In an interview yesterday with Bloody-Disgusting, the auteur indicated that Jason Ehl, Jigsaw trap-builder extraordinaire, had crafted a trap prop for the movie that was less than entirely safe:
"Today I am looking forward to making a phone call to one of our cast to ask him how he feels about getting into a trap that could potentially kill him. For real. Of course we will make it as safe as we can and have paramedics standing by while we shoot. Its not like he really has an option and maybe it will make him appreciate his life. Ha!!"
Hmmm. I wonder how gung-ho Hackl would be if he were the one stepping into the device? It wouldn't be the first time someone died making a movie (Vic Morrow in Twilight Zone: The Movie, Brandon Lee in The Crow), but it would be the first time they were intentionally put in harm's way. Lawyer up, Lions Gate!
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In more Saw-related shenanigans, The Guardian reports today that the U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has dismissed claims that the official poster for Saw IV (pictured here) was inappropriate. The ad for the movie--featured in British newspapers, magazines and the sides of public buses--was the target of 57 complaints from those who felt it was disturbing to children. Six of the complainants claimed that the ad had actually upset their own children. The ASA stated that while it was understandable the ad was distasteful to some, it was unlikely to cause widespread offense.I normally don't sympathize with so called "media watchdogs", and even less so with perpetually outraged parents, but I'm going to play devil's advocate here. Magazine and newspaper ads seem perfectly acceptable to me, but public buses? That may be taking it a bit too far. It is a severed head we're talking about here, lest we become too callous to such imagery. I don't remember the ad running in such a public fashion here in America. I can sort of understand how that would bother some parents, and potentially disturb little kids. Not my kids, mind you, but normal kids.