Pop Culture Retrospective # 30 - The Crow: A movie flashback covering the behind the scenes details and tragedy that occurred on the set of the 1994 thriller starring Brandon Lee.

Show #30 - The Crow

If someone were to ask me what movie was my sister’s favorite, I would say by far that it was the 1994 release and adrenaline rush that was, the Crow.  It’s lead character was played by a young man named Brandon Lee in what many people consider was his break-out role.  For whatever reason, my sister and I first saw this movie while visiting my mom’s close friend who Becky was named after.  The film left a lasting impact on my sister and she would spend the next several years educating people about what happened during the filming of the movie, in which Brandon Lee was sadly killed in a tragic accident.  She even dedicated one of her high school public speaking class speeches to the topic.  But, more on that later.  

With that being said, on today’s show we will discuss the haunting film, the Crow.  You will learn the origin and inspiration behind the film, information about the cast, behind the scenes details of the movie and the unfortunate tragedy that occured on the set.  So grab your white and black face paint, a leather trench coat and a blanket to pull over your eyes, here we go!

Hello and thank you so very much for tuning in to the Pop Culture Retrospective Podcast, a show inspired by, and in memory of, my big sister Rebecca and her love for all things pop-culture, especially the people, places and things of the 80s, 90s and early 00s.  My name is Amy Lewis and I am your captain aboard this pop culture time machine.  You are tuning in to Episode #30 - The Crow, my sister’s all-time favorite movie.  Before we get to the show, in case you are not familiar with the film, please note that it is rated R for violence, drug use, inappropriate language, etc. so some of what we will touch on in today’s show, as well the movie itself, is not intended for younger audiences or for those who are sensitive to any of the topics mentioned.  That being said, I too am extremely sensitive to violent, dark, sinister and suspenseful movies and this movie checks all of those boxes.  However, my sister loved this movie the moment she saw it and something about the movie itself and Brandon Lee’s unfortunate passing really struck a chord with her.  So I summoned the courage to re-watch this movie recently.  As I’ve mentioned in previous shows, I really try to eat, breathe and live each topic that is covered on this podcast so I watched The Crow over the course of two nights (I’m a parent, so we never finish movies in one night).  It was hard, but I did my best. Every episode of this show is incredibly important to me, but I wanted to make sure I got all of the information about the Crow accurate since my sister was so passionate about it. Also, just like in other episodes of this show that discuss movies, we aren’t taking a deep dive into plot analysis or breaking it down scene by scene, but instead we will take a look behind the scenes and how this movie relates to my sister’s life and perhaps what we can take from it.  So if you haven’t seen the movie and don’t want to hear spoilers, you may want to watch it first (we rented in on Amazon) and then come back to this episode.  But anyhoo, let’s take a look back at this unique and intense movie.

In case you are not aware, which I wasn’t, the Crow wasn’t an original movie.  It was actually a comic book that was created by an artist named James O’Barr.  O’Barr didn’t have the easiest start in life.  He was orphaned as a young child and grew up in the Foster Care system.  He was apparently adopted when he was about 7 years old but was reportedly not treated very well by his adoptive parents.   Later,  O’Barr enlisted in the Marines and when he was stationed in Germany, he was responsible for illustrating combat manuals for the military.  

