While shooting in Bulgaria, the Stallone-written and produced The Expendables 2, experienced a tragic end to a scene involving an explosion when one stuntman was killed and another was badly injured.
The title now represents a twist of irony. I’m hopeful that Nu Image and Millennium Films aren’t actually hiring people on, and pushing the envelope with stuntmen to say that they were able to do it. Yep. Stunts reign supreme when compared to CG, and in order to compete with the evolving technology, many are stretching the boundaries as to what is safe and acceptable for stunt people. That having been stated, I’m certainly not attempting to be presumptuous–rather hoping it’s not the case in this incident. If you’ll remember, Sylvester Stallone broke his neck during the filming of The Expendables–just kind of makes you wonder.
The production companies have been incredibly cooperative with the beginning of a police investigation. The incident took place near the capital city of Sophia, and was part of the production’s second unit. At the time of the accident, Stallone and the film’s director, Simon West, were in another town, working additional scenes for the action sequel. The joint production companies issued the following statement:
Our hearts go out to the families and those on the production affected by this tragedy. The filmmakers are working closely with the authorities in responding to and investigating this accident.
