In a New York Times article published last Saturday, Kill Bill star Uma Thurman described being injured in an on-set accident that she alleges was covered up by now-disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein and CAA. Director Quentin Tarantino subsequently addressed her account, in which the actress recalls driving an improperly outfitted 1973 Karmann Ghia in unsafe road conditions, calling the incident “one of the biggest regrets of my life.†Now, in an email sent to The Hollywood Reporter, Kill Bill stunt coordinator Keith Adams weighs in on the incident, which reportedly left Thurman with damaged knees, a neck injury, and a concussion. According to Adams, Tarantino hadn’t even “notified or consulted†the stunt team before filming the scene.
“No stunts of any kind were scheduled for the day of Ms. Thurman’s accident. All of the stunt department was put on hold and no one from the stunt department was called to set,†he explained. “At no point was I notified or consulted about Ms. Thurman driving a car on camera that day. Had I been involved, I would have insisted not only on putting a professional driver behind the wheel but also insuring that the car itself was road-worthy and safe.â€
Adams’s account seems to contradict the director’s claim that “none of us looked at it as a stunt.†According to Tarantino, he didn’t feel the scene warranted consideration as a stunt, a conclusion he apparently arrived at without consulting Adams or any member of the stunt department, who ostensibly would have advised him otherwise. “I start hearing from the production manager, Bennett Walsh, that Uma is trepidatious about doing the driving shot,†Tarantino told Deadline about the accident. “None of us ever considered it a stunt. It was just driving. None of us looked at it as a stunt. Maybe we should have, but we didn’t.â€