1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:06,320 Speaker 1: Welcome fans of movie history and true crime to Hollywood Land, 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: where we are once again headed back into our archive 3 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:12,560 Speaker 1: of stories to bring you this episode on Brandon Lee. 4 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:16,960 Speaker 1: It was thirty three years ago tomorrow, March thirty first, 5 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:20,759 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety three, that Brandon Lee, just twenty eight years old, 6 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,520 Speaker 1: was tragically and accidentally shot on the set of The Crow, 7 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 1: in anticipated adaptation of a comic book series in which 8 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:32,839 Speaker 1: Brandon would star as a resurrected vigilante. His death was 9 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:37,040 Speaker 1: doubly tragic because just twenty years prior to that, Brandon's 10 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:40,159 Speaker 1: own father, the great martial arts expert and actor in 11 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:43,479 Speaker 1: his own right, Bruce Lee, had suddenly and for a 12 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 1: while inexplicably, died at the young age of thirty two. 13 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: Fatalities on movie sets like this are rare, although the 14 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:53,640 Speaker 1: story of Brandon Lee has been in the public consciousness 15 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:56,720 Speaker 1: again after an accidental shooting on the set of the 16 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 1: film Rust took the life of a cinematographer in twenty 17 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 1: twenty one. The legacy of The Crow is in many 18 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:05,840 Speaker 1: ways the legacy of Brandon Lee, an extension of the 19 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: legacy of his family at large, and it's one that 20 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: has remained in the conversation for decades thanks to its 21 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:14,600 Speaker 1: beloved soundtrack, which is one of the rare movie soundtracks 22 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:18,039 Speaker 1: to actually hit number one on the Billboard Album chart. 23 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: I hope you enjoyed this episode on Brandon Lee, and 24 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:23,039 Speaker 1: then I hope you can join me again on Wednesday 25 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:25,960 Speaker 1: to talk more about the legacy of The Crow's soundtrack, 26 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:28,520 Speaker 1: and then again on Friday when I do a deep 27 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 1: dive into the Crow for the latest installment of the 28 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:33,959 Speaker 1: Screening Room. 29 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:38,000 Speaker 2: Hollywood Land is a production of double Elvis Grows In. 30 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:43,040 Speaker 3: God and Burning Up Cone Grows in the God, Growing 31 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 3: Up Cone, Get Jim, Get Jim, string them up and 32 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 3: tretch Jim flag upon the whole con Zong. 33 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:56,640 Speaker 2: The stories about Brandon Lee are insane. He was haunted 34 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 2: by the legacy of his superstar father and also by 35 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:04,000 Speaker 2: old family curse, and that curse may have followed him 36 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 2: to the set of his final film, where people were 37 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 2: injured and electrocuted. A massive storm destroyed the set, a 38 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:15,440 Speaker 2: truck burst into flames, a car crashed into the studio's 39 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 2: plaster shop, and another crashed into the set's barriers, and 40 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 2: Brandon Lee, just twenty eight years old, was killed when 41 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 2: a prop gun fired a real bullet during the filming 42 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:30,640 Speaker 2: of a crucial scene. He died, making one of the 43 00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:35,240 Speaker 2: most beloved goth movies of all time. Unlike that clip 44 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:36,919 Speaker 2: I played for you at the top of the show 45 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:41,200 Speaker 2: that wasn't from a beloved film, that was a fair 46 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 2: use sample from the Library of Congress of Shirley Lomax 47 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 2: Dugan performing Crows in the Garden in nineteen thirty nine. 48 00:02:49,919 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 2: I played you that clip because I can't afford the 49 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 2: rights to a clip from Stuart Gillard's Teenage Mutant Ninja 50 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:59,239 Speaker 2: Turtles three. And why would I play you that specific 51 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 2: slice of suwer rat sense cheese? 52 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,440 Speaker 4: Could I afford it? Because that was. 53 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 2: The number one movie in America on March thirty first, 54 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:12,079 Speaker 2: nineteen ninety three, And that was the day that Brandon 55 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 2: Lee's life and career were cut tragically short with. 56 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 4: One fatal mistake. 57 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:22,560 Speaker 2: On this episode, a superstar father, a family curse, a 58 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 2: prop gun with a real bullet, one of the most 59 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 2: beloved Goth movies of all time, and Brandon Lee, I'm 60 00:03:29,960 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 2: Jake Brennan and this is Hollywood Lamp. The five year 61 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 2: old sat in the wings as his father demonstrated martial 62 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 2: arts moves on stage, the Hong Kong television audience went wild. 63 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:16,360 Speaker 2: Here Bruce Lee was a massive star, unlike in America. 64 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 2: In America, Bruce was just the sidekick. He was the 65 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:23,840 Speaker 2: other guy on the Green Hornet, a mid sixties attempt 66 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:27,479 Speaker 2: to cash in on Batman's success. But here in Hong Kong, 67 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:31,279 Speaker 2: the Green Hornet was known as the Cato Show name 68 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 2: so after Bruce's character didn't matter if it was a 69 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 2: supporting character. 