19:48,317 --> 00:19:50,276 that punctured through it. 392 00:19:52,321 --> 00:19:53,931 Right here. 393 00:19:56,717 --> 00:19:58,501 That's your round. 394 00:19:58,588 --> 00:20:00,677 That was the hung round that got pushed into the barrel 395 00:20:00,764 --> 00:20:02,244 with, uh, with just the primer cap. 396 00:20:02,331 --> 00:20:03,854 And what you can see is... 397 00:20:03,941 --> 00:20:06,292 I don't know if you can see the striations, 398 00:20:06,379 --> 00:20:07,858 but it actually fired the round. 399 00:20:07,945 --> 00:20:10,296 So this would definitely be a lethal round. 400 00:20:10,383 --> 00:20:12,820 This would be something you don't get up from. 401 00:20:12,907 --> 00:20:14,822 - After this... 402 00:20:14,909 --> 00:20:17,433 tremendous tragedy unfolded, 403 00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:19,305 we, as filmmakers, um, 404 00:20:20,610 --> 00:20:23,265 our initial response was that, um, 405 00:20:23,352 --> 00:20:27,269 we, we couldn't film, uh, any further without Brandon, 406 00:20:27,356 --> 00:20:29,837 even though we were at the end of... 407 00:20:29,924 --> 00:20:31,708 um, our, our schedule. 408 00:20:33,884 --> 00:20:36,496 And it was be-- 409 00:20:36,583 --> 00:20:38,498 because we... 410 00:20:38,585 --> 00:20:40,587 just couldn't even fathom 411 00:20:40,674 --> 00:20:42,502 moving forward at that time. 412 00:20:43,677 --> 00:20:46,984 We heard from Brandon's fiancée, 413 00:20:47,071 --> 00:20:49,465 Eliza Hutton, who he was to be married to 414 00:20:49,552 --> 00:20:53,034 a short time after we completed photography, 415 00:20:53,121 --> 00:20:54,905 and his mother, Linda Lee, 416 00:20:54,992 --> 00:20:57,647 that Brandon was incredibly proud of the work 417 00:20:57,734 --> 00:20:59,780 that he had performed 418 00:20:59,867 --> 00:21:01,564 and they said, you know, 419 00:21:01,651 --> 00:21:04,567 if-if you are up to it, 420 00:21:04,654 --> 00:21:07,353 we want you all to finish this. 421 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:10,791 - I didn't wanna come back, but I kept thinking about... 422 00:21:10,878 --> 00:21:12,488 this is Brandon's film. 423 00:21:12,575 --> 00:21:15,186 This is a film that he wanted to be 424 00:21:15,274 --> 00:21:17,711 a launching pad for him, 425 00:21:17,798 --> 00:21:20,322 and if I didn't go back and do what I could do 426 00:21:20,409 --> 00:21:23,238 to make sure this film gets seen, 427 00:21:24,631 --> 00:21:27,111 whatever I can do, uh... 428 00:21:27,198 --> 00:21:29,070 I'll do it, 429 00:21:29,157 --> 00:21:31,899 because if this film wasn't seen, wasn't finished, 430 00:21:31,986 --> 00:21:33,248 it'd be a shame. 431 00:21:34,771 --> 00:21:36,773 They called me up and they said... 432 00:21:36,860 --> 00:21:38,340 they wanna use a double. 433 00:21:38,427 --> 00:21:41,212 And Brandon's stunt double 434 00:21:41,300 --> 00:21:43,476 looked a lot like him, 435 00:21:43,563 --> 00:21:47,131 and they wanted me to make a mask, 436 00:21:47,218 --> 00:21:49,090 on the stunt double, 437 00:21:49,177 --> 00:21:50,439 of Brandon's face 438 00:21:50,526 --> 00:21:53,007 so they could use it in the film. 439 00:21:54,922 --> 00:21:57,925 That was really tough, that was really tough. 440 00:22:00,319 --> 00:22:02,799 To be honest, when the stunt double wore that thing, 441 00:22:02,886 --> 00:22:04,975 it freaked everybody out. 442 00:22:06,934 --> 00:22:09,415 And I mean literally freaked 'em out. 443 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:12,374 And the feeling that you get 444 00:22:12,461 --> 00:22:14,376 when you're finishing a film 445 00:22:14,463 --> 00:22:16,944 with an actor who's passed on, 446 00:22:17,031 --> 00:22:19,381 it's not a good feeling. 