# How much danger can a movie producer legally put an actor in? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 28, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227 "2018-11-28T21:36:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/41 "2018-12-01T02:06:39Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > [Yes, for you see they don’t have horses in England and thus would have no reason to depict them on screen. Horses were an American invention.](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1568911/) [I mean, four seconds googling ought to have pointed out the obvious nonsense of your post.](https://www.google.com/search?q=poldark+horses&client=firefox-b&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjC35bww_3eAhUJWX0KHTNjCckQsAR6BAgAEAE&biw=1920&bih=944) ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/42 "2018-12-01T02:24:23Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Don’t forget about [the guitar](https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/historic-martin-guitar-accidentally-destroyed-in-quentin-tarantinos-hateful-eight), ffs. I had already given up on him and his movies by then, but that really made me actively want him to fail and for his life to turn to shit. He’s a terrible person. The guitar was an accident and was Kurts fault for improving. Now yes Kurt should have been informed but miscommunication happens everywhere. He had full permission for the strangling, and insisting on doing it himself makes perfect sense and any angle on some kind of fetish (it wasnt her foot FFS) is kinda sick. As for Uma. He was dead wrong and he’s admitted as much and apologized fully. What he did speaks to the OP. He PRESSURED her into doing it even after she balked. I hate that shit when i see it. On stage or in a show or movie. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/43 "2018-12-01T02:25:45Z")
Jon Erik Hexum - 1984: Hexum was apparently unaware that his actions were dangerous. Blanks use paper or plastic wadding to seal gunpowder into the cartridge, and this wadding is propelled from the barrel of the gun with enough force to cause injury if the weapon is fired within a few feet of the body should it strike at a particularly vulnerable spot, such as the temple or the eye. At a close enough range, the effect of the powder gasses is a small explosion, so although the paper wadding in the blank that Hexum discharged did not penetrate his skull, there was enough blunt force trauma to shatter a quarter-sized piece of his skull and propel the pieces into his brain, causing massive hemorrhaging.[1][7] - Source: Wikipedia I distinctly remember this because I was in the car with my ex and her sister (who was a big fan of Hexum). I LOL because of the utter stupidity of putting a gun to his head. My apologies to the Hexum family, but putting any gun real or fake to your or someone’s head without a safety person having checked and planned it out is utterly stupid! ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/44 "2018-12-01T02:27:55Z")
For the longest time i thought the fight in They Live was real…but then i realized while they got the exhaustion stuff right (Shit just wrestling is exhausting) there was no way to do that stuff without crippling injuries. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/45 "2018-12-01T02:32:16Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > Jon Erik Hexum - 1984: > > Hexum was apparently unaware that his actions were dangerous. Blanks use paper or plastic wadding to seal gunpowder into the cartridge, and this wadding is propelled from the barrel of the gun with enough force to cause injury if the weapon is fired within a few feet of the body should it strike at a particularly vulnerable spot, such as the temple or the eye. At a close enough range, the effect of the powder gasses is a small explosion, so although the paper wadding in the blank that Hexum discharged did not penetrate his skull, there was enough blunt force trauma to shatter a quarter-sized piece of his skull and propel the pieces into his brain, causing massive hemorrhaging.[1][7] > > - Source: Wikipedia > > I distinctly remember this because I was in the car with my ex and her sister (who was a big fan of Hexum). I LOL because of the utter stupidity of putting a gun to his head. My apologies to the Hexum family, but putting any gun real or fake to your or someone’s head without a safety person having checked and planned it out is utterly stupid! I’ve done plays where anytime a gun is on stage, i’ll make sure theres nothing in the barrel, or the cylinder. Even if the gun is unfunctional and the ‘shot’ is a booth sound effect. If the gun is being pointed at someone and a finger goes near the trigger, its getting checked. I’ve also been told to make sure the gun never waves towards the audience. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/46 "2018-12-01T02:36:21Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > For the longest time i thought the fight in They Live was real…but then i realized while they got the exhaustion stuff right (Shit just wrestling is exhausting) there was no way to do that stuff without crippling injuries. Best fight scene ever. 