70 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:37,839 Speaker 4: Bruce Lee was the star. 71 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:41,599 Speaker 2: After the applause died down, Bruce looked off to the 72 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 2: edge of the stage. He made eye contact with his 73 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 2: five year old son, and then he beckoned for him 74 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:49,960 Speaker 2: to come out of the dark shadows, and Brandon Lee 75 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:53,800 Speaker 2: stepped into the spotlight to thunderous applause. His father held 76 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 2: out a board and said, just like I showed you. 77 00:04:56,839 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 2: Bruce had been training his son in martial arts since 78 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:02,880 Speaker 2: practically before, where the kid could walk. Brand embraced, he 79 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:05,159 Speaker 2: blocked out the eyes looking at him from the crowd. 80 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:08,240 Speaker 2: He took his stance. He clenched the fingers on one 81 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 2: hand tight, cocked his arm back straight, and put his 82 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:13,120 Speaker 2: fist through the board. 83 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:15,720 Speaker 4: The audience loved it. 84 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 2: Brandon stood there and bassed in their adoration, and looking 85 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:21,919 Speaker 2: back on this moment later in life, you'd think maybe 86 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:24,680 Speaker 2: they were really clapping for his father, But he was 87 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 2: just an extension of Bruce Lee's stardom, the way a 88 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:31,760 Speaker 2: nunchuck can extend the fighter's reach. But in this moment, 89 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:35,960 Speaker 2: Brandon Lee felt like a star. His father knew all 90 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:39,120 Speaker 2: too well about being a star. You got all the attention, 91 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:42,240 Speaker 2: positive and negative, but none of the power. 92 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 4: Bruce took hold of little Brandon and looked him in 93 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 4: the eye. 94 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 2: Never become an actor, be a producer instead. That's how 95 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:53,479 Speaker 2: you hold the real power. This Hong Kong trip was 96 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:57,080 Speaker 2: full of conflicting emotions for Bruce Lee. The Green Hornet 97 00:05:57,120 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 2: had been canceled after only one season. He'd failed to 98 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:03,559 Speaker 2: land any major American film rules, and here in Hong Kong, 99 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 2: studios were ready to go to war over the actor. 100 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 4: But back in his adopt. 101 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:12,760 Speaker 2: At home in America, things seemed cursed, and maybe that 102 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:15,160 Speaker 2: was why Bruce Lee decided to tell his son about 103 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 2: an older curse, one that had haunted the family since 104 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:22,320 Speaker 2: before Bruce was born. Bruce's older brother died at just 105 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:26,039 Speaker 2: three months old. Some superstitious members of the family believed 106 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:28,080 Speaker 2: this meant that the next male child and the family 107 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:31,719 Speaker 2: would be marked for death. Bruce's mother took this to heart, 108 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 2: but when she became pregnant with another child, she adopted 109 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:38,240 Speaker 2: a daughter in an attempt to break the streak, to 110 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:41,119 Speaker 2: distract any hungry ghosts that might try to claim another 111 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 2: baby boy from the family in case that wasn't enough. 112 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:47,480 Speaker 2: When she did give birth to another boy, Peter, they 113 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:49,880 Speaker 2: gave him a girl's nickname, and they dressed him in 114 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 2: girl's clothes, and they pierced his ear to trick the ghosts. 115 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:57,559 Speaker 2: But there were no superstitious rituals when Bruce was born 116 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 2: because Bruce wasn't born in He was born in San 117 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:04,760 Speaker 2: Francisco while his father was touring the US as a 118 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:09,240 Speaker 2: stage performer. He was given an American name, a boy's name, 119 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 2: and no one had thought to pierce his ear or 120 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:14,400 Speaker 2: address him as a girl. And maybe being born in 121 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:18,000 Speaker 2: America meant the hungry ghosts would never find him, or 122 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 2: maybe it. 123 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 4: Would just take more time. 124 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 2: July twentieth, nineteen seventy three, the phone rang in Bruce 125 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:33,200 Speaker 2: Lee's Hong Kong home. Brandon not eight answered. It was 126 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:36,120 Speaker 2: unusual for the house to be this quiet, Bruce had 127 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 2: converted part of it into a martial arts school. Men 128 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:41,920 Speaker 2: and women were often found training in the backyard, swinging 129 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:44,320 Speaker 2: weapons and shouting as they threw themselves at each other. 130 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:48,280 Speaker 2: All that action kept Brandon's friends away. The same violence 131 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:50,160 Speaker 2: they paid to see at the movies was a little 132 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:53,880 Speaker 2: too scary up close in real life. The man on 133 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 2: the line was calling from Los Angeles, the assistant director 134 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:00,040 Speaker 2: of the film that would be Bruce's major breakthrough in 135 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 2: the West. They were currently in post production, but the 136 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:06,640 Speaker 2: assistant director had heard a rumor that Bruce Lee had 137 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:09,200 Speaker 2: died in a fight in Hong Kong, beaten to death 138 00:08:09,240 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 2: by twenty guys. The truth, though, was much stranger, but 139 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 2: the outcome was the same. Bruce Lee had been found 140 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 2: dead in a Hong Kong apartment at the age of 141 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:23,760 Speaker 2: thirty two. Somehow, though news had made it all the 142 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:25,920 Speaker 2: way around the world before it made it to Bruce's 143 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 2: own home. The assistant director on the phone didn't say 144 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 2: any of this to Brandon. He just asked the boy 145 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 2: if his father was there in Cantonese. Brandon replied his 146 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:39,800 