447 00:22:19,468 --> 00:22:22,253 It's a very morbid feeling 448 00:22:22,341 --> 00:22:23,864 and it's-it's... 449 00:22:23,951 --> 00:22:26,997 something you deal with personally, you know. 450 00:22:27,084 --> 00:22:29,217 You don't feel good about it, but... 451 00:22:29,304 --> 00:22:32,220 it-it just needed to be done. 452 00:22:32,307 --> 00:22:34,527 That's all, it just needed to be done. 453 00:22:39,575 --> 00:22:41,534 - There were changes that they had to make. 454 00:22:42,926 --> 00:22:46,756 Instead of doing a lot of one on-one dialogue scenes 455 00:22:46,843 --> 00:22:49,411 between Eric Draven, for example, and his girlfriend, 456 00:22:49,498 --> 00:22:52,414 they had to do a lot in montage. 457 00:22:52,501 --> 00:22:55,025 A lot was done in shadow. 458 00:22:55,112 --> 00:22:56,853 They had to take out one character, 459 00:22:56,940 --> 00:22:58,855 uh, the Skull Cowboy. 460 00:22:58,942 --> 00:23:01,684 They had shot just one setup shot 461 00:23:01,771 --> 00:23:04,208 of him with Brandon Lee 462 00:23:04,295 --> 00:23:05,949 and that was in the beginning of production. 463 00:23:06,036 --> 00:23:08,256 They were gonna fly him back at the end. 464 00:23:08,343 --> 00:23:09,605 They never ended up doing that. 465 00:23:09,692 --> 00:23:11,477 They, they had to write around 466 00:23:11,564 --> 00:23:13,696 the convention of that character. 467 00:23:15,219 --> 00:23:18,571 - When I got the word of what had happened, 468 00:23:18,658 --> 00:23:20,790 I had so many mixed emotions. 469 00:23:22,096 --> 00:23:25,795 The number one sense of loss was being cheated 470 00:23:25,882 --> 00:23:27,493 because Brandon was engaged. 471 00:23:27,580 --> 00:23:29,799 Number one, for him and Eliza. 472 00:23:29,886 --> 00:23:31,714 Number two, 473 00:23:31,801 --> 00:23:34,891 this wonderful young man that I'd been introduced to 474 00:23:34,978 --> 00:23:38,329 just snatched away like that. 475 00:23:38,417 --> 00:23:40,462 And then people are going, 476 00:23:40,549 --> 00:23:43,596 "the curse of 'The Crow'," you know? 477 00:23:43,683 --> 00:23:46,207 Carolco Studios, there was... 478 00:23:46,294 --> 00:23:48,165 an electrician... somebody got electrocuted. 479 00:23:48,252 --> 00:23:49,471 This happened. That happened. 480 00:23:49,558 --> 00:23:51,125 This happened. That happened. 481 00:23:51,212 --> 00:23:53,519 Don't you think... Is it possible... Is it... 482 00:23:53,606 --> 00:23:55,912 Really? 483 00:23:55,999 --> 00:23:57,958 Really? 484 00:23:58,045 --> 00:23:59,742 No. 485 00:23:59,829 --> 00:24:01,962 The Crow was not cursed. 486 00:24:02,049 --> 00:24:03,746 The Crow was created 487 00:24:03,833 --> 00:24:05,705 out of love and loss. 488 00:24:07,184 --> 00:24:09,839 In my opinion, Brandon died 489 00:24:09,926 --> 00:24:13,321 because a studio cut corners. 490 00:24:15,758 --> 00:24:18,152 They sent home the weapons expert that we had. 491 00:24:18,239 --> 00:24:19,545 It's a right-to-work state 492 00:24:19,632 --> 00:24:22,025 in a union-busting environment. 493 00:24:22,112 --> 00:24:23,636 And after so many weeks, 494 00:24:23,723 --> 00:24:26,508 it is my understanding that, contractually, 495 00:24:26,595 --> 00:24:29,293 they could hire a local person to do all of the, 496 00:24:29,380 --> 00:24:32,035 uh, armaments and weapons. 497 00:24:33,210 --> 00:24:36,126 That is my personal opinion. 