Amazon says Lord of the Rings series claims of dangerous stunt conditions are completely inaccurate

[ad_1]

Amazon Studios has denied claims of unsafe conditions for stuntmen on the set of its adaptation of the Lord of the Rings television series in New Zealand, following a report that two serious injuries were not reported to WorkSafe, the country’s occupational health and safety regulator.

According to an article published by The New Zealand Herald on Friday, four sources on the set of the tech giants’ $ 1 billion LOTR show say their concerns about safety regulations are not being taken seriously because of the incidents, which subsequently required surgery, were not disclosed to WorkSafe. These workers also told the Herald that they believed a senior stunt supervisor created a harsh filming environment, contributing to dangerous standards.

Amazon Studios takes the health, physical and emotional well-being of our cast and crew very seriously, an Amazon Studios spokesperson told TheWrap on Saturday. As a top priority, the production team continues to be in full compliance with Worksafe New Zealand Safety and Security government regulations. Any claim or report that activities on the set are dangerous or outside the regulations are completely inaccurate.

In accordance with WorkSafe regulations, the organization should be notified only in the event of a reportable injury or illness, which includes death or any injuries or illnesses requiring (or generally requiring) a person to be admitted to hospital. for immediate treatment.

This does not include being taken to the hospital for outpatient treatment by a hospital emergency department, or for corrective surgery at a later date, such as straightening a broken nose.

This means that the two injuries suffered by the stuntmen on the set of The Lord of the Rings television series that were reported by the Herald, which did not require these people to be admitted to hospital for immediate treatment, do not were not reportable injuries and therefore did not meet standards for Amazon to report to WorkSafe, a person with knowledge of the production told TheWrap.

The story continues

The Lord of the Rings series operates with two in-game safety protocols, Amazon Studios procedures and New Zealand health and safety legislation and best practices, following the highest standard anywhere. they may not line up, the insider said.

The most expensive television series ever produced, Amazon’s adaptation of JRR Tolkiens’ work requires an extremely large number of stunts for the series which has already received a two-season commission with over 100 stuntmen employed by the show The Lord rings.

As of the start of last week, there had been 16,200 stunt days and production has a low injury rate of 0.068%, with most of it sprains, bruises, muscle strain and soft tissue, according to the insider. . No stunt performer is ever asked to do something they feel uncomfortable with, the same source said.

Two other injury incidents on set at LOTR that have captured media attention include a concussion suffered by famed stuntwoman Dayna Grant in March and a serious injury to stuntwoman Elissa Cadwell.

As per WorkSafe guidelines, Grants’ injury was not a reportable event and therefore was not reported by Amazon to WorkSafe. After recovering, Grant returned to work on LOTR for a few days as a double, but did not perform any stunts on the show following his injury. She went on to perform stunts on several other productions over the past few months before being recently diagnosed with an 8mm brain aneurysm and an upper spine injury.

Grants a concussion in March and her recent diagnosis of brain aneurysm that requires emergency surgery which Xena: Warrior Princess actress Lucy Lawless is among those who helped raise funds are unrelated, the insider told TheWrap.

Representatives for Grant did not immediately respond to TheWraps’ request for comment on Saturday.

The incident with stuntwoman Cadwell, which occurred in February 2020, necessitated her admission to hospital and was immediately reported by Amazon to WorkSafe, the person with knowledge of the production told TheWrap.

According to the insider, Cadwell did not return to work on the production and received NZ $ 500,000 (US $ 351,424) from Amazon Studios to provide her with housing and everything she needed until then. that she be fit to return home to Australia, a move that was complicated by both her injury and the beginnings of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in March, which halted production of the LOTR series.

Amazon and production company GSR Productions’ security protocols for The Lord of the Rings series include a security team of 21 full-time and six to eight part-time members of security supervisors, medics , nurses and paramedics on set, the insider told TheWrap. In addition, a paramedical team is mobilized for activities presenting an increased level of risk, such as horse riding and fires.

Per individual, The Lord of the Rings TV series produces workplace safety analysis reports for each location and day of shooting, and all activities with a higher perceived risk have additional risk analysis reports.

Any injury or suspected injury that occurs on set and cannot be diagnosed and 100% treated on site is referred to the appropriate medical facility or transported by ambulance, the insider said. The standard operating procedure is that all head injuries, even minor ones, are transported to the appropriate medical facility.

According to the source, although only reportable injuries are reported to WorkSafe, Amazon records all incidents and near misses and these reports are analyzed for patterns, repetitions, or any similarities that may indicate systemic, environmental, or other issues. ‘equipment or personnel contributing to incidents / accidents.

The Lord of the Rings TV series security service operates under a confidential and no-fault system, where any crew, cast, or audience member can report any issues or accidents, knowing their identity is kept confidential to the security service, if we want it.

Amazon, which paid $ 250 million to acquire the rights to The Lord of the Rings television series from the estate of Tolkien, publisher HarperCollins and New Line Cinema, is spending around $ 465 million filming the first season of the fantastic drama.

Here’s the synopsis for the eight-episode series, which currently has no premiere date.

The upcoming series from Amazon Studios brings the heroic legends of the legendary Second Age Middle-earth story to screens for the very first time. This epic drama takes place thousands of years before the events of JRR Tolkiens The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to a time when great powers were forged, realms came to glory and fell into ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope lay only on the finest of threads, and the greatest villain ever to come out of Tolkiens’ pen threatened to cover the entire world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows a set of characters, both familiar and new, as they face the dreaded re-emergence of evil in Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elven capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Nmenor, to the far reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that will endure long after they are gone.

Amazons LOTR has a huge cast including Robert Aramayo, Morfydd Clark (who will play a younger version of Galadriel, the character played by Cate Blanchett in the Peter Jacksons film series), Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Ismael Cruz Crdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Daniel Weyman, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Maxim Baldry, Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman, Anthony Crum, Maxine Cunliffe, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Thusitha Jayasundera, Fabian McCallum, Simon Merrells, Geoff Morrell, Peter Mullan, Lloyd Owen, Augustus Prew, Peter Tait, Alex Tarrant, Leon Wadham, Benjamin Walker and Sara Zwangobani, among others.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom director JA Bayona has signed on to direct the first two episodes of the big-budget series, also serving as executive producer alongside showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay, as well as his production partner Beln Atienza. Lindsey Weber, Bruce Richmond, Callum Greene, Gennifer Hutchison, Jason Cahill, Justin Doble and Sharon Tal Yguado are also executive producers. Christopher Newman is Producer, Ron Ames is VFX Co-Producer / Producer, and Helen Shang is Writer / Co-producer.

Read original story Amazon says Lord of the Rings series claims of dangerous stunt conditions are completely inaccurate at TheWrap

[ad_2]