Speaker 2: father wasn't home, and the director asked where Bruce was. 147 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:43,120 Speaker 2: Brandon hadn't given it much thought. His father was away 148 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:46,240 Speaker 2: most of the time. Movie, he said in cantonese. Movie 149 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 2: Entered the Dragon premiered one month after Bruce Lee's death 150 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:56,400 Speaker 2: and became a massive box office hit. US studios followed 151 00:08:56,400 --> 00:08:58,640 Speaker 2: it up by re releasing his Hong Kong film Way 152 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:01,120 Speaker 2: of the Dragon. And there was the question of the 153 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:03,320 Speaker 2: film Bruce had been directing and starring it at the 154 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 2: time he died. Game of Death, a Hong Kong film 155 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:08,559 Speaker 2: he'd put on pause to make Enter the Dragon in 156 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:11,880 Speaker 2: the United States, and the footage Bruce shot before his 157 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 2: death was repurposed with an entirely different plot and the 158 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 2: version that was released five years later in nineteen seventy eight. 159 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 2: Bruce plays an international martial arts star who gets shot 160 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 2: during filming by a stuntman turned assassin. Pieces of a 161 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 2: bullet lodged themselves in the actor's face, and he uses 162 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:32,280 Speaker 2: the opportunity to fake his own death and adopt a 163 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:36,640 Speaker 2: series of disguises to take revenge. This meant that the 164 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:39,760 Speaker 2: studio could slap false beards and dark glasses on a 165 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:43,280 Speaker 2: Korean actor who looked nothing like Bruce Lee and complete 166 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:46,360 Speaker 2: the film, using only eleven minutes of the original footage. 167 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:50,679 Speaker 2: Game of Death came out when Brandon Lee was thirteen 168 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:53,520 Speaker 2: years old. By that point, his mother and moved the 169 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:56,000 Speaker 2: family back to the United States, and every time he 170 00:09:56,040 --> 00:09:58,280 Speaker 2: started at a new school, there were always a couple 171 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:00,120 Speaker 2: of kids and wanted to kick the shit out to 172 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 2: Bruce Lee's kid. But when Brandon Lee got into a scrap, 173 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:07,160 Speaker 2: other people got hurt. He'd been trained to martial arts 174 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:09,640 Speaker 2: since he was a baby, and after his father's death, 175 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:13,200 Speaker 2: he continued studying with one of his father's students, but 176 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:16,280 Speaker 2: every dojo in studio he trained in had his father's 177 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:19,120 Speaker 2: pictures on the walls, as if Bruce Lee were some 178 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:23,559 Speaker 2: kind of saint. Brandon's feelings about his father were complicated, 179 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:27,280 Speaker 2: and they were still raw even before his death. Bruce 180 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:30,040 Speaker 2: was away more often than he was home. When he 181 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:32,240 Speaker 2: did show up, he never knew what you were going 182 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,160 Speaker 2: to get. Either he was happy about a big deal 183 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:38,240 Speaker 2: going through when he came bearing expensive gifts, or he 184 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:41,559 Speaker 2: was sullen over how poorly things were going. Brandon was 185 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:45,480 Speaker 2: kicked out of high school four months before graduation after 186 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:48,680 Speaker 2: being elected senior class president and using his office to 187 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:52,680 Speaker 2: incite a rebellion, and despite his father's warning never to 188 00:10:52,679 --> 00:10:55,800 Speaker 2: become an actor, he began studying at the famed Lee 189 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:59,400 Speaker 2: Strausburg Institute in New York. He wanted to be like 190 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:03,120 Speaker 2: his father, but not that much like his father, casting 191 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:05,959 Speaker 2: director's candy one with Kung Fu Rolls clearly itching to 192 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:07,959 Speaker 2: bill him as the son of the greatest martial artist 193 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 2: ever captured on film. Instead, Brandon looked for parts that 194 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:14,120 Speaker 2: would allow him to step out of his father's shadow 195 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:17,880 Speaker 2: and into the light. He was still pushing against being 196 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:20,680 Speaker 2: cast in his father's image, but with his leading role 197 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 2: in the action movie Rapid Fire, Hollywood immediately identified him 198 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:27,720 Speaker 2: as part of a new generation of action stars and 199 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:29,720 Speaker 2: as the son of one of the best to ever 200 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:33,319 Speaker 2: do it. All the attention got him interviews, but all 201 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:35,880 Speaker 2: the interviews wanted to talk about was his dead father. 202 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:42,160 Speaker 2: In nineteen ninety one, Brandon Lee was approached with a 203 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:47,439 Speaker 2: bizarre offer universal the studio option to memoir written by 204 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:50,480 Speaker 2: Brandon's mother. The studio was going all in and they 205 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:52,720 Speaker 2: were buying up the life rights to the Bruce Lee story, 206 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:57,040 Speaker 2: and they wanted Brandon to play his dad. Maybe he 207 00:11:57,080 --> 00:12:00,640 Speaker 2: was uncomfortable playing the romantic lead opposite and act playing 208 00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:03,679 Speaker 2: his own mom, or maybe the whole idea of playing 209 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:08,920 Speaker 2: his father felt haunted. Either way, Brandon passed and the 210 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:12,520 Speaker 2: part went to Jason Scott Lee no relation. Brandon went 211 00:12:12,559 --> 00:12:14,320 Speaker 2: out of his way to make sure that Jason knew 212 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:17,880 Speaker 2: he had the family's blessing. They had dinner at Mister Child, 213 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:21,200 Speaker 2: the Beverly Hills restaurant that was a hotspot for celebrity sightings. 214 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:24,400 Speaker 4: On his way to being a big star. Brandon made 215 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:25,560 Speaker 4: a grand entrance. 