George Clooney: "Film injury made me suicidal" (spinal injury)

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

The scene was meant to depict two thugs beating a victim tied to a chair. But for the Hollywood actor George Clooney, it soon became all too real. His chair was kicked backwards and his head smashed on the ground, damaging his spine. The injuries left him in such intense pain that he entertained suicidal thoughts and continues to suffer short-term memory loss.

The 44-year-old star, known for his easy charm, surprised American radio listeners last week when he described the past 12 months as “the worst year I’ve ever had”, culminating in a series of operations to ease his recurrent headaches. He said his ordeal began months ago when filming Syriana, a political thriller based on the memoirs of Robert Baer, a former CIA agent who was tortured on assignment in the Middle East. The film opens in Britain on January 13.

“The problem was that I had put on weight in about a month to do the movie. Usually I am in pretty good shape, but you should not put on 38lb when you are 44. Maybe when you are younger, but it was probably a dumb move on my part.

“There was this scene where I was taped to a chair and getting beaten up and we did quite a few takes. The chair was kicked over and I hit my head. “I tore my dura, which is the wrap around my spine which holds in spinal fluid. But it’s not my back, it’s my brain. I basically bruised my brain. It’s bouncing around my head because it’s not supported by the spinal fluid,” he said on National Public Radio in Los Angeles.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1838921,00.html

[tjdee]

1. That sounds horrible.

You think of acting as a pretty cushy job, but there are very real physical dangers sometimes--and it always seems to be the freak things. George Clooney, falling on the ground, for example. Shah Rukh Khan also had an accident on set which resulted in horrible neck/back pain that he had to have surgery for. Though, he sustained no injuries at all dancing and jumping up and down on a moving train for another film. :shrug:

These cuties have to watch out for themselves, geez!

[CanuckAmok]

2. all too real a threat...

Film sets can be really dangerous places.

Here in BC we had a stunt coordinator, Mark Akerstream, hit and killed by a piece of flying debris from an explosion a few years ago.

Two spfx riggers lost their legs during an accident on the set of Blues Brothers 2000.

Touch wood, I've never been on a set where someone was killed, but I remember a few years ago shooting a scene where someone smashes a sentry over the head with a ceramic lamp, except the real lamp was used by mistake, not the break-a-way lamp, and the actor was really knocked out.

Unfortunately, film sets are such busy places, and the length of day is so intense, that accidents happen all the time.

There's a movement to reduce the maximum amount of allowable hours per day to 12, but so far, there hasn't been much support from producers.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

3. Burt Reynolds on the set of "City Heat"...

...his movie with Clint Eastwood, which critics and audiences ignored like it never happened.

Reynolds did all of his stunts at the time, and supposedly sustained a pretty severe back injury while filming. The moodswings and painkillers soon followed, and the pain hung around L-O-N-G after the injuries healed.

And to make matters worse, he had broken up with Sally Field at the time. The injuries caused him to lose a lot of weight, and the press began floating "Does Burt Reynolds have AIDS" stories. Field was asked the question directly, and she KNEW he DID NOT, but she was still carrying around some negative emotions from the breakup, so she coyly replied "Gee...I DON'T KNOW..."

Later she acknowledged that it was a pretty childish thing to do.

[yellowdogintexas]

4. part of that injury was a blow to the jaw, which injured his

temporomandibular joint. That was one of the main causes of the weight loss, it hurt too much to move his jaw to eat! That is a very difficult injury to treat because all the nerves that serve the face branch off from the trunk nerve in that joint..so if the nerve is damaged in the treatment, you end up with facial paralysis.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

6. You're right, that was the injury...not his back.

Your memory turned out to be a lot better than mine on this story, but after reading your post it all comes back now.

:patriot:

[BlueIris]

5. I've never thought acting was a cushy job...

At least, not in terms of the physical demands--especially in terms of what actors, even serious actors, are required to do in terms of body modification and adaptation to stay "current," "marketable" and "appealing."

[Shine]

7. Jeez, that sucks. Poor guy. I had no idea.

From all that I've heard from people who suffer this, chronic pain is the absolute worst.

I send him Healing Light and good wishes....

[caty]

8. I heard him speak of this

on the David Letterman show. He said his nose was running alot and found out that what was coming out was spinal fluid. I've never heard of this before--it sounded horrible. Never was a fan, but I do feel for him and hope he makes a full recovery.