TORONTO – The tragic on-set train track death of Sarah Jones while shooting the Gregg Allman biopic Midnight Rider has prompted the Directors Guild of Canada to call for restrictions on location shooting over reckless disregard for worker safety.
“Directors need to be aware of potential jeopardy in asking for unplanned shots requiring access to property outside the contracted work zone,” the Canadian guild said in the wake of the fatal incident Thursday on a live train track in Jesup, Ga.
“On February 20th, she (Jones) ran for her life from an oncoming freight train and was struck and killed when the train hit their set,” the DGC said Tuesday in its statement.
The guild said the U.S. production company had no permission to be on the train tracks, only in its vicinity, but assumed what the DGC calls “cinematic immunity.”
“This is a stark reminder that it is truly a false premise. There is no immunity. Instead, there is jeopardy, risk and the potential for lost lives,” the guild said of film and TV shoots that venture beyond the boundaries of permits or location contracts.
The DGC reacted to the tragic death in part because of Slates for Sarah, a Facebook page created by friends of the late film worker.