216 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:28,520 Speaker 2: He pulled Jason aside and told the younger star not 217 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:33,280 Speaker 2: to try to be like Bruce Lee, just be himself Dragon. 218 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:36,400 Speaker 2: The Bruce Lee story includes a dream sequence in which 219 00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:39,520 Speaker 2: an actual demon, a manifestation of the curse Bruce Lee's 220 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:42,840 Speaker 2: family believed haunted them, smashes Bruce Lee's face into his 221 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:46,120 Speaker 2: tombstone and then turns to go after the little Brandon. 222 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:50,160 Speaker 2: But Brandon Lee never saw that scene or that movie. 223 00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:53,360 Speaker 2: By the time the movie was filming, Brandon Lee had 224 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:57,160 Speaker 2: landed his dream role, a part that combined his physicality 225 00:12:57,160 --> 00:13:00,840 Speaker 2: with his charisma as an actor. Brandon Lee was going 226 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:29,960 Speaker 2: to become a ghost. Nineteen eighty, the Marine put his 227 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:33,600 Speaker 2: tumbler of whiskey down on a discarded newspaper. His ghosts 228 00:13:33,679 --> 00:13:37,199 Speaker 2: were after him again. Sometimes the whiskey chased them away. 229 00:13:37,679 --> 00:13:41,640 Speaker 2: Sometimes it magnified them, like tonight, when he looked through 230 00:13:41,679 --> 00:13:44,160 Speaker 2: the bottom of his glass and saw an article about 231 00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:48,600 Speaker 2: a couple murdered in Detroit, mugged for the girl's engagement ring. 232 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:53,200 Speaker 2: The killer shot them both. The marine stared at the article. 233 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:56,679 Speaker 2: He read it again. It wasn't his story, but it 234 00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:00,400 Speaker 2: was familiar. When he was eighteen, his fiance killed by 235 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:03,120 Speaker 2: a drunk driver. His whole life was in front of him, 236 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:05,600 Speaker 2: and now he'd wound up here, drinking in a military 237 00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:08,120 Speaker 2: bar and not giving a shit whether he lived or died. 238 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:11,319 Speaker 2: Wishing he could get revenge on the man that killed 239 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:14,120 Speaker 2: the woman he loved, Wishing he could get revenge on 240 00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:18,000 Speaker 2: the whole world. Broken snippets of poetry floated through his 241 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:18,800 Speaker 2: drunken mind. 242 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:20,200 Speaker 4: He picked up a pencil. 243 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:23,360 Speaker 2: The ghost of all his pain, all his anger, whispered 244 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:26,440 Speaker 2: in his ear As he thought about that couple in Detroit, 245 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:31,120 Speaker 2: thought about his fiance. He sketched a face, a clownish 246 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:34,880 Speaker 2: death mask in black. He thought, what if he could 247 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:38,680 Speaker 2: get that revenge? What if the worst thing imaginable happened, 248 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:44,320 Speaker 2: but then you came back. Over the next several years, 249 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:48,440 Speaker 2: James Obar worked on the character whenever he could. His protagonist, 250 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:51,440 Speaker 2: Eric Draven, was a rock star who was murdered along 251 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:55,040 Speaker 2: with his fiance. A year After his murder, however, Eric 252 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:59,560 Speaker 2: Draven is resurrected to seek revenge. Obar based the character 253 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:03,160 Speaker 2: visual on the face of Peter Murphy from the band Bauhaus, 254 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 2: combined with the wiry, muscular body of Iggy Pop, but 255 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:11,880 Speaker 2: the character Psyche. His drive for revenge was Obar wrestling 256 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:14,960 Speaker 2: with his own ghosts, and the resulting black and white 257 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:17,960 Speaker 2: comic book was seeped in the aesthetics of goth's subculture 258 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:21,680 Speaker 2: and music. Everyone in it was based on someone Obar knew, 259 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,080 Speaker 2: and the users and lowlights he'd surrounded himself within his 260 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:27,840 Speaker 2: broken life, and if they weren't real, they came out 261 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:30,200 Speaker 2: of the worst parts of himself. 262 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:30,760 Speaker 4: He was just. 263 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:32,840 Speaker 2: Happy to get all that out of him. He didn't 264 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:35,640 Speaker 2: even care if he got published. But in nineteen eighty eight, 265 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:38,160 Speaker 2: the back cover of an underground comic book featured a 266 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 2: man dressed in all black with black and white makeup, 267 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:43,920 Speaker 2: pulling a shotgun and a Samurai sword and proclaimed in 268 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:46,560 Speaker 2: its tagline for some things. 269 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:48,880 Speaker 4: There is no forgiveness. 270 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:53,560 Speaker 2: The first issue of The Crow came out in early 271 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:57,360 Speaker 2: nineteen eighty nine, and it was a massive underground hit. 272 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:00,640 Speaker 2: It got picked up by Paramount for Film Element, and 273 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:04,160 Speaker 2: Obar was heavily consulted in casting. The movie aimed to 274 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:08,400 Speaker 2: outdo the expressionist sensibilities of that year's Batman, portraying a 275 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:11,720 Speaker 2: totally self contained, hyper real world of dark shadows and 276 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:17,360 Speaker 2: constant rain, but the production seemed cursed from the start. 277 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 2: Obar nearly walked away from the whole thing when the 278 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:24,320 Speaker 2: initial script bore no resemblance to his comic. A carpenter 279 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:26,920 Speaker 2: was electrocuted when live power lines hit the crane he 280 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:30,640 Speaker 2: was working on, leaving him hospitalized for two years. On 281 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:33,840 Speaker 2: the same day, one of the film's equipment trucks mysteriously 282 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:36,720 Speaker 2: burst into flames, and the film's publicist was in a 283 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:38,840 Speaker 2: car accident in the city near where they were shooting. 