😃 > [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > I’ve done plays where anytime a gun is on stage, i’ll make sure theres nothing in the barrel, or the cylinder. Even if the gun is unfunctional and the ‘shot’ is a booth sound effect. If the gun is being pointed at someone and a finger goes near the trigger, its getting checked. > > I’ve also been told to make sure the gun never waves towards the audience. That’s the way I’ve always done it and seen it done. I have also been present when we were all instructed that no one was to EVER point a gun at anyone unless it was during filming of the scene or you would be dismissed from the set (fired). Yes, those rules even go to firearms that have been rendered inoperable. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/47 "2018-12-01T02:36:36Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > There’s also the financial liability (insurance) to factor in, personal, production and studio. If an unqualified/certified person person other than a stuntperson performs a stunt and suffers an injury, all insurance claims for medical and legal may be denied. If there’s major legal costs or a major legal financial judgement, it may bankrupt everyone, the person, the production company and the studio. > > On Mythbusters, there were several instances (shown on-screen) where the main cast wanted to perform something themselves, but were told a the last minute that their insurance wouldn’t cover the action and someone else had do the test. Outside of medical costs, a stuntman out of work for a few months may cost 10’s of thousands of dollars in lost time, but a major star could run into the millions. > > Bottom line, any director knowingly forcing anyone into a known potentially dangerous situation may not only be criminally liable, but be committing career suicide if something goes wrong, not limited to injuries. Sometimes people get sued for having knowingly or even unknowingly putting an actor or someone else in the production in a potentially unsafe situation. Mythbusters just happens to be an occasion that i referred to above where the actor has a legit concern and someone in power pulls out their dick and starts waving it around. The ep where they are seeing if someone could jump off a building with a sheet of plywood and it act as a parachute sorta. The girl who isnt Kari and was only in a few eps didnt want to do it (even though they had all kind of safety stuff set up)…and the fucking director berates her while shes crying and they filmed it and made it part of the ep!!! Fuck that guy. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/48 "2018-12-01T03:17:59Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > _Hooper_; but I’m pretty sure they weren’t actually his teeth: the whole film is an homage to stunt people. Right, I remember now. It was the stunt of him getting thrown out the window and completely missed the crash pads on the other side. He landed on a concrete floor instead, brushed off the painful fall, and got ready for the next take or whatever was next. Or something like that, it’s a 40 year old memory. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/49 "2018-12-01T03:29:40Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Right, I remember now. It was the stunt of him getting thrown out the window and completely missed the crash pads on the other side. He landed on a concrete floor instead, brushed off the painful fall, and got ready for the next take or whatever was next. > > Or something like that, it’s a 40 year old memory. 🙂 It’s my favorite Burt Reynolds movie; I’ve been laughing at it for about 80% of my life. 😃 > [@](#): > > Amtrac, SWAT man: [Sonny has smashed the jukebox to get Amtrac’s money back] Well, if you wanted to make somebody look like an asshole, boy, you did! That was you. > > Sonny Hooper: [counting the SWAT guys] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12… six against twelve! > > Ski: [joins in] Seven. > > Sonny Hooper: Seven against twelve. Well, that’s a little uneven. Looks like you guys’ll have to go back to Houston and get some more guys! ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/50 "2018-12-01T03:51:22Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Best fight scene ever. :DThat’s the way I’ve always done it and seen it done. I have also been present when we were all instructed that no one was to EVER point a gun at anyone unless it was during filming of the scene or you would be dismissed from the set (fired). Yes, those rules even go to firearms that have been rendered inoperable. The first rules of guns: There is never an unloaded gun, ever! Never point a gun at anything you’re not willing to shoot. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/51 "2018-12-01T03:59:54Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > Jon Erik Hexum - 1984: > > Hexum was apparently unaware that his actions were dangerous. Blanks use paper or plastic wadding to seal gunpowder into the cartridge, and this wadding is propelled from the barrel of the gun with enough force to cause injury if the weapon is fired within a few feet of the body should it strike at a particularly vulnerable spot, such as the temple or the eye. At a close enough range, the effect of the powder gasses is a small explosion, so although the paper wadding in the blank that Hexum discharged did not penetrate his skull, there was enough blunt force trauma to shatter a quarter-sized piece of his skull and propel the pieces into his brain, causing massive hemorrhaging.