A crew member was electrocuted this week on the set of an independent film in Louisiana.
James McEvoy, 64, was operating a boom lift to move a light bracket around on a utility pole on Monday when he made contact with an energized power line, electrocuting him.
First responders declared him dead at the scene, Sgt. Brandon Veal of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office told New Orleans’ Times-Picayune.
The set is on the Magnolia Lane Plantation in Westwego, across the Mississippi River from New Orleans, according to Variety. The independent film “Kill Me Now” was scheduled to start filming Tuesday at the plantation, also used in movies such as “12 Years a Slave.”
“We are devastated by the tragic loss of James ’Trapper’ McEvoy, a beloved member of the New Orleans film community. Our hearts go out to his family, friends and all who knew him and worked alongside him during this difficult time,” lead producer Lynn Gilman Williams said in a statement to Variety.
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 478, Mr. McEvoy’s union, wrote on social media that “we are heartbroken by the loss of a crew member killed in a tragic incident while working on a production here in Louisiana. Our film community is close-knit, and when one of us is lost, the pain is felt by all.”
The trade association Film Louisiana, which represents the state’s movie industry, wrote in its own post that “we are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of a crew member on the set of an independent film in Louisiana. … The Louisiana film community is built on collaboration, creativity and care for one another, and the safety and well-being of every person on set must always come first.”