284 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:42,840 Speaker 2: Another construction worker slipped and put a screwdriver through his hand. 285 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:46,080 Speaker 2: A sculptor who'd been working on sets for several days 286 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:48,440 Speaker 2: lost his shit and drove his car through the studio's 287 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:51,720 Speaker 2: plaster shop. Another car crashed into one of the sets 288 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,520 Speaker 2: barriers after the driver and passengers had been involved in 289 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:57,720 Speaker 2: a drive by shooting. The same publicist who'd been in 290 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:00,320 Speaker 2: the car crash joked that the movie was off already 291 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:03,320 Speaker 2: contributing to the cause of justice by stopping the shooters, 292 00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:07,880 Speaker 2: and on March thirteenth, three weeks before filming was finished, 293 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:13,160 Speaker 2: a massive storm destroyed several of the film sets. As 294 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:17,119 Speaker 2: the sets were rebuilt and shooting slogged along, prop masters were. 295 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:18,600 Speaker 4: Getting ready for what came next. 296 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:25,080 Speaker 2: There was a particular gun that was key to the plot, 297 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:28,639 Speaker 2: one that would show up in two different scenes, first 298 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:31,439 Speaker 2: and close up and then in action in the scene 299 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:34,240 Speaker 2: that showed the murder of the main character and his fiance. 300 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:37,720 Speaker 2: That scene would be one of the last to be shot. 301 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:41,560 Speaker 2: For the gun's first appearance, they'd need a revolver. They 302 00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:44,160 Speaker 2: could be shot and close up. And there are two 303 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:46,760 Speaker 2: basic things you need from a prop gun. One is 304 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:49,480 Speaker 2: the flash and the bang, And for that prop masters 305 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:53,080 Speaker 2: used blanks, a bullet cartridge that has primer and gunpowder 306 00:17:53,119 --> 00:17:56,840 Speaker 2: but no slug. There's an explosion, but there's nothing to fire. 307 00:17:57,400 --> 00:17:59,760 Speaker 2: You get the bang and the muzzle flash, but there's 308 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:00,800 Speaker 2: no risk to it. 309 00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:02,400 Speaker 4: But with a revolver. 310 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 2: If you're shooting close up, you wanted to look like 311 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,119 Speaker 2: there are bullets, and the gun blanks. 312 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:09,000 Speaker 4: Don't look like bullets. 313 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:11,600 Speaker 2: Since the projectile, the part you actually see is the 314 00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:13,240 Speaker 2: part that has been removed. 315 00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:17,639 Speaker 4: For a big budget production, the answer was to have two. 316 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:21,119 Speaker 2: Guns, one with blanks and another with dummy rounds, but 317 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:24,199 Speaker 2: by this point the Crow was struggling to come in 318 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:28,080 Speaker 2: under budget. As an unidentified member of the crew said afterward, 319 00:18:28,359 --> 00:18:30,399 Speaker 2: they wanted to make a thirty million dollar movie, but 320 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:31,359 Speaker 2: they only wanted. 321 00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:31,960 Speaker 4: To spend twelve. 322 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:37,120 Speaker 2: So the prop masters decided to improvise. They made their 323 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:40,440 Speaker 2: own dummy cartridges for the close up out of live rounds, 324 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:43,360 Speaker 2: and they took up the gunpowder but left the primer 325 00:18:43,359 --> 00:18:47,479 Speaker 2: and the cartridge. This is different than what allegedly happened 326 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:50,280 Speaker 2: more recently on the set of the film Rust, when 327 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:53,600 Speaker 2: Alec Baldwin fired a gun that killed the cinematographer and 328 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:57,800 Speaker 2: wounded the director. That was apparently a live gun firing 329 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:01,000 Speaker 2: off a live round, a loaded gun that should never 330 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:03,920 Speaker 2: have been on set in the first place. That film 331 00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:07,800 Speaker 2: had a licensed armorer on set, a requirement that the 332 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:11,760 Speaker 2: Motion Picture Association put in place after the filming of 333 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:14,800 Speaker 2: this movie that we're talking about, The Crow. But the 334 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:18,480 Speaker 2: armorer on Alec Baldwin's movie had only worked on one 335 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:21,800 Speaker 2: other film, where she received complaints for firing off a 336 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:25,280 Speaker 2: weapon without warning, and the assistant director had been fired 337 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:27,919 Speaker 2: from another movie when a firearm went off and injured 338 00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:31,000 Speaker 2: a crew member. None of those safety precautions were in 339 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:34,160 Speaker 2: place on the set of The Crow. The prop gun 340 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:37,760 Speaker 2: got used in one scene earlier during shooting when it 341 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,280 Speaker 2: was fired and the primer sparked. It wasn't enough to 342 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:43,280 Speaker 2: fire the dummy bullet, but it was enough to push 343 00:19:43,359 --> 00:19:46,119 Speaker 2: the bullet out of the cartridge, lodging it into the 344 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:47,000 Speaker 2: barrel of the gun. 345 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:50,840 Speaker 4: The rest of the dummy bullets were removed. Nobody noticed 346 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:51,960 Speaker 4: they were once short. 347 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:55,320 Speaker 2: The prop gun was set aside, and a hungry ghost 348 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:57,880 Speaker 2: was waiting for the last day of shooting. 349 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:02,760 Speaker 4: We'll be right back after this. 350 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:04,440 Speaker 3: We're we're where. 351 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:13,040 Speaker 2: The shoot was almost over. Brandon Lee was coming back 352 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:16,080 Speaker 2: to life. The production of The Crow had been grueling. 353 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:19,000 Speaker 2: A lot of that had been due to Brandon's own decisions. 354 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:21,440 Speaker 2: He'd fallen in love with the script and the comic 355 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:24,400 Speaker 2: book that it was based on and when the character's creator, 356 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:27,640 Speaker 2: James O'Barr threatened to walk out over changes to the story, 357 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:30,040 Speaker 2: it was Brandon who got the changes mixed. 