A worker was killed in an accident Thursday at a Taiwanese film lot during preparations for the shooting of a new Martin Scorsese movie, media reports said.
Taiwan's Central News Agency said Chen Yu-lung was killed and two other men were injured when scaffolding around a building suddenly collapsed. All three were Taiwanese contractors hired by the film's producers.
The lot belongs to the Chinese Culture and Movie Center, which issued a statement saying the contracting film crew bore responsibility for health and safety in the accident.
The news agency said shooting had not yet begun on the movie, a historical drama titled "Silence" about two Jesuit priests in 17th century Japan, based on a 1966 novel by Japanese author Shusaku Endo. The cast includes Liam Neeson and Andrew Garfield of the "Amazing Spider-Man."
Scorsese is in Taiwan to shoot the film, but it wasn't known if he was on the lot.
Leslee Dart, the spokeswoman for the film, said an existing structure on the backlot of the studios had been deemed unsafe, and a third-party contractor was hired to reinforce it.
"Sadly, during this process, the ceiling collapsed, resulting in the death of one of the contractor's employees and injuries to two others," she said in a statement.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More