A stunt coordinator for ‘Kill Bill’ has spoken out after Uma Thurman released footage of a crash which left her injured on set.
Earlier this month the actress spoke out about her own Harvey Weinstein experience in an interview with The New York Times.
In that same interview, she spoke of an injury she received during a crash on the set of ‘Kill Bill’, which gave her concussion and damaged her knees. She says the incident resulted in a “cover up” which was “unforgiveable”.
She said she was asked to drive an old convertible down a road, which she had trepidation about, when she hit a tree.
The actress put footage of the crash on her Instagram – which director Quentin Tarantino had given her as she said he was: “deeply regretful and remains remorseful about this sorry event”.
Keith Adams – the stunt coordinator on ‘Kill Bill’ – has spoken out, telling The Hollywood Reporter that: “No stunts were scheduled for the day of Ms. Thurman’s accident.”
“All of the stunt department was put on hold and no one from the stunt department was called to set,” he continues.
“At no point was I notified or consulted about Ms. Thurman driving a car on camera that day.
“Had I been involved, I would have insisted not only on putting a professional driver behind the wheel but also insuring that the car itself was road-worthy and safe.”
Adams doesn’t say whether he thinks the stunt team were intentionally kept off set.
Responding to the New York Times piece, Tarantino told Deadline: “None of us ever considered it a stunt. It was just driving. None of us looked at it as a stunt. Maybe we should have, but we didn’t.”
He revealed that the crash happened because he tested the car driving for the shot one way, and then Thurman drove and they filmed the shot the reverse way.
“I told her it would be okay. I told her the road was a straight line. I told her it would be safe,” Tarantino says.
“And it wasn’t. I was wrong. I didn’t force her into the car. She got into it because she trusted me. And she believed me.”
Meanwhile, the director has apologised for “ignorant” comments he made about a woman who was raped by Roman Polanski when she was 13.
Back in 2003, Tarantino described the rape as “sex with a minor” as the victim “wanted to have it”, but he recently took back his remarks, saying he was “ignorant, insensitive and above all, incorrect.”