358 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:31,600 Speaker 4: He took Chris. 359 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:34,320 Speaker 2: Robinson of the Southern rock band The Black Crows as 360 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:38,320 Speaker 2: his visual inspiration for the character he was playing. Robinson 361 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:42,119 Speaker 2: was skinnier lankier than Brandon, so Brandon put himself on 362 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:43,200 Speaker 2: the strict diet. 363 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:45,360 Speaker 4: And workout regimen before production even started. 364 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:48,760 Speaker 2: For the first scene they shot, though, when Eric Draven 365 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:51,720 Speaker 2: claws out of his own grave, Brandon had bags of 366 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:54,679 Speaker 2: ice brought to the set. He plunged himself into a 367 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:57,800 Speaker 2: tub of ice naked to get himself mentally prepared. He 368 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:02,520 Speaker 2: was playing at corpse and corpses were cold. The character's 369 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:04,919 Speaker 2: iconic makeup looked simple, but it had to be in 370 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:08,199 Speaker 2: exactly the right place to avoid continuity eras in shooting 371 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:11,600 Speaker 2: at the beginning of each day, which usually met in 372 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:14,280 Speaker 2: the middle of the night. Makeup artists laid a death 373 00:21:14,359 --> 00:21:17,320 Speaker 2: mask over Brandon's face with slits cut out where the 374 00:21:17,359 --> 00:21:21,200 Speaker 2: long streaks of black were filled in, and almost all 375 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:25,000 Speaker 2: the shooting was at night in freezing winter temperatures. 376 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:27,560 Speaker 4: Brandon was often shirtless, and barefoot. 377 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:30,879 Speaker 2: The script called for almost constant rain, and the weather 378 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:33,919 Speaker 2: mostly complied, and when it didn't, the crew fired up 379 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:37,880 Speaker 2: rain makers and flung freezing water at the actors. Brandon 380 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:39,879 Speaker 2: would wake up at four in the afternoon to go 381 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:43,000 Speaker 2: into makeup, shoot all night, and collapse into bed at 382 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:45,840 Speaker 2: nine in the morning. He got one day off a week, 383 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:52,359 Speaker 2: which ideally he spent with his fiance. Brandon Lee and 384 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:55,040 Speaker 2: Eliza Hutton met which she was working as an assistant 385 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:58,800 Speaker 2: to director Rennie Harlan. Brandon flirted with her during the meeting, 386 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:01,960 Speaker 2: and soon the two were regular item, with Eliza accompanying 387 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:05,560 Speaker 2: Brandon on the worldwide press tour for Rapid Fire. They 388 00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:08,879 Speaker 2: moved in together, adopted a cat they named Cato, a 389 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:11,800 Speaker 2: nod to Brandon's father, and they were engaged to be married. 390 00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:15,440 Speaker 4: After The Crow was finished shooting, Eliza flew. 391 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:17,760 Speaker 2: To North Carolina whenever she could to be around Brandon 392 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,440 Speaker 2: on set. He even got the producers to hire her 393 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:23,440 Speaker 2: as an assistant, and by the end of March, as 394 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,840 Speaker 2: shooting moved into its final phase, she was in California 395 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 2: planning for the wedding. The Crow was almost finished filming, 396 00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:35,320 Speaker 2: but one of the best things for Brandon was that 397 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:37,600 Speaker 2: he no longer had to sit for makeup every day. 398 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:39,280 Speaker 4: The final set of. 399 00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:43,920 Speaker 2: Scenes were flashbacks, happier scenes of Eric Draven this doomed fiance, 400 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:46,399 Speaker 2: all shot in rich color to contrast the rest of 401 00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:50,240 Speaker 2: the film's stark grays and reds. They had also finished 402 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:52,840 Speaker 2: most of the stunt work, which was a relief for Brandon, 403 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:56,440 Speaker 2: who was physically exhausted for weeks spent throwing himself off 404 00:22:56,480 --> 00:23:01,640 Speaker 2: buildings in the rain. One particularly moving shot involved Brandon's 405 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:06,640 Speaker 2: indestructible character being shot over fifty times with semi automatic weapons, 406 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:10,119 Speaker 2: and for each bullet that supposedly hit him, a squib 407 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:13,840 Speaker 2: fired off a tiny explosive device that made it look 408 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:17,800 Speaker 2: like he'd actually been hit. Most of the shooting scenes 409 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:21,159 Speaker 2: were done now in the film's weapons expert had already 410 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:25,520 Speaker 2: left the set, moving on to another project. In fact, 411 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:28,520 Speaker 2: there was only one more scene of violence to shoot, 412 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:32,800 Speaker 2: the murder of Eric Draven and his fiance, and after 413 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:35,200 Speaker 2: that it was just more scenes of the couple's happy 414 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:37,840 Speaker 2: days together, and it would make a great segue from 415 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:39,800 Speaker 2: Brandon out of the dark work at the Crow and 416 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:43,359 Speaker 2: into the preparations for his real life wedding. He also 417 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:45,360 Speaker 2: hoped it would be the last time and be involved 418 00:23:45,359 --> 00:23:48,960 Speaker 2: in violence on screen for a while. Brandon had embraced 419 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:51,600 Speaker 2: the label of action star while doing the press junket 420 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:54,479 Speaker 2: for Rapid Fire, but even then he thought of himself 421 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:57,440 Speaker 2: as a different kind of action star, not another Jean 422 00:23:57,520 --> 00:24:01,000 Speaker 2: Claude von Dam or Dolph Lugren, more like Mel Gibson 423 00:24:01,119 --> 00:24:03,840 Speaker 2: or Bruce Willis, a guy who could do shoot him 424 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:06,520 Speaker 2: up action on film and then turn around and play 425 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 2: an actual, honest to god Hamlet. 