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Harrison Ford could have died in Star Wars set incident, court hears Harrison Ford could have died in Star Wars set incident, court hears
(35 minutes later)
A film production company has admitted health and safety breaches over an incident two years ago in which Hollywood star Harrison Ford was crushed by a hydraulic door on the set of the Millennium Falcon spaceship while filming the most recent Star Wars movie. Harrison Ford could have been killed when he was crushed by a hydraulic door on the set of the Millennium Falcon spaceship while filming the most recent Star Wars film, a court has heard.
Ford, who was knocked to the ground and pinned down by the heavy door, could have been killed in the incident as he rehearsed during shooting for Star Wars: The Force Awakens at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire on 12 June 2014, a court heard. Ford was reprising his role as Han Solo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens in June 2014 when he was knocked to the ground and crushed beneath the heavy door of the Millennium Falcon while filming at Pinewood Studios in London.
The then 71-year-old was reprising his role as Han Solo when he was hit by the door, which had been designed to mimic the action of a door on the set of the original Star Wars film, released in 1977. The company responsible, Foodles Production, pleaded guilty to two breaches under health and safety legislation.
Foodles Production (UK) Ltd, which is owned by Disney, admitted two breaches under health and safety legislation. The 71-year-old actor sustained severe injuries from the accident, including a broken left leg, after he walked on to the set not believing it to be live.
Andrew Marshall, prosecuting, told Milton Keynes magistrates court that Ford had gone through the door with another actor and hit a button. However, Milton Keynes magistrates court heard how the hydraulic spaceship door was operated by another person and that as the actor passed beneath it, he was hit hard in the pelvis and pinned to the floor. Ford was then airlifted to hospital in Oxford.
He started to walk back through the door, believing the set was not live and that it would not close. But the court heard it was remotely operated by another person, and that as the star passed underneath it he was hit in the pelvic area and pinned to the ground. Andrew Marshall, prosecuting, said the breaches has caused a “risk of death” and that if the emergency stop had not been pressed in time, it could have been a very different outcome for Ford. “It could have killed somebody. The fact that it didn’t was because an emergency stop was activated,” he Marshall.
Marshall said there was a “risk of death”, saying: “It could have killed somebody. The fact that it didn’t was because an emergency stop was activated.” A health and safety executive described the weight of the Millennium Falcon door as comparable to that of a small car.
The actor was severely injured, breaking his left leg in the incident, and was airlifted to hospital in Oxford. Speaking about the injury to talk-show host Jonathan Ross in December, Ford said the hydraulics involved in the Millennium Falcon had considerably developed since 1977 when the doors had been operated by a pulley operated by hand.
Marshall said the circumstances created a risk of death and had the emergency stop button not been pressed the situation could have had a different outcome. Ford said: “Now we had lots of money and technology and so they built a fucking great hydraulic door which closed at light speed and somebody said, ‘Ooh I wonder what this is?’
The Health and Safety Executive said the the power of the rapidly closing metal-framed door meant Ford was hit with a power comparable to the weight of a small car. “And the door came down and hit me on my left hip because I was turned to my right. And then it flung my left leg up and it dislocated my ankle and as it drove me down to the floor, my legs slapped on the ramp up to the Millennium Falcon and broke both bones in my left leg.”
Ford himself talked about the incident during a TV appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show before Christmas. He said in the original film a door would have been closed with a pulley and a stage hand.
“But now we had lots of money and technology and so they built a fucking great hydraulic door which closed at light speed,” he said.
Foodles pleaded guilty to one count under section two of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, which related to a breach of duty in relation to employees, and a second under section three, a breach over people not employed by the company.Foodles pleaded guilty to one count under section two of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, which related to a breach of duty in relation to employees, and a second under section three, a breach over people not employed by the company.
The company is due to be sentenced on 22 August at Aylesbury crown court. Angus Withington, defending, said that while Foodles pleaded guilty, it would contest the level of risk involved.
Defending, Angus Withington said that while Foodles pleaded guilty, it would contest the level of risk involved. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) welcomed the guilty plea but said it had been a foreseeable incident. A spokesman said: “The British film industry has a world-renowned reputation for making exceptional films. Managing on-set risks in a sensible and proportionate way for all actors and staff – regardless of their celebrity status – is vital to protecting both on-screen and off-screen talent, as well as protecting the reputation of the industry.”
The HSE welcomed the guilty plea but said it had been a “foreseeable incident”. A spokesman said: “The British film industry has a world-renowned reputation for making exceptional films. Managing on-set risks in a sensible and proportionate way for all actors and staff – regardless of their celebrity status – is vital to protecting both on-screen and off-screen talent, as well as protecting the reputation of the industry.” Foodles, which is owned by Disney, is due to be sentenced on 22 August at Aylesbury crown court. A spokeswoman said the company had cooperated fully with the HSE investigation. “The safety of our cast and crew was always a top priority throughout the production,” it said.
A spokeswoman for Foodles said the company had co-operated fully with the HSE investigation. “The safety of our cast and crew was always a top priority throughout the production,” it said. Ford recovered from the injuries in time to complete his portrayal of Han Solo in the film, which was set 30 years after the events in 1983’s Return of the Jedi and directed to much critical acclaim by JJ Abrams. It was the most successful film ever at the UK box office and has taken more than $2bn (£1.5bn) worldwide.
Abrams later spoke about how much Ford’s injury had “bonded” the crew on set and said when the actor had returned he was “better and stronger than ever, I can’t overstate that. There was a fire in his eyes that you see in the movie.”
Production of Star Wars: Episode VIII has got under way at Pinewood and the film is due for release in December 2017.