Universe
07-07-07, 12:43 PM
"Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well.” - Paul Bowles, ‘The Sheltering Sky’
Based On True Events
March 31, 1993
A man is lying unconscious in an emergency room
Nursing the wound, the doctors opt for surgery soon
It’s all over the news, so they never asked or pursued
Why this man wore a black leather jacket and boots
They knew; as soon as he arrived at the hospital
With a quarter-size hole in his lower right abdominal
He was far from probable, on extensive life support
From the night before, and what’s next to his spinal cord
Vital organs were left to bleed, a bullet severed these
Yet doctors could not relieve his internal hemorrhaging
What is now a murder scene, didn’t offer many leads
Some believed what killed him was his father’s legacy…
March 30, 1993
Behind the scenes, where the stunt department sits
Are people whose job it is to rig dummy cartridges
To go off without a hitch; but during production…
They had to overcome the time restriction and budget
Because of this, they found their solution in one hour
Deciding they would simply remove the gunpowder
Before reloading the pistol, which they had to deliver
On schedule for an actor to rehearse pulling the trigger
What they didn’t figure out, about this silenced prop
Pulling a trigger without sound produces a primer pop
The primer tops a sparking cap, which is hiding within
And lights gunpowder when struck by the firing pin
But with no propellant to ignite, no residue mixes
The force can propel a bullet up one or two inches
Until it lodges in the barrel, a time bomb in place
Lying in wait for someone to load and fire a blank…
The Last Shot
Believe it or not, since our character gets killed…
The last reel he shot will appear first in the film
The actors merge in the scene, still rehearsing
“Ignore the door; wait ‘til he’s through it first, please”
Says the director in charge; cue the set to turn dark
Boom mics are on the actors who get on their marks
In this apartment, the standard role to play
The director yells “Action”; cameras roll the tape
Now a woman’s raped, surrounded by armed men
Her legs spread, her arms pinned down to the carpet
With immovable force, thugs press her to the floor
But to their horror, someone steps through the door
A ghost in human form, with grocery bags in tow
Under a leather coat, his shirt reads ‘Hangman’s Joke’
Cameras zoom on our hero, then pan to his feet
His black leather boots are still wet from the street
The woman screams, the suspense builds to a peak
From what we see, the emotion is real as can be
One thug reaches for his gun, it’s right on cue
He aims at the hero’s midsection, and fires through
The grocery bag, which shreds like it’s designed to
From the squibs set off out of our line of view
The hero falls to the ground, this time he knew
Time is crucial, lying wounded near the silent crew
He makes a final move, then the director said “cut”
The scene is done… but our hero never gets up
What began as a movie stunt, with a useless gun...
Ends with Brandon Lee dying in a pool of blood.
......
Postscript
- The weapon specialist, a victim of deducted funds
Was let go early; production saved a hundred bucks
- Burying her son, Lee’s mother sued for negligence
And she eventually won an undisclosed settlement
- In the end, she allowed filmmakers to edit the rest
Using various body double’s and special effects
- The actor who fired the weapon was never arraigned
He was deemed not liable for whatever part he played
- The Crow opened in May; it became a box office hit
- Brandon rests next to his father in Seattle, Washington.
Based On True Events
March 31, 1993
A man is lying unconscious in an emergency room
Nursing the wound, the doctors opt for surgery soon
It’s all over the news, so they never asked or pursued
Why this man wore a black leather jacket and boots
They knew; as soon as he arrived at the hospital
With a quarter-size hole in his lower right abdominal
He was far from probable, on extensive life support
From the night before, and what’s next to his spinal cord
Vital organs were left to bleed, a bullet severed these
Yet doctors could not relieve his internal hemorrhaging
What is now a murder scene, didn’t offer many leads
Some believed what killed him was his father’s legacy…
March 30, 1993
Behind the scenes, where the stunt department sits
Are people whose job it is to rig dummy cartridges
To go off without a hitch; but during production…
They had to overcome the time restriction and budget
Because of this, they found their solution in one hour
Deciding they would simply remove the gunpowder
Before reloading the pistol, which they had to deliver
On schedule for an actor to rehearse pulling the trigger
What they didn’t figure out, about this silenced prop
Pulling a trigger without sound produces a primer pop
The primer tops a sparking cap, which is hiding within
And lights gunpowder when struck by the firing pin
But with no propellant to ignite, no residue mixes
The force can propel a bullet up one or two inches
Until it lodges in the barrel, a time bomb in place
Lying in wait for someone to load and fire a blank…
The Last Shot
Believe it or not, since our character gets killed…
The last reel he shot will appear first in the film
The actors merge in the scene, still rehearsing
“Ignore the door; wait ‘til he’s through it first, please”
Says the director in charge; cue the set to turn dark
Boom mics are on the actors who get on their marks
In this apartment, the standard role to play
The director yells “Action”; cameras roll the tape
Now a woman’s raped, surrounded by armed men
Her legs spread, her arms pinned down to the carpet
With immovable force, thugs press her to the floor
But to their horror, someone steps through the door
A ghost in human form, with grocery bags in tow
Under a leather coat, his shirt reads ‘Hangman’s Joke’
Cameras zoom on our hero, then pan to his feet
His black leather boots are still wet from the street
The woman screams, the suspense builds to a peak
From what we see, the emotion is real as can be
One thug reaches for his gun, it’s right on cue
He aims at the hero’s midsection, and fires through
The grocery bag, which shreds like it’s designed to
From the squibs set off out of our line of view
The hero falls to the ground, this time he knew
Time is crucial, lying wounded near the silent crew
He makes a final move, then the director said “cut”
The scene is done… but our hero never gets up
What began as a movie stunt, with a useless gun...
Ends with Brandon Lee dying in a pool of blood.
......
Postscript
- The weapon specialist, a victim of deducted funds
Was let go early; production saved a hundred bucks
- Burying her son, Lee’s mother sued for negligence
And she eventually won an undisclosed settlement
- In the end, she allowed filmmakers to edit the rest
Using various body double’s and special effects
- The actor who fired the weapon was never arraigned
He was deemed not liable for whatever part he played
- The Crow opened in May; it became a box office hit
- Brandon rests next to his father in Seattle, Washington.