Serious Injury on Spiderman

Footer

Footer

Senior Team
Senior Team
Premium Member
Last edited:
Yeah, that shows not doing well. Lets see how far they will take it before they decide it is a waste of a lot of money, time, and effort that it just needs to stop. If it will. Not to mention how many people we have seen get injured in some way by this show.
 
With all the money that has been poured into the show, though, I don't see anything other than legal action or practically nonexistent ticket sales that could cause the producers to close the show, regardless of the lacking safety precautions. They have invested too much to turn back now.
 
What do you think happened? Based on the CNN article it sounds like a harness broke or was not properly attached?
 
Director Julie Taymor says it's all part of the creative process.

Taymor said, "I don't think anything that's really creative can be done without danger or risk."

Link
Click to expand...


I find this comment to be fairly disturbing. Is this really what Broadway has come to?
 
A news media representative for “Spider-Man” said in an e-mail message Monday night: “An actor sustained an injury at tonight’s performance of ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.’ He fell several feet from a platform approximately seven minutes before the end of the performance, and the show was stopped.
Click to expand...
How could a press agent possibly give erroneous information?

Perhaps this is why the show cost $65 mil. The producers think that several=30.
 
MarshallPope said:
With all the money that has been poured into the show, though, I don't see anything other than legal action or practically nonexistent ticket sales that could cause the producers to close the show, regardless of the lacking safety precautions. They have invested too much to turn back now.
Click to expand...

This comment is just as disturbing as Julie Taymor's.
Marshall, do I understand you correctly that you think the producer's will/would put breaking even as a higher priority than human life?

Don't misunderstand me: you might not be wrong here, considering where this show has gone recently. I'm just sayin': do you think that all that money spent would influence safety decisions?

(I can tell you from personal experience: it does!)

Everybody else, chime in here as well. Are they gonna keep going and keep hurting people or are they gonna go "Whoa. Stop."?
Personally, based only on what I've read, I don't think they're gonna stop until an outside entity (Equity, OSHA, etc...) compel them to stop.

Just one riggers opinion, based on what he reads on the interwebs.
 
epimetheus said:
Director Julie Taymor says it's all part of the creative process.

Taymor said, "I don't think anything that's really creative can be done without danger or risk."

Link
Click to expand...
I find this comment to be fairly disturbing. Is this really what Broadway has come to?
Click to expand...
I think she was quoted out of context. As I recall, either on the 60 Minutes or Colbert Report interview, she was talking about artistic risk-taking, not the life and limb of the cast.

EDIT: From http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010...83076.shtml?tag=currentVideoInfo;segmentTitle :
Actually, her role was all-encompassing: Taymor was the creative force in every nook and cranny of the show.

"You said something along these lines: 'I really love to go into something when I don't know whether I'll be able to pull it off,'" Stahl remarked.

"Absolutely," Taymor said. "I love it when people say, 'What a horrible, lousy idea.' I think that's great. I hate the comfort zone, let's put it that way. I don't think anything that's really creative can [be] done without danger and risk."

The danger and risk with Spider-Man, the musical is that to stay afloat. To keep running, it has to be as big a hit as Broadway has ever seen.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
It will be interesting to find out what went wrong last night. If the lead flyer can't get it right that should be a warning sign. If it was a harness that broke then I would think that's on the person to inspect. If it was the cabling, carabiners or other rigging equipment then that's on the fly crew. But when you lead guy gets hurt, that's not good.
 
It looks like the line coming off his back went slack. Almost like he was putting his weight on the line like the choreography says and the line broke sending him flying off the edge.
 
From what I heard on the news this morning, it was the line that snapped... Not sure where they got their info from though...


Edit:

Just read this now:
Matinee canceled amid Spidey safety concerns

Today's matinee was cancelled due to safety concerns

Rick Miramontez, spokesman for the troubled $65 million musical, said in a statement Tuesday afternoon that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Actors Equity and the New York State Department of Labor met with the company to discuss "additional safety protocols. It was agreed that these measures would be enacted immediately." He refused to comment on the changes.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
If your control software doesn't get feedback from the devices it's controlling..is that bad? Maybe 'cause a problem? I am just thinking out loud hypothetically.
 
chrispo86 said:
From what I heard on the news this morning, it was the line that snapped... Not sure where they got their info from though...
Click to expand...
When you watch the video here you can see the line falling behind him as he fell.

I think all this means that someone doesn't want this show to go on.
 
chausman said:
When you watch the video here you can see the line falling behind him as he fell.

I think all this means that someone doesn't want this show to go on.
Click to expand...

Not sure if I'm hearing things but I thought I heard something resembling a "thud" at the end when the lights went to black.....
 
Footer said:
Equity/OSHA say it is human error. Actors Equity Association: 'Spider-Man' Injury Caused By 'Human Error' - The Hollywood Reporter.

We also now have a name to associate with the rigging, and a pretty stellar reputation to go with it: Fisher Technical Services, Inc.
Click to expand...

Gotta leap to the defense of the FTSI folks here, and hopefully NOT get in trouble: FTSI is NOT the only piece of the rigging/flying/automation equation here, gang. Yes, I do actually know more, but I am not at liberty to say. I would not point the finger at Fisher. Trust me, please.

That being said, I'm not going to point the finger at any other part of the rigging/flying/automation equation either.

Full disclosure: I use a realllllly amazing FTSI system 9 months out of the year. It is high. It is long. It is fast. I love it to death because it's bomber. Navigator is as dope as it gets. My winches are beyond design- they are art! I have trusted my life to this system and my fellow operators on more occasions than I can remember. I know a LOT of the FTSI gang, and I'll bet my life that none of this is on them.

A few of you here really have detailed knowledge of what I'm talking about.
:)

Everything Scot Fisher said in the Reporter article is correct, and in line with industry practices.
I'll get on ANY piece of his gear, any time, any place. But I'll make sure to check my points, or have someone I trust check 'em for me. There is risk in this kind of thing. We do our best to mitigate it the best we can. This is how we face our families when we get home, this is how we sleep at night.

NOBODY should die for a freakin' show.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I heard this morning that there was human error in fastening him into the rig.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Actor in ‘Spider-Man’ Musical Is Injured
Replies
4
Views
2K
derekleffew
derekleffew
MPowers
Spiderman...Equity Response
Replies
0
Views
1K
MPowers
MPowers
MNicolai
Building Jurisdiction After Fire Alarm
2
Replies
35
Views
3K
MNicolai
MNicolai
MNicolai
The Station Nightclub Fire
2
Replies
26
Views
8K
teqniqal
teqniqal
L
Prop Gun
Replies
0
Views
6K
lieperjp
L

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back