Just prior to his enlistment, his girlfriend was killed by a drunk driver which was, understandably, incredibly difficult for him to deal with.  According to some sources, it was said that he and his girlfriend were actually engaged and she passed away shortly after they graduated from high school.  As a way of coping with her passing, he developed the story and drawings of the Crow character.  Further contributing to the inspiration of this character, O’Barr had learned a story of a young couple being killed over a $20 engagement ring in a Detroit newspaper.  In the comic book series as well as in the movie, Eric Draven (the protagonist) and his finance, Shelly, are also murdered by a group of criminals.  The comic debuted on February 1, 1989 and became an underground success.  Eventually, a film adaptation of the comic book came to fruition and on May 13, 1994 the film came out in theatres. The film would be set in Detroit, the same city where the newspaper article about the couple came from. Apparently, when O’Barr began talks with the studio executives who released the film, they wanted the Crow to be a musical starring Michael Jackson.  If you have seen the actual movie, you will know that this definitely wouldn’t have worked.  That being said, because of the makeup used for the main character, the song “Black or White” could have easily been worked in! The role of Eric Draven was offered to Christian Slater and River Phoenix, both of whom turned in down.  James O’Barr wanted Johnny Depp to play the role but that also didn’t work out. When O’Barr learned that Brandon Lee was being considered for the role, he was a bit hesitant for this casting choice because he had only seen Lee in a Kung Fu movie and was afraid he would sort of be typecast and that the film would get released directly to video. Further, Cameron Diaz was offered the role of Shelley, but she apparently turned it down because she didn’t like the script.  Once O’Barr saw Brandon Lee performing as the main character, he was blown away and knew he was the right man for the job.  The website Internet Archive, Wayback Machine gives a good, brief synopsis of the Crow, it says quote:  The title character, Eric Draven, portrayed by Brandon Lee in the film portrait, is a rock guitarist and musician, who returns from the dead as a tortured and dark, yet compassionate and benevolent spirit seeking justice after he and his fiancée are murdered.  Eric’s spirit deeply touches and saves the lives of several central characters while avenging his and his fiancee’s murders, ultimately bringing and restoring hope.  End quote.

Obviously, the title role of Eric Draven who comes back as the Crow, was played by Brandon Lee.  He was born on February 1, 1965 to parents Linda Lee Cadwell and Bruce Lee.  Bruce Lee in case you are not familiar was an unbelievably talented martial artist and actor from Hong Kong, China.  He is considered one of the greatest martial artists of the 20th century.  He starred in dozens of movies and tv shows.  I don’t think movies like The Karate Kid, or those done with Jackie Chan would have happened or been created without his significant influence.  And could have forgotten 3 Ninjas?  I was super obsessed with this movie when I was a tweenager and in hindsight, god that movie sucked.  But anyways, yes, thanks, Bruce Lee.  Sadly, Bruce Lee passed away when he was just 32 years old.  Apparently cerebral edema was his cause of death after taking some medication to aid with a headache that he had a bad reaction to.  Brandon Lee was just 8 years old when his father passed away.  After his dad’s passing, Brandon, his mom and his sister, all moved to Seattle.  Brandon had some difficulty with school growing up, he apparently dropped out of high school a few times and was allegedly expelled.  He eventually finished and went on to college, attending Emerson college in Boston to study acting.  He only attended for 1 year but again, if you have a chance to watch the Crow, you will notice that Brandon was an incredibly talented actor.  My sister also struggled to find her footing in high school.  Like Lee though, she was incredibly talented, but misunderstood.

Brandon Lee was incredibly grateful that he was selected to play the role of Eric Draven in the film. He was really hoping to differentiate himself from his father who was primarily cast in Kung Fu movies and other stereotypical depictions of Asians in movies.  He once said: “you know, whatever happens with this project, nothing is as important to me as that fact that I’m playing Eric Draven. This is my finest character.”  Lee had made his film debut a few years earlier at the age of 21 when he starred in Kung Fu:  The Movie, which was released in 1986.  Brandon Lee lost an incredible 40 pounds to play the role of Eric Draven, further attesting to his commitment to the film.  And despite showing maturity and again commitment to the film, he also showed his younger side by apparently using his gameboy constantly in-between scenes.

The film also starred Rochelle Davis as Sarah who is a family/neighbor friend of Eric and Shelleys.  She is kind of a lost kid...her mother has a substance abuse problem and is never really around much so I think she likes spending time with Eric and Shelley because they sort of took her under their wing.  Anna Thompson plays Sarah’s mother, Darla.  Ernie Hudson, who you may remember from Ghostbusters, plays Albrecht a police officer who was involved with the case when Eric and Shelley were murdered and who Eric befriends when he comes back to life to avenge he and his fiances murder.  Michael Wincott plays Top Dollar who is sort of the lead gang member who’s henchmen murder Eric and Shelley.  David Patrick Kelly plays T-Bird, one of the gang members as does Angel Davis who plays Skank, Laurence Mason who plays TinTin and Michael Masse who plays Fan Boy.  All of these individuals do an outstanding job portraying really awful people who do terrible things.

