The makers of Fast and Furious 9 were fined £800,000 (€921,000) after a stuntman suffered brain damage during filming.
Joe Watts the stuntman in question, suffered these life changing injuries, after he fell 25 feet onto the concrete ground of Warner Brothers’ Studios in Leavesden, Hertfordshire on 22 July 2019.
While shooting a major fight scene from the film, Mr Watts’ safety line detached, after he was thrown over the right shoulder of another performer on set.
In court, it emerged that the stunt changed to the left shoulder during filming, which saw Mr Watts subsequently plummet to the ground, missing the crash mats.
It was also reported that the wire was not checked between takes.
“no system for double checking”
Bringing this prosecution to court, the Health and Safety Executive stated that the makers of Fast and Furious 9, had “no system for double checking that the link had been properly engaged and tightened”.
The HSE also told the court that the firm “did not extend the crash matting needed to mitigate the consequences of an unintended fall following changes to the set and the sequence of the stunt”.
The makers of Fast and Furious 9 were also castigated over their decision to change this stunt “at the last minute” by Judge Talwinder Buttar, who added that Mr Watts is “fortunate to be alive”.
“Mr Watts’ injuries were life-changing and he could have easily been killed”, HSE inspector Roxanne Barker also remarked. “In stunt work, it is not about preventing a fall but minimising the risk of an injury”.
Mr Watts had also worked on several high profile productions, including, Johnny English Strikes Again, Star Wars: The Last Jedi Game Of Thrones, and Kingsman: The Golden Circle.
Back in May, director of ‘Fast X’ the final chapters of one of global cinema’s most popular franchises, Louis Leterrier spoke to our very own Clint Drieberg.
Check out this chat here!
