By Russ Bynum
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) --A third filmmaker was sentenced to 10 years of probation Tuesday for her role in a train collision last year that killed a young camera assistant and injured six other crew members, allowing prosecutors to close their final criminal case in the incident that derailed the Gregg Allman movie "Midnight Rider."
Hillary Schwartz, an assistant director on the film, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing in Wayne County Superior Court. She waived her right for a trial by jury and opted for a judge to decide her case, Assistant District Attorney John B. Johnson said.
Two of Schwartz's bosses, director Randall Miller and executive producer Jay Sedrish, pleaded guilty Monday to avoid standing trial.
Filming had just begun on the biographical movie about the Allman Brothers Band singer when a freight train moving 55 mph plowed into the film's crew on a railroad bridge spanning the Altamaha River about 70 miles southwest of Savannah. Prosecutors say 27-year-old camera assistant Sarah Jones of Atlanta died after her head was struck by the train and she fell beneath its wheels. Investigators soon learned that CSX Transportation, which owns the railroad bridge, had denied the filmmakers permission to work on its tracks.
Jones' death galvanized behind-the-scenes film workers to push for improved safety standards while making movies and television shows. And in southeast Georgia, it led to rare case of filmmakers being prosecuted for a death on their sets.
"Our office is very satisfied with the outcome," Johnson said. "More importantly, the Jones family is satisfied with the outcome."
Schwartz's attorney, Todd Brooks, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
The harshest penalty went to Miller, the director, who was sentenced to two years in the Wayne County jail and an additional eight years on probation. Sedrish will spend the next 10 years on probation.
Prosecutors agreed to drop charges against Jody Savin, Miller's wife and business partner, as a condition of her husband's plea agreement.
The train collision left the "Midnight Rider" film in limbo. Allman sued Miller in civil court last year to prevent the director from reviving the project. They settled out of court. Terms were not disclosed.
Review: Director Morgan Neville’s “Piece by Piece”
A movie documentary that uses only Lego pieces might seem an unconventional choice. When that documentary is about renowned musician-producer Pharrell Williams, it's actually sort of on-brand.
"Piece by Piece" is a bright, clever song-filled biopic that pretends it's a behind-the-scenes documentary using small plastic bricks, angles and curves to celebrate an artist known for his quirky soul. It is deep and surreal and often adorable. Is it high concept or low? Like Williams, it's a bit of both.
Director Morgan Neville — who has gotten more and more experimental exploring other celebrity lives like Fred Rogers in "Won't You Be My Neighbor?,""Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain" and "Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces" — this time uses real interviews but masks them under little Lego figurines with animated faces. Call this one a documentary in a million pieces.
The filmmakers try to explain their device — "What if nothing is real? What if life is like a Lego set?" Williams says at the beginning — but it's very tenuous. Just submit and enjoy the ride of a poor kid from Virginia Beach, Virginia, who rose to dominate music and become a creative director at Louis Vuitton.
Williams, by his own admission, is a little detached, a little odd. Music triggers colors in his brain — he has synesthesia, beautifully portrayed here — and it's his forward-looking musical brain that will make him a star, first as part of the producing team The Neptunes and then as an in-demand solo producer and songwriter.
There are highs and lows and then highs again. A verse Williams wrote for "Rump Shaker" by Wreckx-N-Effect when he was making a living selling beats would lead to superstars demanding to work with him and partner... Read More