The film was directed by Alex Proyas who had worked on a lot of music videos prior to being assigned the role of directing the movie, the Crow.  He wanted the movie to be filmed in all black and white so as to stay true to the comic books but the studio wouldn’t allow it.  However, he did manage to shoot the film in monochromatic color which was then mixed with dark gray and red coloring.  The result is very ominous and impactful.  Special effects were utilized throughout the film, which at the time were very impressive but now haven’t aged all that well in some scenes.  That being said, the dated special effects did help me tolerate the movie a bit better than if I were to travel back in time and watch it in 1994 again.

Although the movie is set in Detroit, most of it was filmed in North Carolina.  Top Dollar, the lead Gangster in the movie, owns a nightclub that several scenes take place in.  All of the nightclub scenes were filmed in an abandoned cement factory called the Ideal Cement Factory (yeah, ideal for filming a creepy scene that makes you unconsciously feel like your life is in danger).  This building was also used for filming the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle live action movie, it served as the underground hideout for Shredder and the Footclan.  PS I LOVED this movie as a child and I thought this dark handout looked really cool.  I mean, who wouldn’t want to run away from their family to live in some dark and dingy cement blocked room where you can skateboard on a half pipe with no helmet and smoke cigarettes?  Sounds awesome!  Although in retrospect, not so much, sounds like a nightmare.  But when you are 10 years old, sounds awesome! 

In addition to the dark setting of the movie, not just the color grading of the film footage, but Brandon Lee’s character is also quite haunting.  

Throughout most of the movie, Lee’s character has on powder white and black makeup.  He is also dressed in black clothing with long, wavy dark hair.  Apparently, Lee didn’t like how his face looked when the makeup artists did it.  So, the Director told him he could apply the makeup himself.  Everynight he would apply it, so that when he woke up, he could come on to the movie set and would appear more worn out or perhaps having recently re-emerging from his grave like he does in an early scene. 

Another aspect of the films production that adds to it’s eeriness is the soundtrack, it’s unbelievably powerful and dark soundtrack.  Two of the most profound songs are “Burn” by the Cure and “Dead Souls” by Nine Inch Nails.  If you want to feel like you life is just plain dark and sad, put this album on.  That’s how powerful it is.  It also features music by Stone Temple Pilots, Rage Against the Machine and Rage Against the Machine to name just a few.  An incredible soundtrack by some absolutely incredible artists.  I’m not sure if it’s related to Brandon Lee’s passing, but the Cure have only performed their mesmerizing song Burn live once or twice.  When they did, it was just as good as it was on the album.  I’ll post a link to the song in the show notes, it’s definitely worth a listen.

Throughout the movie, Eric Draven aka Brandon Lee, is accompanied by a Crow.  The Crow sort of serves as his eyes, keeping a lookout for when bad things are happening so that Eric can intervene.  He is also representative of Eric’s life, although Eric can withstand taking hits, falls, or gunshots without getting injured, if the Crow gets injured or killed, so too, will he. Although you see the crow throughout the entire movie, the crew actually used ravens instead.  Their heads and beaks are a bit more prominent which can be captured better on film than crows.  

As I alluded to, Brandon Lee sadly died on the set of the Crow.  Even before the tragic accident that took his life though, the film was plagued with a lot of unfortunate incidents.  On the first day of filming, a carpenter suffered serious burns when his crane hit some power lines.  Also, at one point, a grip truck caught fire, a frustrated sculpture artist crashed his car through the plaster shop in the studio, and a crew member accidentally drove a screwdriver right through his hand.  Further, Brandon Lee got cut from some breakaway glass in a scene where a pawn shop explodes.  Apparently it was very rare for anyone to be cut by that material as it is specifically designed to keep people safe in scenes where a glass is broken.  In addition to the accidents, substance abuse apparently ran rampant on the set.  Many individuals involved with filming and production of the movie used cocaine while on set. Camera operators shot the movie while they were high and others could be seen cutting up lines of cocaine. Oddly enough, in one scene of the crow, Brandon Lee’s character drains morphine from Darla’s (Sarah’s mom) arm and essentially tells her how important it is to be a mother and implying that her substance abuse is preventing her from performing this all too important role.  