426 00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:10,880 Speaker 4: The Crow was going to put him on the. 427 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:14,000 Speaker 2: Map as a serious actor, not just Bruce Lee's air. 428 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:18,600 Speaker 2: For his next film, he wanted to leave the punching aside. 429 00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:23,679 Speaker 2: On the evening of March thirtieth, nineteen ninety one, the 430 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:26,520 Speaker 2: set was ready to shoot the murder scene. The scene 431 00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:29,360 Speaker 2: called for Brandon to enter his apartment carrying a bag 432 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:31,960 Speaker 2: of groceries, only to be shot by a thug played 433 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:35,359 Speaker 2: by Michael Massey. Brandon was supposed to slump forward so 434 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:37,480 Speaker 2: that he could be dragged into the apartment by Massey 435 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:41,240 Speaker 2: and the other thugs. Michael Massey was handed the prop gun. 436 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:44,320 Speaker 2: The revolver had been loaded with dummy bullets for a 437 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:46,919 Speaker 2: close up shop earlier in filming, one of which was 438 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:49,440 Speaker 2: still lodged in the barrel, and the revolver was now 439 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:52,679 Speaker 2: loaded with blanks, cartridges with gunpowder and primer, so that 440 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:55,359 Speaker 2: when Massey fired the gun there'd be muzzle flash and 441 00:24:55,400 --> 00:24:59,040 Speaker 2: an appropriate bang. Then Brandon would trigger a squib in 442 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:01,960 Speaker 2: the grocery bag, a small explosive to make it look 443 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,040 Speaker 2: like he'd been shot, But no one knew that all 444 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:08,359 Speaker 2: the necessary pieces of a live bullet were actually still 445 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:11,960 Speaker 2: lodged in the gun, all lined up, separated by just 446 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:15,119 Speaker 2: a hair's breath, the bullet in the barrel and the 447 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:20,000 Speaker 2: blank in the chamber. The director called action. The thugs 448 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:22,440 Speaker 2: in the apartment were tossing the fiance around the room. 449 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:25,720 Speaker 2: Brandon made his entrance, Massy turned on him from a 450 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:28,399 Speaker 2: few feet away, leveled the prop gun at his chest 451 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:32,320 Speaker 2: and fired. The hammer of the gun struck the primer, 452 00:25:32,359 --> 00:25:35,520 Speaker 2: igniting the gunpowder in the blank, and the explosive force 453 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:38,359 Speaker 2: of the gunpowder dislodged the dummy slug from the barrel 454 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:42,000 Speaker 2: of the gun, and fired the actual bullet into Brandon 455 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:46,719 Speaker 2: Lee's stomach, where it lodged against his spine. The squib 456 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:49,960 Speaker 2: in the grocery bag went off and Brandon fell backward 457 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:56,560 Speaker 2: out of the camera's frame. The director called cut. He 458 00:25:56,640 --> 00:26:01,119 Speaker 2: assumed Brandon was just trying something new and regularly improvised 459 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:06,119 Speaker 2: action scenes, experimenting with falls and punch combinations. Not everything worked, 460 00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:09,120 Speaker 2: but when it did work, it was brilliant. Everyone reset 461 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:11,680 Speaker 2: to do the shot again, and that's when they noticed 462 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:15,400 Speaker 2: that Brandon Lee was still lying on the ground. That's 463 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:19,320 Speaker 2: when they also noticed he was bleeding. Brandon Lee was 464 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:22,439 Speaker 2: rushed to the hospital. The doctors worked on her for hours, 465 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:24,439 Speaker 2: pumping him with over sixty pints of blood as he 466 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:30,440 Speaker 2: hemorrhaged from his shredded intestines. In the California home Brandon 467 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:34,199 Speaker 2: shared with his fiance, the phone rang, not unlike the 468 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:36,199 Speaker 2: phone that had rung in the Lee family home in 469 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:40,080 Speaker 2: Hong Kong back when Brandon was eight. Eliza Hutton got 470 00:26:40,119 --> 00:26:43,240 Speaker 2: on the first plane to North Carolina. She arrived the 471 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:46,399 Speaker 2: next morning. Brandon had been moved out of surgery and 472 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:49,840 Speaker 2: into an intensive care unit. The doctors had done all 473 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:53,080 Speaker 2: they could, but he'd lost a staggering amount of blood 474 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:56,600 Speaker 2: and the dummy bullet had ripped up his guts. Brandon 475 00:26:56,680 --> 00:27:01,760 Speaker 2: Lee never regained consciousness. He was pronounced dead the next afternoon. 476 00:27:02,359 --> 00:27:05,560 Speaker 2: He was two months past his twenty eighth birthday, three 477 00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:09,480 Speaker 2: weeks short of his wedding. Brandon Lee wasn't a ghost anymore. 478 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:33,920 Speaker 2: Brandon Lee was gone in February nineteen ninety three. While 479 00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:37,280 Speaker 2: The Crow was still shooting, producers work to put together 480 00:27:37,359 --> 00:27:41,600 Speaker 2: the soundtrack. They needed bands that matched the dark gothic 481 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:45,320 Speaker 2: tone of the movie, The Cure, Rage Against the Machine, 482 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:49,280 Speaker 2: Nine Inch Nails, The Jesus, and Mary Chean. But there 483 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:52,479 Speaker 2: was one band whose involvement to the filmmakers was the 484 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:53,720 Speaker 2: most crucial. 485 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:54,399 Speaker 4: To the movie. 486 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:58,480 Speaker 2: They wanted to get New Order. New Order was formed 487 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:00,600 Speaker 2: by members of Joy Division in the way of singer 488 00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:04,600 Speaker 2: Ian Curtis's Suicide. Joy Division was a huge influence on 489 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,040 Speaker 2: James O'Barr when he wrote his original comic. He even 490 00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:11,760 Speaker 2: dedicated the book to Ian Curtis. Chapter titles in the book, 491 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:17,359 Speaker 2: like Atmosphere Atrocity Exhibition were direct lifts from Joy Division songs. 