498 00:24:37,606 --> 00:24:39,695 Someone was overworked 499 00:24:39,782 --> 00:24:42,045 and you miss one little oops 500 00:24:42,132 --> 00:24:45,309 and something happens. 501 00:24:45,396 --> 00:24:48,965 Makes you appreciate every day, 502 00:24:50,750 --> 00:24:53,013 and then you should appreciate every hour, 503 00:24:55,145 --> 00:24:57,452 and pretty soon, every moment. 504 00:24:59,367 --> 00:25:01,935 I'm at most calm when I can appreciate... 505 00:25:03,066 --> 00:25:04,590 each breath, 506 00:25:04,677 --> 00:25:07,027 and especially appreciative 507 00:25:08,419 --> 00:25:11,466 when I hear that beautiful note of a heartbeat. 508 00:25:12,946 --> 00:25:14,948 Life is very precious. 509 00:25:16,210 --> 00:25:17,690 - It's hard with "The Crow" 510 00:25:17,777 --> 00:25:19,735 to separate fiction and reality. 511 00:25:20,997 --> 00:25:22,303 I think that people will continue 512 00:25:22,390 --> 00:25:23,957 to find curses with "The Crow". 513 00:25:24,044 --> 00:25:27,438 They're gonna continue to find some new element 514 00:25:27,526 --> 00:25:28,962 to relate back to something 515 00:25:29,049 --> 00:25:30,920 that maybe happened to Bruce Lee or... 516 00:25:31,007 --> 00:25:32,661 some of the other actors on the film. 517 00:25:32,748 --> 00:25:35,185 Like if something tragic happens to one of them. 518 00:25:37,361 --> 00:25:38,798 And I think people wanna cling 519 00:25:38,885 --> 00:25:41,975 to those sort of curse legends. 520 00:25:42,062 --> 00:25:43,933 They wanna have a story 521 00:25:44,020 --> 00:25:46,414 that kind of justifies 522 00:25:46,501 --> 00:25:48,503 something so tragic. 523 00:25:51,114 --> 00:25:54,291 - From that is born just a fascination 524 00:25:54,378 --> 00:25:56,032 with trying to look at this 525 00:25:56,119 --> 00:25:59,035 through a lens of possible conspiracy 526 00:25:59,122 --> 00:26:01,734 that could've netted this tremendous loss 527 00:26:01,821 --> 00:26:03,779 and this horrible accident. 528 00:26:04,911 --> 00:26:07,174 Truly, I sympathize, 529 00:26:07,261 --> 00:26:10,481 but the sideshow of looking for conspiracies 530 00:26:10,569 --> 00:26:12,179 within that loss, 531 00:26:12,266 --> 00:26:14,964 I think, take away from what he did. 532 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:18,707 I do believe that there's a great film there 533 00:26:18,794 --> 00:26:21,623 and it stands on its own merits. 534 00:26:21,710 --> 00:26:23,712 And I'm proud of the film. 535 00:26:23,799 --> 00:26:26,628 One can look to a number of films 536 00:26:26,715 --> 00:26:28,325 that followed in its wake 537 00:26:28,412 --> 00:26:31,677 in terms of look and feel and design. 538 00:26:31,764 --> 00:26:34,897 It really did launch a different approach 539 00:26:34,984 --> 00:26:38,466 to futuristic films and comic book adaptations 540 00:26:38,553 --> 00:26:41,774 because it really is a very unique piece 541 00:26:41,861 --> 00:26:43,906 of art and filmmaking 542 00:26:43,993 --> 00:26:45,952 with a central performance by Brandon Lee 543 00:26:46,039 --> 00:26:49,259 that is really, truly incredible. 544 00:26:51,131 --> 00:26:52,480 - It was bittersweet, 545 00:26:52,567 --> 00:26:55,439 for me, personally. 546 00:26:55,526 --> 00:26:57,920 The vengeful spirit of Eric Draven, 547 00:26:58,007 --> 00:27:00,706 the vengeful spirit of the Skull Cowboy... 548 00:27:02,751 --> 00:27:04,579 my dear friend Brandon... 549 00:27:07,408 --> 00:27:09,976 You can't be prepared for these moments, 550 00:27:11,238 --> 00:27:13,588 but you can carry on 551 00:27:15,546 --> 00:27:18,071 in honour of those that have left us.