There was no driver in the second Alfa, intended for the collision. It was attached to the truck it was supposed to be overtaking, creating the illusion that it had drawn level with it. As the oncoming truck approached, the driver of the carrier truck released the driverless Alfa by detonating explosive charges.
Unfortunately, instead of simply crumpling underneath the wheels of the oncoming truck, the driverless Alfa was catapulted into the air by the force of the collision. It flew across the road and smashed into the first Alfa, carrying stuntmen Aris Comninos and Bruno Verdirosi. Their car veered off course and smashed through the guard wall on the side of the road; half the car hung over a 50-foot drop, the other half wedged against a wall. Verdirosi managed to get out, but Comninos, in his racing harness, was trapped inside. Some crew members sat at the edge of the car to prevent it from toppling over, while others managed to get Comninos out.
Comninos was flown to a hospital in Verona and, according to two sources, is now walking around.
Technology a boon
Anecdotally, it sounds like a lot of accidents, but almost everyone involved in safety issues in Hollywood says that in fact sets have gotten much safer over the last five to 10 years, primarily because of technological advances. For instance, because of computer graphics, stunt people can freely wear wires during highflying scenes -- which are just erased by computer afterward. It's hard for audiences to tell exactly how Spider-Man swings through tall buildings or Bourne survives brutal car crashes; these heroes just do, courtesy the magic of high-tech moviemaking.
"In the last 10 years, and particularly in the last five years, CGI has kept the risk assessment down on most stunts," says Sony's president of physical production, Gary Martin. "We have alternatives. We have safe ways to plan the stunts and keep people out of harm's way."
Sony, like all studios, has a team of safety specialists who travel from set to set to monitor stunts and crew safety. Martin declines to speak specifically about any Sony film -- such as "Quantum of Solace" -- but he says the recent spate of accidents is mostly a reflection of the increased amount of films with stunts and spectacle.
Indeed, one only has to look at the summer lineup from "Iron Man" to "Hancock" to notice the amount of stunts and special effects that have been performed. "It's a function of how many films are made. I also believe that nobody ever hears when the stunt goes [well]. And 99% of the stunts go well," Martin says.