On March 31, 1993, Brandon Lee was shot while filming on one of the final days that the cast and crew was on the set of the Crow.  In the scene where he was shot, Lee, playing Eric Draven, was walking through the doorway of his apartment as he was holding a bag of groceries.  He is then shot by Michael Massee from about 15-20 feet away, he played the villian “Fun Boy” in the film.  As I mentioned earlier, in the film, Eric Draven and his fiancee Shelley are both murdered in their home by a group of gang members.  

When the so called “bullet” hit the grocery bags and then continued into his body, Lee pulled a trigger to set off a “squib” which is a small explosive device meant to mimic the bursting that would have occurred if the bag was hit in real life.  After Lee set off the squibb, he collapsed to the ground.  His right side started to bleed uncontrollably.  He was rushed to the hospital and despite receiving approximately 60 units of blood and 5 hours of surgery, he did not survive.  He passed away when he was just weeks away from marrying Eliza Hutton.  They were supposed to get married on April 17, 1993 in Mexico at Sunset.  His character in the movie, Eric Draven, was also supposed to be married to his fiance, Shelley.  

Filming of the Crow ceased indefinitely and a police investigation began into Lee’s death.  After a month long investigation, it was concluded that the film’s crew was negligent and thus responsible for the death of Brandon Lee.  Some people suspected that his death was planned in advance, perhaps it was some sort of conspiracy, but sadly it was a tragic accident.  A tragic and terrible accident.  Just like what typically happens in movies where guns are used and subsequently fired, the gun used to shoot at Lee was supposed to be loaded with blanks.  Unfortunately, it was not. Bullet cartridges that are hollowed out are used while filming scenes when close ups of guns or ammunition is needed.  These so called “dummy cartridges” are then supposed to be removed and swapped out with blanks before they are fired.  After the investigation wrapped up, the police concluded that a tip of one of the cartridge’s bullets broke off of it and subsequently loaded itself into the gun.  In the end this cartridge and the blank were both fired at Lee. The .44 caliber bullet was found lodged near Lee’s spine. 

Linda Lee Cadwell, Brandon Lee’s mother filed a negligence lawsuit case against the film’s producer and Michael Massee (the actor who shot the firearm) and allegedly they settled out of court for about 3 million dollars.  

Understandably, the cast and crew of the film were upset and traumatized by what they had seen.  They were so devastated that many people involved with the making of the movie didn’t want to finish it.  However, with the permission of Brandon Lee’s family, filming continued and the movie was finished, following a 6 month bereavement break.  

Even though the movie was nearing completion when Lee was accidentally killed, there were still several scenes left to film that he was supposed to be in.  Thankfully, although it was the early 90s, computer technology had made significant strides and his likeness was able to be re-created digitally.  For example, in one scene he is putting on the infamous makeup he would wear throughout the movie.  A body double was put in his place, but his face was digitally inserted onto the actor’s body, Lee’s reflection can be seen in the mirror.  Same also goes for the scene where Lee is thrown out the window to his death.  This movie was already incredibly dark and this just adds to it’s eeriness.  A mask had actually been made of Lee’s face from a mold earlier on during filming, in case for example, a stunt double needed it.  It was too emotionally upsetting though for the crew to use it so it was destroyed. 

The Crow was released on May 13, 1994 and was the #1 movie during it’s opening weekend.  It would go on to earn 51 million dollars which is about 90 million dollars in today’s money.  Many sequels have followed, but none will match the evocative prowess of the original movie.  

There was the Crow:  City of Angels in 1996, The Crow:  Stairway to Heaven in 1998, the Crow:  Salvation in 2000 and the Crow:  Wicked Prayer in 2005.  There have long been talks about a reboot of the film and in 2018 Jason Mamoa was working on the film,  but walked away from the project.  I am not a fan of reboots whatsoever and I think the Crow, for me personally, is no exception.  While I understand how profound of a story that Crow is as well as the first movie, but I am not at all disappointed that a remake hasn’t come to fruition.  That being said, if a remake of the film created a new generation of fans who then can watch and appreciate the film from 1994, then by all means, remake it! 

