Following the Rust shooting and under the weight of Brandon Lee’s death, The Crow director Rupert Sanders insisted on safety.
The upcoming reboot of 1994’s The Crow has been almost exclusively blasted. Be it the look of Eric Draven ‘24 or the sheer idea of even considering touching the original film, it seems like every reveal has been met with sheer negativity. But it can’t rain all the time. As it turns out, one decision that was made for the production is one that we can all get behind.
With the tragic accidental death of Brandon Lee on the set of Alex Proyas’ film – and the 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of western Rust – the move was made to ensure that no real firearms were anywhere near filming locations for The Crow. This was spearheaded by director Rupert Sanders, who told Variety that such an environment is dangerous enough as it is. “Film sets are very dangerous. There are fast moving cars with cranes stuck on the top. There are stunt guys falling on high wires down steps. Even just walking around a set at night with rain machines and lights — you’re working in an industrial environment. So it’s dangerous. You have to be safe.”
Adding to this, Sanders said that safety had to be a number one priority on the set of The Crow. “So I said, categorically, ‘We will have no firing weapons on set,’ which means we didn’t have one gun that could have had a live round or a blank round anywhere near it ever, so that no projectile could go in. They’re all Airsoft guns, and some of them are just rubber or metal decoys that are functional but have no firing mechanism…You have to add a muzzle flash and smoke, but that was a price worth paying. It took a fair bit of money out of my very limited visual effects budget, but I think it was worth it.”
The death of Hutchins saw numerous lawsuits take place, with Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed being found guilty of manslaughter and Alec Baldwin’s case ultimately being dismissed. Despite these verdicts and decisions, the entire situation has truly yet to cool and will haunt the movie’s eventual release. The silver lining here is that it did further outline the need for gun safety on movie sets, so it is encouraging that Rupert Sanders would insist that The Crow help pave the way. Hopefully this continues to hold in Hollywood.