Gregg Allman calls for film about him to be stopped after death on set

Singer-songwriter Gregg Allman has begged the director of Midnight Rider, the controversial biopic about him, to abandon the film following the death of a camera assistant on set. Sarah Jones was killed after being hit by flying debris during a shoot for the film in Jesup, Georgia on 20 February. Star William Hurt, who was cast as Allman, has already quit the film. However, there have been reports that the director, Randall Miller, hopes to complete production in Los Angeles, close to the headquarters of his production company.

In a letter to Miller, Allman said he was “writing to you as one human being to another, and appealing to you from my heart … not to go forward”. He said he was initially keen to see the results of a movie that is based on his own bestselling autobiography, My Cross to Bear, but now felt differently.

“When the idea of you producing the film first came about, I was genuinely excited about the possibility of sharing my story with fans around the world,” wrote Allman, a member of celebrated rock group the Allman Brothers. “Unfortunately, all of that changed for me on Feb 20 of this year. While there may have been a possibility that the production might have resumed shortly after that, the reality of Sarah Jones’s tragic death, the loss suffered by the Jones family and injuries to the others involved has led me to realise that for you to continue production would be wrong.

“Your desires as a film-maker should not outweigh your obligations as a human being. I am asking you to do the right thing and to set aside your attempts to resume the production out of respect for Sarah, her family and the loss that all of us feel so deeply.”

Filming of Midnight Rider was suspended after Jones’s death. She was killed when a train hit a bed that had been placed on a railway track as part of a dream sequence featuring Hurt as Allman. The 64-year-old American actor was among those who escaped unharmed, but Jones was knocked beneath the vehicle.

The incident is being investigated but it is unclear whether the film-makers will face charges.

Source: The Guardian