O’Barr stood to earn quite a bit of money as a result of the success of the film version of the Crow.  However, he was so distraught by the death of Brandon Lee, who he considered a friend, that he spent very little of his earnings on himself. Instead, he bought his mother a car and a surround sound system for his house (that is the most 90s thing he spent his money on!) and gave the rest to charity.  He felt like he had “blood money” and didn’t feel it was right to spend a ton of money on himself when his good friend lost his life.  Certainly very admirable, but just speaks to the ripple effect Brandon Lee’s death had on the individuals involved with the film.

One thing that stood out to me from my research was not just the sad and tragic end of Brandon Lee’s life, but also the difficulty that Michael Massee or “Funboy” in the movie experienced as a result of being given a weapon that was not ready to be used in the film which subsequently led to the infamous tragedy. Michael Massee was born on September 1, 1952 in Kansas City, MO.  When he was a little boy, he and his family moved to Paris, France and he essentially grew up there.  

After attending high school, he moved to New York City and got a Bachelor’s degree from Hunter College.  He also studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre.  He’s had a very successful acting career, starring in movies like the Lost Highway, Amistad and the End of Violence.  He was so distraught after Lee died on set that he took a year off from acting.  He didn’t speak a lot about Lee’s passing because he was so traumatized but once during an interview he said:  “It absolutely wasn’t supposed to happen.  I wasn’t even supposed to be handling the gun until we started shooting the scene and the director changed it.  I just took a year off and I went back to New York and didn’t do anything.  What happened to Brandon Lee was a tragic accident and I don’t think you ever get over something like that.” Years and years after the end of Brandon Lee’s life, Massee suffered from nightmares because of the accident. He did, however, continue to act.  More recently, he played a terrorist on the first season of 24, and a murderer on the NBC mini-series, Revelations in 2005.  He also had two children- a son named Jack and a daughter named Lily.  Sadly, Michael Massee passed away in 2016, I believe it was from cancer.  He reportedly never watched the Crow.  I really felt for the guy.  Having to carry that burden with him for decades must have been incredibly painful.  As a result of the oversight that occurred with the gun that killed Brandon Lee, gun safety changes have apparently occurred on movie sets since this tragedy.  

I hope you have enjoyed the look back on the powerful and dark film that is the Crow.  An article from Entertainment Weekly in 1994 said:  “In a way, the film became about something different,” says a source close to the production.  “It became about how you deal with grief.  What happens when someone you love is taken from you.  How do you incorporate that into your life?” Who knew that a sentiment from an old issue of a magazine could apply to my life 26 years later? 

I’m sure there are others who can relate.  I guess that is what this show, as whole, is all about.  How will I incorporate my sister’s life and this debilitating grief into something constructive, something healthy and something positive?  I am trying my best to use the diverse and unique things she was into as some sort of cathartic and healing expression of my debilitating grief and ultimately love for my big sister.  Thank you for continuing to be a part of this ride.  I hope that if you are listening to this show and if you are feeling grief or sadness that you too can find something that you find therapeutic as a way to cope.  

My sister was really drawn to the story of the Crow and of Brandon Lee and his tragic passing.  She somehow acquired a cardboard cutout of Brandon Lee (perhaps from a video rental store, I can’t remember).  It was just from the waist up, and for many years he sat on the floor, leaned up against her teal colored bedroom walls.  She would often light a black candle and would let it burn while she had some type of remembrance ceremony for him.  I always gave her a hard time for it when I was a teeanger, but now I understand more about why his passing was so upsetting and why the movie was so powerful.  

In one of her high school public speaking classes, Becky gave an impassioned speech about what happened to Brandon Lee.  She educated her audiences about the 3 different types of bullets, she said at one point during her speech that I’ll never forget:  “There are 3 types of bullets:  a dummy bullet, a bullet and a blank” and would go on to share the details of how an oversight on set, let to the tragic death of her now favorite actor.  I would randomly go up to her and ask her- “how many types of bullets are there again?” or “what is a dummy bullet?”  To which she would reply:  “oh, shut up.”  However, now with all of the knowledge I have gained through my research I too would love to give a speech about Bradon Lee and the Crow.  Her love affair with him and the movie will forever be etched in my memory. I would give anything to hear her speech again.  

Please rate and subscribe to the podcast.  Please tell a friend or family member (or both!) about the show! I hope you will join me for my next show where we will be discussing:  

Until then, be kind, be safe and hold on to your memories.