BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – A federal judge has dismissed a case involving an extra who sued Will Smith’s studio after he was injured on set for a movie filmed in Louisiana.
James Walker Jr. worked as a background actor in Will Smith’s “Emancipation,” which takes place in Louisiana. While working on set, Walker was injured after getting hit in the face by a cable-suspended camera.
Walker claims that the production defendants, including Apple Studios Louisiana, director Antoine Fuqua and the crew, “collectively oversaw the setup, filming, and ultimately the production of the movie.”
He also claims Fuqua controlled “the sequence of activities on the movie set requiring the suspended camera system be utilized in an unsafe and dangerous manner.”
Walker’s attorneys accuse the production staff were negligent for:
- Failing to train and instruct their employees.
- Choosing to operate the camera in an unsafe manner despite knowing of the certainty of injury to cast members.
Attorneys representing the filmmakers and respective studios had the case moved to the Middle District of Louisiana and filed to get the claims dismissed. They argued that Walker failed to specify:
- How the employees were improperly trained.
- How the defendants failed to make sure the workplace was safe.
- In what way was the camera operated in an “unsafe manner?”
Walker and his attorneys countered and said the facts were given “in great detail,” but U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick disagreed.
In her dismissal, she said that the negligence claims made by Walker are barred by the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act. She also said he failed to provide enough facts to allow the court to support the plausibility of his claims. The suit was dismissed with prejudice.
Defendants named in the case were:
- Apple Studios Louisiana LLC.
- Entertainment Partners LLC.
- Escape Artists Productions. LLC .
- Fuqua Films Inc.
- Antoine Fuqua.
- Westbrook Studios LLC.
- Robert Bridge Richardson.
- Spydercam Inc.
- Jeffrey J. Danshaw.
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