jezebel.com: Randall Miller, the director of Midnight Rider, a biopic about the life of Gregg Allman, pleaded guilty Monday to charges of involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing for his role in a train crash that killed 27-year-old camera assistant Sarah Jones. Jay Sedirish, the film's executive producer, was also sentenced to 10 years probation.
4 comments:
I’m glad that some important people are being held responsible for the death of this woman and the injuries sustained by the other crew members, why those same crew members were also prosecuted I don’t quite understand but I’m glad to hear they were acquitted. On that though, I’ve recently read some comments suggesting that it’s the director and executive producer that should be held accountable but the crew themselves, in other words people are saying that it was her own fault she was struck by the train. Amidst the statements implying that you can hear a train from miles away (not always true) there are others that say she should have just refused to work on the track because that “is just stupid”. Where do people think these shots come from? They aren’t just a matter of editing, there has to be some kind of base. Yes, career has some inherent dangers and yes, crew members should be aware of their surroundings at all times, however, there is a reasonable expectation of safety required from employers. And even if there’s going to be actions of questionable integrity, EVERY crew member deserves to be briefed on it, so they can make their own determinations as to whether or not they want that particular job. Those men deserve every year in prison they got.
It is always horrible to see stories like this happen in the production world, especially in the case of accidents. However, it is completely unacceptable that the production team chose to shoot in this dangerous area without procuring a legitimate permit and taking all safety precautions necessary. Ideally, in this filming location, safe zones would have been established and would always be within only a few feet from the action zone. I know nothing of film safety, but I can imagine that CBS has pretty strict policies seeing that their last deathly filming was 30 years ago, making this even more of a tragedy. At the end of the day, the show must go on but not at the expense of any person’s safety or life. It really is horrible that Sarah died in this horrible accident, but I am happy there were repercussions for those responsible and I hope that CBS will take even further precautions in the future.
It is horrible when people get hurt or killed in these types of situations. They are trying to do their job and also create a piece of art for others to enjoy. They did not go into the job knowing it would be dangerous or life threatening like a factory worker or coal miner. This girl wanted to work in the film industry and probably be a successful director or cameraperson one day. It is good that the people in charge are being held responsible for her death. Though it does not make things better and undo what happened, but at least she is receiving some form of justice. The worst part of the accident occurring is that the film was not supposed to be on the tracks in the first place. If the director and producer followed the rules and did not go where they were specifically told not to, then she would still be alive. Getting that great shot on the tracks was not worth a girls life.
I am glad that this controversy is coming to an end. I was shocked to learn that is was the first time since the helicopter accident on the Twilight Zone set, that people have been criminally prosecuted for allowing film crewmember to work in unsafe and in this case deadly conditions. I am glad that this as started a larger conversation about crew safety on movie sets and I hope that it continues to be a popular issue of discussion. I do not know that I am comfortable with the lack of severity as it pertains to the punishments of those involved. Their negligence was the direct cause of Sarah Jones’ death and eight other crewmember’s injuries. I think that the insinuation that her life and the bodily harm of others was only worth months of probation or two years in jail is ridiculous and partially the reason why people in power on these film projects seem to think that preventing this from happening is “not their job.”
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