[1][7] > > - Source: Wikipedia > > I distinctly remember this because I was in the car with my ex and her sister (who was a big fan of Hexum). I LOL because of the utter stupidity of putting a gun to his head. My apologies to the Hexum family, but putting any gun real or fake to your or someone’s head without a safety person having checked and planned it out is utterly stupid! I’ve always thought Hexum was influenced by the recent episode of \*\*\*Hill Street Blues \*\*\*where Howard Hunter failed in his attempt to commit suicide because his gun (cannon!) had been surreptitiously loaded with blanks. This was pure and utter bullshit, since blanks are more than powerful enough to kill you. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/52 "2018-12-01T04:03:03Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > The first rules of guns: > > There is never an unloaded gun, ever! > Never point a gun at anything you’re not willing to shoot. Aye. The thing is, it all needs to be repeated on a stage or a set, even when the firearms are not operable: a jackass could switch out an operable firearm or re-enable one, either as a prank or with malicious intent. Any firearm on set, even replicas, are all treated as functional and loaded, to ensure everyones safety, IME. Handling them is usually strictly limited as well. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/53 "2018-12-01T04:04:33Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > [Yes, for you see they don’t have horses in England and thus would have no reason to depict them on screen. Horses were an American invention.](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1568911/) Actually, “horses” on film [are usually a bunch of cats taped together](https://youtube.com/watch?v=KbkNul4wQH0). ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/54 "2018-12-01T06:04:37Z")
My understanding is that generally speaking, movie producers are mostly concerned with making money, and the last thing they want is for one of their stars to get hurt (delaying production and costing them said money) - there are stuntmen for that, after all - and contracts are even written up to limit the sorts of risky activities actors can undertake OFF set, never mind on it. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/55 "2018-12-01T06:27:58Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > [Yes, for you see they don’t have horses in England and thus would have no reason to depict them on screen. Horses were an American invention.](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1568911/) My information came directly from a inside Doctor Who. They used to have one for every episode. They showed a lot of behind the scenes stuff. I don’t recall the exact episode. It was one with Matt Smith. They had a special rig with a saddle to simulate a person on horseback. I certainly got the impression actors weren’t allowed to ride. Health & Safety rules similar to our OSHA. Obviously private individuals can ride all they want when they aren’t working. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/56 "2018-12-01T06:29:15Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Obviously private individuals can ride all they want when they aren’t working. Good to know. Good to know. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/57 "2018-12-01T06:30:58Z")
Sorry to take this thread down this road, but some actors/actresses will do anything to make money. There are some extreme porn movies where the slapping and choking to near unconsciousness for that sexual high are real. Also, donkey punch! ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/58 "2018-12-01T06:34:46Z")
Actors sometimes put themselves in danger themselves. Riding a horse or motorcycle is required to get the part? Sure, I can do that! Ummm…where can learn to ride a horse or a motorcycle? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/59 "2018-12-01T06:53:07Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I don’t recall the exact episode. It was one with Matt Smith. They had a special rig with a saddle to simulate a person on horseback. [Maybe he should have stuck with that](https://doctorwhowatch.com/2016/05/01/doctor-whos-matt-smith-nearly-breaks-neck-on-horseback-on-set-of-the-crown/). ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2018, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227/60 "2018-12-01T07:54:26Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > My information came directly from a inside Doctor Who. They used to have one for every episode. They showed a lot of behind the scenes stuff. > > I don’t recall the exact episode. It was one with Matt Smith. They had a special rig with a saddle to simulate a person on horseback. In fact, let me see if I can simulate the cognitive processes. [You saw a stunt performer stand in for a British actor who wasn’t comfortable riding a horse on a science fiction show that doesn’t usually feature horse riding, and concluded from that that British actors didn’t ride horses whereas American ones do because Bonanza.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITMdBYYSzuQ) Astounding. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-danger-can-a-movie-producer-legally-put-an-actor-in/825227.md?page=4)