Set disasters are becoming a bit more of a commonplace thing these days. From the "Wild Wild West" fire to "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" flooding, every other month there's seemingly talk of a production losing millions in some kind of accident or natural disaster and in practically every case there was no-one hurt, the sets were rebuilt and despite a short delay and damage to a studio checkbook, the film came out as planned.
Today comes the latest report of a disaster although this one is more contained. Dark Castle's "House of Wax", a moderate budget remake of the 1952 Vincent Price horror chiller that Warner Bros. has been shooting for months now up on the Gold Coast Studios in Queensland, Australia. Last night though the production hit a snag.
<a href="http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9965582%255E2765,00.html" target="_blank"><img src="waxstage.jpg" border="0" height="100" align="right" width="150" /></a>According to <a href="http://entertainment.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4459,9969627%255E7485%255E%255Enbv,00.html" target="_blank">The Sydney Morning Herald</a>, a candle being used on a film set is believed to have started a fire which destroyed a sound stage at Movie World on the Gold Coast. Stage Eight of the complex was engulfed in flames about 6.40pm yesterday, causing a smoke hazard for motorists travelling between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Police said a huge candle was believed to have set other props alight, forcing actors and production crew to flee the building.
The stage was being used to shoot some final scenes for the film which stars Chad Michael Murray, Elisha Cuthbert and Paris Hilton. One of the camera assistants working on the movie said the fire started in the set of a bookshop and spread quickly - helped along by gas bottles contained inside. Studio walls had been designed to collapse inwards, which had prevented damage to nearby buildings. However, millions of dollars worth of movie equipment was destroyed in the blaze. Short of one man receiving treatment for a burn on his arm, no-one was injured. The damaged set has already begun reconstruction elsewhere and the delay to filming is expected to be minimal.
Thanks to 'Michael'.
