Episode #201 | 10.07.24
Brandon Lee: Hungry Ghosts, Cursed Movies, and a Goth Masterpiece
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In this episode
Haunted by the legacy of his superstar father and by an old family curse, Brandon Lee tried to outrun the past. But the past came after him all the same. It was said that his father, Bruce Lee, was taken by that family curse at just 32 years old, and that it then followed Brandon to the set of The Crow, a cross between a superhero blockbuster and a brooding art film that was all goth. The shoot was plagued by injury, electrocution, storms, fires, and car crashes – and culminated in tragedy when a prop gun fired a real bullet.
Sources
Bruce Lee: A Life, by Matthew Polly
Disasters Plague the Set of “The Crow” (Entertainment Weekly)
Shadows on the Wall (Dike Blair)
Actor Brandon Lee Was Killed by a Prop Gun, Years before the ‘Rust’ Shooting Death (NPR)
The Brief Life and Unnecessary Death of Brandon Lee (Entertainment Weekly)
Alec Baldwin sues to ‘clear his name’ in movie set killing (NPR)
Brandon Lee’s Loved Ones Remember ‘The Crow’ Star 30 Years After His Death (CNN)
Brandon Lee Killed on Set (Variety)
The Tragedies Behind the Inspiration and Production of ‘The Crow’ (Collider)
Credits
Hosted by Jake Brennan.
Written by Bob Proehl.
Copy edited by James Sullivan.
Scored and mixed by Matt Tahaney.
Additional music and score elements by Ryan Spraker.
DISGRACELAND theme song, “Crenshaw Space Boogie,” written and produced by Jake Brennan. Performed by Jake Brennan, Bryce Kanzer, Jay Cannava, and Evan Kenney. Mixed and engineered by Adam Taylor.
*illustrations by Avi Spivak @avispivak