Ernie Hudson Says He Can't Watch Brandon Lee in 'The Crow' Amid His Heartbreak for 'Rust' Movie Shooting
Ghostbusters Star Ernie Hudson knows how the cast and staff of Rust are feeling following the tragic loss of photography director Halyna Hutchins. Hutchins died last week after Baldwin accidentally shot her with what was believed to be a prop gun. Hudson, who starred in The Crow, tells The Hollywood Reporter he can no longer watch the movie after experiencing a similar ghastly loss.
Brandon Lee, son of the famous Bruce Lee, died while working on the 1994 movie after being fatally shot by a prop gun. "I can't watch The Crow," Hudson says. "It breaks my heart, and I can't get past it. So much of it was action stuff, but Brandon and I got a chance to act together."
On the Rust shooting, he told the outlet "it just doesn't make any sense." "It bought back a lot of memories of Brandon. We go on, we keep moving forward — but there is always that space in your life. You're heartbroken. You have no control, but you still have to process it and how do you do that? I am just so heartbroken that anything like that can happen again," Hudson said.
Lee's sister Shannon reveals she and the Lee family have been supportive of a movement that would begin banning the use of real guns on movie sets for prop purposes due to accidents like these. To which, Hudson agreed should be the next step in securing the safety of production staff and cast members on films.
"If that's the answer, then I would like to see real guns removed from sets," Hudson shared. "I don't think it is necessary to have real guns and live rounds on the set. We have the technology now to put flashes in without the [blank cartridge] rounds. I thought we found a way to do it safer."
"The problem is when they start cutting budgets and they start being in a hurry," he continued. "That is what happened on The Crow. They were pushing to get it done. You put lives at risk."
Hudson and Baldwin are friends and have been since meeting on the set of the 1985 film Love on the Run. The actor expressed his own sorrow for Baldwin, adding that he remembers how awful late star Michael Massee was after Brandon's accidental killing. "There is nothing worse than something like that happening," Hudson says. "I remember Michael, his life was never the same."