The outrage over the killings in Aurora, Colo., likely will dominate the media, making the "Expendables" sequel a harder movie to market.
The family of a stuntman who was killed in an explosion during the production of The Expendables 2 has sued producers Nu Image and Millennium Films, as well as the film’s stunt coordinator, for wrongful death.
VIDEO: ‘Expendables 2’ Preview: A Bigger Cast, and Even Bigger Explosions
In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Zong Yu Liu and Tan Mei Bai, parents of Kun Liu, a Chinese stuntman who was killed in Bulgaria on October 27, 2011, during the making of the action sequel, claim the studio and second unit director/stunt coordinator Chad Stahelski are responsible for the unsafe conditions during a boat sequence that lead to his death. Alleged damages are not specified.
The defendants “recklessly organized, planned, set up, produced, directed, trained, coordinated and otherwise prepared for and implemented the stunt which involved the use of explosives and other similar ultra-hazardous activities in the rubber boat so as to cause an explosion, thereby injuring [Liu] and causing his death,” the lawsuit alleges.
The stunt took place on the Ognyanovo Reservoir/Dam in the town of Elin Pelin, according to the suit. Neither star-writer Sylvester Stallone, director Simon West or other actors in the film, are named as defendants. Expendables 2 is set to be released by Lionsgate in the U.S. on August 17.
THR has reached out to Nu Image for comment.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys John Denove and William Karns of Cheon Denove Rowell Bennett & Karns, as well as Michael H. Silvers.
Email: Matthew.Belloni@thr.com
Twitter: @THRMattBelloni
