By Stewart Clarke
An accident on the set of Universal’s “Fast & Furious 9” in the United Kingdom has left a stuntman in hospital with a serious head injury. Production on the movie has halted at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, near London.
“We had an injury on the set of ‘FAST 9’ today in Leavesden with one of our stuntmen,” a spokesperson confirmed to Variety. “We havehalted production for the day to focus on this situation.”
Police said they were called to an incident shortly before noon U.K. time and the air ambulance was duly called out.
“An ambulance, three ambulance officer vehicles and Essex and Herts Air Ambulance were called to Leavesden Studios shortly before midday today (July 22), following reports of a man injured in a fall. One patient with a serious head injury was transported to the Royal London Hospital by air ambulance,” authorities said in a statement.
“ 9” opens in May, 2020. It will star Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, John Cena, Helen Mirren, and Charlize Theron. Whether any of the stars were on set when the accident took place is not yet known.
The accident is the latest in a series of recent incidents at the studio. In June a man sustained a neck injury and was hospitalized after an altercation with another crew member on the set of Anne Hathaway’s “The Witches.” A huge fire damaged one of the sets of HBO series “Avenue 5” earlier this month. Since then, unspecified “foreign bodies” have been discovered in food at a restaurant at the studio and police are investigating.
Leavesden was the base for the Harry Potter movies. It is now home to the popular Harry Potter studio tour. With studio space in demand in the U.K., an expansion program is underway.
Source: Variety.com
