Amazon’s episodic adaptation of The Lord of the Rings is still scheduled to premiere before 2021 is out, despite the fact that shooting is still ongoing, and four new cast members were added to the already massive ensemble just a few days ago. The studio is now facing accusations of cultivating an unsafe working environment, something they’ve strenuously denied.
Stunt performer Elissa Cadwell recently suffered a concussion, while Dayna Grant was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and spinal trauma, although in the latter’s case her work on The Lord of the Rings wasn’t directly responsible. However, that hasn’t stopped allegations being made that the production failed to report injuries to Worksafe, New Zealand’s health and safety regulatory body.
Thomas Kiwi, another member of the stunt team, has also revealed he left The Lord of the Rings in March after injuring his right rotator cuff, which he believes was due a wire rig not being calibrated properly when he was strapped in. Needless to say, Amazon have released a statement to combat the stories of malpractice, which you can read below.
“Amazon Studios takes the health, physical and emotional welfare of our cast and crew extremely seriously. As a top priority, the production team continues to be in full compliance with the mandated Worksafe New Zealand Safety and Security government regulations. Any allegation or report that activities on set are unsafe or outside of regulations are completely inaccurate.”
Minor injuries are part and parcel of anything that comes burdened with a high number of action sequences and dangerous stunts, something that’s obviously going to play a significant part in a $465 million fantasy adventure like Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings. That being said, the safety of the performers should always be the primary concern. With filming entering the closing stretch, let’s hope that we don’t hear any more tales of woe from behind the scenes, especially when the most expensive small screen project in history is already guaranteed to come under intense scrutiny from all sides.