Danger on the Set

While reading trivia about I discovered that filming took place in some of the worst parts of LA. It didn’t sound like this posed any problems in filming, but it did bring to mind some of the more dangerous sets and locations chosen for films in the past. Here are a few examples, some famous, some not:

1987’s was shot in a Mexican jungle. Arnold Schwarzengger had to trudge through thick muck filled with leeches, not to mention the water being freezing cold. He has described it as a survival story, not just for him but for the entire cast and crew.

(2015) had the crew working under harsh conditions in the Canadian Rockies (plus a couple of other parts of the world with similar terrain). Remote locations that have extreme temperatures are always challenging, and this experience was nearly as gruelling as the finished product depicts on the wide screen. Leonardo DiCaprio said that wading in the freezing water of a Canadian mountain river was the most demanding and testing experience of his career.

Humphrey Bogart won best actor at the Academy Awards in 1952 for his performance in but that’s not the only way he won out with that movie. It was filmed on location in Africa, something that was rare and ambitious for a movie at the time. Most of the crew suffered from the heat and from dysentery, a intestinal infection that came with health-threatening diarrhea. But he and the director, John Huston, were the only ones who evaded the disease. How did they do it? They didn’t drink the water there, only imported whiskey.

James Cameron is one of the most successful and groundbreaking directors in movie history. Because of his daring methods, however, he’d made mistakes early in his career that he’d regret

. In (1989), the crew did underwater shots in a giant water tank that led to a lot of decompression sickness. In one particular scary moment Ed Harris’ helmet filled with water and water shot up his nose.

(1972) had Jon Voigt risking his life climbing a rock face with no harness or ropes. The director wanted the actors to do their own stunts, which also led to Burt Reynolds cracking his tailbone after going down a waterfall in a canoe.

In (1930), director Howard Hughes himself suffered a skull fracture and required facial reconstructive surgery after crashing the plane he was piloting. Two pilots and one airplane mechanic died making the film (Side note: there was a time when people seemed to accept that making movies was dangerous and sometimes people died doing it.). It was filmed not quite thirty years after the Wright Brothers’ first flight. Yahoo Movies stated that this is the equivalent of trying to film

in 1913.

(1981) had multiple crew injuries including hundreds of stitches from bites, swipes, and maulings. One principal actor (Tippi Hedren) was tossed in the air by an elephant. It was all from the director’s obsessive desire to capture realism. He, therefore, wanted the cast to work with real untrained animals. It’s often described as the most dangerous movie ever made. 

Congratulations . This is your week. And thank you for not being so dangerous.

Best Actress:

 Aside from the great Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen as Taylor Sloane in 

Best Actor: Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim in

Best Quote: “When I’m around you, I kind of feel like I’m on drugs. Not that I do drugs. Unless you do drugs, in which case I do them all the time. All of them.” – Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim in

As you may know, my wife is an avid reader. So, in her honour, here is a list of my favourite reading experiences over the years. I’m sure I’m forgetting some, but from the best I can remember, this is a pretty accurate list:

1. 11/22/63 by Stephen King – Most of King’s books I’ve read were short stories or novellas. I decided to go with my favourite of his full length novels (I haven’t read many). Two of my favourite short stories of his are (1977) and (1979)

2. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl – I didn’t read it as an adult, but my class read it aloud in elementary school. And though I had a hard time focusing back then, I remember enjoying this one quite a bit.

3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – I’d rate this one higher, but as positive and life-shaping as the experience was, it was in high school. And reading at that time in my life, especially in school, was a big challenge. The fact that it’s on this list at all shows how much of an impression it made.

4. The Rainmaker by John Grisham – This was the first book Joy and I read aloud together and it got us both hooked on Grisham.

5. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley – I had no idea how good the book was. So glad I decided to read it, which was back when we lived in North Carolina.

6. The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

7. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

8. Life of Pi by Yann Martel – Though I loved the movie, the book was even better. I know people say that a lot about adapted movies, but it was just so enjoyable from beginning to end.

9. Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien

10. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown – Nothing beats that experience. Wow.

Honourable mention: 1) Many Stephen King works, mostly short stories; 2) Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, another that was read in elementary school. We, of course, loved the raspberry cordial part the most.