492 00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:19,840 Speaker 2: The cop character in the book and in the movie 493 00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:23,159 Speaker 2: he was named after one of the band members. So 494 00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:26,440 Speaker 2: the producers reached out to the Manchester Band and they 495 00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:28,679 Speaker 2: provided a list of the other bands that it signed on. 496 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:32,159 Speaker 2: They sent the film's entire script, they sent the copy 497 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:34,439 Speaker 2: of the comic book, and they asked New Order if 498 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:36,960 Speaker 2: they would cover a Joy Division song Love Will Tear 499 00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:41,520 Speaker 2: Us Apart or Dead Souls. The members of New Order 500 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:43,840 Speaker 2: read the story of a dead guitarist who comes back 501 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:47,080 Speaker 2: to life. It wasn't the story of their own band, 502 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:51,480 Speaker 2: not exactly, but something about it felt too close. New 503 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:54,160 Speaker 2: Order had played their first show only months after Ian 504 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:58,400 Speaker 2: Curtis's death, adopting a new band name because as Joy Division, 505 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:01,600 Speaker 2: they swore even before his death that if any member 506 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:04,400 Speaker 2: of the band ever left, it'd stopped using the name. 507 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:07,560 Speaker 2: It took them years to find their own sound, in 508 00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:09,920 Speaker 2: years to no longer be haunted by the ghost of 509 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:13,080 Speaker 2: their dead mean singer, but not long enough to forget 510 00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:13,680 Speaker 2: about it all. 511 00:29:14,480 --> 00:29:17,800 Speaker 4: New Order passed. Nine Inch Nails provided the. 512 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:20,000 Speaker 2: Bit of Joy Division the movie needed with a cover 513 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:24,240 Speaker 2: of Dead Souls. The Crow soundtrack album was released along 514 00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:27,880 Speaker 2: with the movie more than a year after Brandon Lee's death. 515 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:32,640 Speaker 2: They went to the top of the charts. The movie, however, 516 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:36,640 Speaker 2: nearly didn't get finished. James O'Barr couldn't bring himself to 517 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:40,000 Speaker 2: come back to the set. He blamed himself for Brandon's death. 518 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:43,479 Speaker 2: It was like losing his fiance all over again. He 519 00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:46,200 Speaker 2: wished he'd never written that stupid comic book to begin with. 520 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:51,520 Speaker 2: Brandon's fiance and his mother sued the filmmakers for negligence 521 00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:55,000 Speaker 2: and eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. 522 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:58,120 Speaker 2: In addition to the settlement, it became a requirement that 523 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:01,240 Speaker 2: all film productions have a license armor or on set 524 00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:04,560 Speaker 2: at all times. There were strict protocols created for the 525 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:09,440 Speaker 2: handling of firearms to prevent another tragedy like Brandon's. Paramount 526 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:12,640 Speaker 2: got nervous and dropped the movie. With the extremely violent 527 00:30:12,760 --> 00:30:14,760 Speaker 2: nature of the film, there was no way they could 528 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:17,600 Speaker 2: bring it to market. It would be like some gruesome joke, 529 00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:21,080 Speaker 2: a movie about a corpse played by a dead man. 530 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:26,880 Speaker 2: But then Mirrimax swooped in. Mirrimax was an independent distributor 531 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:30,560 Speaker 2: that specialized in art house and foreign films, but with 532 00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:33,240 Speaker 2: The Crow, they saw a chance to walk the line 533 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:35,880 Speaker 2: between superhero blockbuster and dark. 534 00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:37,160 Speaker 4: Brooding art film. 535 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:40,760 Speaker 2: The studio pumped millions more into the film's budget, most 536 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:43,440 Speaker 2: of which went to cgi efforts to fill in missing 537 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:47,640 Speaker 2: pieces of Brandon Lee's performance a fleet of writers reconfigured 538 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:51,000 Speaker 2: the script without James Obarr's help, arranging the pieces that 539 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:55,920 Speaker 2: had already been shot into a coherent story. No footage 540 00:30:55,920 --> 00:30:58,680 Speaker 2: of Brandon Lee's death was used in the film. The 541 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:02,760 Speaker 2: scene in question was rewritten with Brandon's character being stabbed 542 00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:06,600 Speaker 2: and thrown out a window rather than shot, but rumors. 543 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:08,640 Speaker 4: Would continue that there were versions of the movie where 544 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:09,840 Speaker 4: you could see the real. 545 00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:14,320 Speaker 2: Life shooting, and when The Crow was finally released, hordes 546 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:17,760 Speaker 2: of teenage fans lined up dressed in black, decked out and. 547 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:19,320 Speaker 4: Make up to see it. 548 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:22,440 Speaker 2: It became a slow burn hit, a defining artifact of 549 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:26,959 Speaker 2: the nineties goth culture, all driven by ghosts, by James 550 00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:31,280 Speaker 2: O'Barr's dead fiance, by the murdered couple in Detroit, by 551 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:35,680 Speaker 2: Bruce Lee's dead brother, by Brandon Lee's dead father, and 552 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:38,479 Speaker 2: by the tragic death of Brandon Lee. 553 00:31:38,960 --> 00:31:43,200 Speaker 4: A story that ought to be in pictures. 554 00:31:44,040 --> 00:32:02,560 Speaker 2: I'm Jake Brennan and this is hollywood Land. Hollywood Land 555 00:32:02,600 --> 00:32:05,600 Speaker 2: was created by Years Truly and is produced in partnership 556 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:09,440 Speaker 2: with Double Elvis. Follow like rate and review hollywood Land 557 00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:11,360 Speaker 2: wherever you get your podcasts and get in touch with 558 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:14,600 Speaker 2: us on social Media at Double Elvis. If you like 559 00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:17,840 Speaker 2: hollywood Land, check out my other show, the award winning Disgraceland, 560 00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:20,080 Speaker 2: which looks at the world of music through the lens. 561 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:20,560 Speaker 4: Of true crime. 562 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:23,560 Speaker 2: Just search for Disgraceland or wherever you get your podcasts. 563 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:30,520 Speaker 4: Good gous A Las