10 Ridiculous Stories Behind 2019 Movies
7. Stuntmen Torching - Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the harkening back to the 1960s in Quentin Tarantino's ode to old-school Hollywood was not only on screen but also on set. No instance quite captures this like the shooting of scenes in which Leonardo DiCaprio's Rick Dalton uses a flamethrower, which was 100% real.
According to DiCaprio, using it initially was especially difficult, with many of the greatest all-time stuntmen who were nearby showing up just to see him wield it. While at first he started to feel bad for the stuntmen he had to torch, that pity quickly turned to himself as the heat from the flamethrower ended up wafting back into his face, causing him to have chronic headaches. Not quite the medical assistance needing glass cut to the hand he suffered the last time he worked with Tarantino for Django Unchained, but not ideal nonetheless.
Co-star Brad Pitt, having his own fish to fry due to Tarantino's insistence on shooting his fight scene with Mike Moh's Bruce Lee in one take, made sure to steer clear from the set during the flamethrower scenes. Apparently, seeing "LDC flamethrower rehearsal" on the call sheet was enough to make him laugh, sympathise with everyone involved and stay away.