It’s not always the case that TV shows get big enough to justify an entire movie. But when it succeeds, it’s meaningful in a way, even if it’s just the fact that the creators involved succeeded in the first place. And in the case of the film for CBS’s “Twilight Zone,” its importance stems from the circumstances of its production.
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Originally released on June 24, 1983, Twilight Zone: The Movie was based on Rod Serling’s science fiction anthology series of the same name, which had ended nearly two decades earlier in 1964. Like the series, the film was split into several sections, each with its own cast and directors. The first installment, “Time Out,” was written and directed by filmmaker John Landis (father of Max Landis) and resulted in the deaths of lead actor Vic Morrow (who plays the character of Bill Connor) and child actors Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin- Yi Chen.
On July 23, 1982, Landis violated the then-California child labor laws by firing Chen and Le without the necessary permits. In addition, he broke the law by paying her to appear on set at night, which was already a danger to the children due to the explosives used to simulate the Vietnam War experience. A low-flying helicopter was also involved in filming the night scene, which went out of control from the explosives, killing all three instantly. Deaths on set are tragic enough as it is, but what made this case so infamous is that it seemed completely avoidable from the start: the kids’ parents weren’t informed that their kids were going to be anywhere near helicopters or explosives, what not even the cast of the film reportedly did the agents unaware of this. And according to testimony at the nearly 10-year trial surrounding the accident, Landis ordered the helicopter to be lowered than originally intended (or necessary), and allegedly dismissed concerns about its low height outright.
Twilight Zone: The Movie – Original Theatrical Trailer
The helicopter accident has become definitive in more ways than one. For Landis, this led to the breakup of his friendship with the film’s co-EP Steven Spielberg and actor Eddie Murphy, who had worked with Landis three times (two of them after the release of the Twilight Zone film). Although the director was acquitted in 1986 and 1987 along with executive producer Dan Allingham, associate producer George Folsey Jr., and others, that verdict hasn’t prevented the incident from becoming a reference point (or punch line) when spoken about. So bad was the mood surrounding this part of the film that even a second assistant director chose to go by the name “Alan Smithee,” a pseudonym used when distancing oneself from a troubled project.
For Hollywood at large, this led to the creation of the California Fire Department’s Motion Picture & Entertainment Unit, which enforces fire safety regulations and requirements in the entertainment industry. A Directors Guild of America (DGA) Safety Committee began issuing regular safety bulletins and an on-set safety hotline, and began to effectively discipline members who violate safety regulations on set. Actual enforcement of the rules reduced on-set deaths by almost 70% between 1982 and 1986.
Despite the new safety measures in place then, as now, there are still injuries and deaths in filmmaking. Sometimes you hear a story like Tom Cruise breaking his ankle while jumping in Mission: Impossible: Fallout and all you can think of is, “Oh, that’s tough.” Other times, things are a lot more tragic: 2016 would be Dylan O’Brien nearly died while filming a stunt for Maze Runner: The Death Cure; Stuntwoman/motorcycle racer Joi “SJ” Harris died the following year while filming a stunt for Deadpool 2. In 2021, on the set of Rust, Alec Baldwin fired a live bullet from a prop gun, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. Only recently did the story of this incident end, and the charges against Baldwin were dropped last April.
Image: Warner Bros.
In the decades since the release of the Twilight Zone movie, it’s hard to tell if things have really improved or if they’ve basically just stayed the same. This may not be the worst tragedy in all of Hollywood, but just saying that is damning in itself. It’s only recently that we’re really beginning to reckon that the entire entertainment industry – from writers to VFX artists to those who work in the animation industry – can be unnecessarily exploitative and harmful to people who want to be a part of it. Almost dying shouldn’t be part of the welcome to filmmaking.
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