Filmmaking / Directing : Tony Scott ~ R.I.P. by T H X 1138

I worked on "The Fan" ... Tony Scott's psychological thriller with Robert DeNiro, Wesley Snipes & Ellen Barkin. Scott was amazing to be around. Always upbeat no matter how many obstacles came his way, he was only eager to solve issues rather than scream & yell, or throw tantrums & point fingers... a consumate gentleman ... (unlike Jim Cameron & Michael Bay). Apparently many members of his crew (at least the Keys) had worked on many of his other films... and there was clearly a strong sense of camaraderie between Tony and his crew. The Fan was shot in San Francisco & LA; and as a Location Scout I had the privilege of being part of the 1st Unit team shooting scenes in LA, specifically, repping the owners of a couple of houses in Malibu... one of which was a remote Beach House at the bottom of steep cliffs in a hidden cove (it was supposed to belong to Snipe's character). As the Site Rep, I vividly recall one of the the cold nights we shot down on that private beach... and when a near fatal accident occurred. It was after lunch, and while 1st Unit "moved on" for another camera "set-up," a small 2nd Unit had gone further down the beach to get an Establishing Night Shot (MOS) of the beach house from a precarious spot halfway up the rocky cliffs. After getting their shot, they wrapped and as they made their way back down to the beach, the AC (who was carrying the Panavision camera on sticks) slipped on the wet rocks, fell hard and cracked open his skull, crushing his head between the heavy camera and the rocks. The scene was so bloody, the Script Girl threw up. Fortunately the Set Medic was nearby & the FSO called 911 while the Medic kept the kid alive. We were way outside of LA, over an hour from the nearest hospital; so there was no time for an ambulance. Within minutes a US Coast Guard helicopter somehow landed on the narrow beach (half on the sand; half in the water) and whisked the AC away to UCLA's emergency hospital... and (Praise God!) he survived! Needless to say, everyone was traumatized; yet the producers wanted to keep on shooting as soon as the Med-Evac chopper flew off... but Tony pulled the plug, saying: "Fuck that! One of my guys was almost killed! That's a wrap! We'll pick it up tomorrow." R.I.P. Tony