American Scandal: Twilight Zone Accident | Shoot to Kill | 5

Date: March 17, 2026
Host: Lindsay Graham
Guests: Chris Winterbauer & Lizzie Bassett Bowman (hosts of the "What Went Wrong" podcast)

Overview

This episode explores the infamous Twilight Zone: The Movie on-set accident that killed actor Vic Morrow and child extras Renee Chen and Myca Dinh Le, spotlighting the dangerous intersection of ambitious filmmaking, regulatory failure, and Hollywood's culture of hierarchy and risk. Host Lindsay Graham speaks with Chris Winterbauer and Lizzie Bassett Bowman about the history and ongoing reality of set accidents, director power, regulatory (in)action, and how these events echo in tragedies like The Crow and the Rust shooting.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Brandon Lee/Crow Tragedy and Links to Set Safety (02:19-05:15)

• Chris Winterbauer details the chain of errors that led to Brandon Lee’s death:
  • Attempt to create homemade dummy rounds for an insert shot left a bullet lodged in the gun.
  • Later, a blank round was fired, propelling the lodged bullet and killing Lee.
  • Quote (Chris, 04:49):
    "They actually didn't even know what had happened because, of course, he's supposed to be shot in the scene... they call cut. ...And then Brandon Lee does not get up."
• Lizzie Bassett Bowman: Emphasizes that multiple safety checks failed, and similar breakdowns also occurred on the sets of Rust and Twilight Zone.

2. Rarity and Impact of Film Set Deaths (05:15-07:21)

• Lizzie compares reactions to Lee’s death vs. Twilight Zone:
  • Twilight Zone got more attention due to children, involvement of Spielberg, and being a bigger production.
  • Prop gun deaths are exceedingly rare: Lee, Hutchins, and Chandler.
• Chris: Helicopter deaths, however, are relatively common compared to prop gun deaths.

3. Hollywood Set Dangers: Reality vs. Perception (08:29-11:29)

• Chris provides statistics:
  • Film/TV fatality rate is actually lower than many industries.
  • Dangers persist less from stunts and more from long hours and unsafe practices due to pressures of time and money.
  • Quote (Chris, 11:10):
    "The rules seem to apply unevenly depending on your status within the industry."

4. Culture of Time, Money, and Hierarchy (11:29-14:14)

• Lizzie: Many fatal accidents, like in the Midnight Rider tragedy, stem from lax regulation, budget constraints, and rushed schedules.
  • Illegal or unsafe practices are often made to keep production moving.
• Chris: Directors, once subordinate to producers, became powerful auteurs by the 70s/80s—sometimes with disastrous effects.

5. The Director as Auteur and Set Culture (14:14-21:26)

• Chris and Lizzie: The "genius director" archetype leads to dangerous power imbalances.
  • Directors exhibit immense authority (e.g., John Landis) and even after tragedy, face little career consequence.
• Examples:
  • Landis’s unchecked control on Twilight Zone mirrored across the industry.
  • The pursuit of "sacrifice for art" often trumps safety.
• Quote (Chris, 14:26):
  "There is a way in which we lionize people... who have sacrificed for their art."
• Lizzie (24:18):
  "If the helicopter had fallen in a slightly different direction, it would have crushed John Landis. That tells me everything I need to know about the way that he was viewing this stunt."

6. Labor Law Flexibility and Effects Specialization (21:53-24:18)

• Children on Set: Regulations and permits often ignored—child actors on Twilight Zone were illegally hired for night shoots.
• Effects Arms Race: Push for bigger, real stunts before VFX led to higher on-set risks.

7. Criminal Proceedings and Industry Response (25:00-29:15)

• Prosecution: Landis and others were charged, but not convicted.
  • Notably, illegal hiring of underaged extras wasn’t prosecuted.
  • Lizzie (25:10):
    "If Landis... had been convicted... it would have changed the way a director operated on sets."
• Chris: Legal and regulatory changes were minimal (helicopter safety rules, SAG hotline, minor labor tighter controls).
  • Landis reprimanded but not blacklisted—perceived as a "unicorn" director and valuable asset.
  • Systemic issues of accountability persist.

8. Comparing Old Hollywood, New Media, and the Contractor Workforce (33:27-39:57)

• Rise of Streaming/YouTube: Amateur creators driven by shock value and faster/cheaper production—riskier conditions, minimal safeguards, especially for children.
• Chris: Lack of clear employment and gig-worker model discourages speaking up about safety.
  • Quote (Chris, 36:49): "No one is an actual employee... And when you are dependent on getting hired again every few months... you are extremely hesitant to be the squeaky wheel."
• Lizzie: Safety must never be subordinate to the “needs of the art.”
  • Quote (Lizzie, 38:50):
    "The needs of the art will never outweigh the needs of the people who are making the art."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Chris (04:49):
  "They actually didn't even know what had happened because, of course, he's supposed to be shot in the scene... And then Brandon Lee does not get up."
• Lizzie (07:21):
  "...that one almost, I think, unfortunately became more legend than it did cautionary tale, especially because there were already rumors about there being kind of a curse on the family..."
• Chris (11:10):
  "...the film industry isn't particularly dangerous, especially in comparison to... roofing. But... the rules seem to apply unevenly depending on your status within the industry."
• Chris (14:26):
  "There is a way in which we lionize people, I think, over history who have sacrificed for their art."
• Lizzie (24:18):
  "Had the helicopter fallen in just a slightly different direction, it would have crushed John Landis. That tells me everything I need to know about the way that he was viewing this stunt."
• Lizzie (25:10): "If Landis in particular had been convicted. It would have changed the way a director operated on sets. It could remove some of their authority. It could limit their creativity."
• Chris (36:49): "No one is an actual employee. So many people... are all contractors who have come together... you are extremely hesitant to be the squeaky wheel."
• Lizzie (38:50): "The needs of the art will never outweigh the needs of the people who are making the art."

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:19 – Introduction to The Crow tragedy and connection to Twilight Zone
• 05:40 – Analysis of prop gun deaths and their rarity
• 08:41 – Discussion about the broader dangers and realities of working on set
• 11:29 – Why the gig-worker model and hierarchy exacerbate risks
• 12:52 – Midnight Rider tragedy as another example of risk under pressure
• 14:14 – Rise of auteur directors and effect on safety culture
• 21:53 – Lax attitudes towards labor laws, esp. regarding children
• 25:00 – Criminal trial of John Landis and Hollywood’s self-protective culture
• 28:23 – Minimal post-accident reforms and helicopter regulation
• 30:07 – The Rust tragedy, repeating patterns, assignment of blame
• 33:27 – Shift to YouTube, streaming, amateur stunts, risks to children
• 36:49 – “Magic wand” solutions: employment protection and cultural change

Conclusion

This episode weaves a narrative of systemic risk and accountability gaps in the movie industry, anchored in the Twilight Zone set tragedy but reaching forward and backward through history and into today's creator economy. Chris Winterbauer and Lizzie Bassett Bowman underscore how director power, weak regulation, and structural employment precarity combine to perpetuate set dangers, challenging both Hollywood and new media to remember: no film is worth a life.