There are varying theories on the cause of death surrounding Brandon Lee. ABaHB will take a look at three of the more widely accepted theories.

Setting the Scene
It is March 30th, 1993, Wilmington, North Carolina. Brandon prepares to complete what is expected to be the last night of scenes that involve weapons. After this night, there is only 8 more working nights before, what is to be his star launching film, is complete. Brandon speaks to his mother on the phone. After indicating his joy in this being the final night of weapons scenes, he ends the conversation with the words "love you momzos" and heads to the set. It is after midnight, the first few minutes of March 31st signify the start of another shooting night and tragically, the count down to the end of Brandon's life. The scene in which Eric Draven walks in on his beloved Shelly being raped is to be shot. After several walk-through sequences, it is decided to go for real. Everyone is in place. Michael Massee (FunBoy) is handed the pistol, which he is to point and fire at Brandon (Eric Draven) as we walks into the room. Alex Proyas calls for "quiet" and then "action". Brandon walks in, Michael Massee pulls the trigger, Brandon falls to the ground and Alex Proyas calls "cut". Everyone relaxes and starts moving around. Brandon, however, is still on the ground. Known for his practical jokes, Brandon is thought to be extending the scene in his usual comical fashion. However, it becomes apparent that this is no joke and tragedy has just occurred.

The Official Investigation
The Official Investigation Investigators have summarized that a slug (tip of a bullet) was lodged in the chamber of the gun Michael Massee (FunBoy) fired. It is believed this occurred when the weapon had been unloaded weeks prior to the flashback scene. In a previously shot scene, the weapon was loaded with dummy bullets. These are cartridges, which have no gunpowder, but still have the slug at the end. The center pin, or the primer, is pre-fired by tapping it in so there is no chance of the slug being fired when the trigger is pulled and the firing hammer hits the primer. Dummy bullets are used for front view, close-up scenes of the weapon to give an appearance that it is loaded with real bullets. Point of interest here, the production staff purchased real ammo and created their own dummy rounds. Live ammo should never be used for creating dummy rounds. During this particular scene, the trigger was pulled and the gun made a strange sound. The chamber as well as all the primers had been checked. The barrel, however, was not checked. All the primers were depressed in, so the gun was put up, thought to be cleared properly. It is theorized the sound heard by the crew was a live primer that had not been pre-fired. When the primer fired off, there was just enough force or powder left to dislodge the slug from the cartridge and lodge it in the barrel. The next time it was used was the night Brandon was shot. On the night of the rape scenes, the pistol was loaded with blanks. Blanks are cartridges that have no slug, but have twice the gunpowder in them to emit a loud noise and fire flash. In the process of readying the weapon for the rape scene, the slug lodged in the barrel was undetected by the prop-master who neglected to check the barrel prior to it being used. Point of interest here, the prop-master should not have been the one checking the weapon. Rather, a weapons-master should have been on-sight to do this check, but had been sent home to cut back on costs. The scene was started and Brandon walked through the door as scripted, with a grocery bag that contained a blood balloon, which would burst once the weapon was fired. As scripted, Michael Masse pointed the weapon in the direction of Brandon entering the room. Massee pulled the trigger and Brandon fell to the floor as scripted. It would be found out later that Brandon was struck in the lower abdomen area by a slug, his aorta artery severed. Point of interest here, Massee did not completely aim away from Brandon as is common safety practice. First aid was administered on the set until paramedics arrived to take Brandon to a hospital. Doctor's were unable to stop the bleeding after several operations and Brandon passed away a little after 1pm on March 31st.

This is an excerpt from the official investigation findings as detailed in official documents and in the Bridget Baiss book "The Crow: The story behind the film".

Horseplay Theory
It has also been speculated that the crew had been using the weapon for target practice the night before the tragic event. Point of interest, this is not an official theory held by the police who investigated the incident. They investigated this theory, but came to the conclusion detailed above. There were reports that the crew did this on several occasions. According to this theory, a live round was accidentally left in the chamber after the target practice sessions, thus contributing to the accident. This theory, though plausible, is disputed by the testimony of the prop-master. The prop-master has stated in several interviews by the police that he loaded the chamber prior to the scene. If this were the case, he would have noticed that a cartridge was already in the chamber. Another part of this theory is that a live round got mixed up with the blank rounds and was loaded accidentally. Again, the prop-master has testified that he loaded 6 blank rounds, which are easily distinguishable from dummy and live rounds, even to someone not experienced, since the blank rounds have no tip or slug. This theory is viable, although the force at which Brandon was hit suggests that a double packed blank round was used. Also, the film of the accident, which police were able to view on numerous occasions, suggests a blank cartridge was fired due to the sound and fire flash emitted from the weapon.

Conspiracy to Murder?
A more sinister theory held by some is that a plot to kill Brandon was the cause of the accident. Members of Brandon's family and production crew conspired to kill him in order to reap financial benefits from the movie. Outside of the total illogical aspect of this theory and the wide-sweeping involvement needed (many persons on the crew would have had to have been in on this), one has to question the motive here. Would there not have been greater financial benefits if Brandon had completed a three-picture deal than to arrange his death after completing just one film? Yes, the tragedy brought attention to the film and no doubt extra dollars. The Lee family did win an undisclosed settlement from the production company, in a wrongful death lawsuit. But were these financial gains so substantial that a family and production crew would conspire to kill someone? I think rational and logical thinking will answer that question. But, still, there are many that like to think nothing happens by chance.

Curses & The Mob
Of course, there are those that believe the events were triggered by the Lee family curse. Every male member of the Lee family, according to legend, is doomed to suffer an early death. Brandon was only 28 when he passed away, Bruce Lee was only 32 at the time of his death. Though the Grandfather of Brandon (Bruce Lee's father) was in his 50's when he passed away, the suddenness of his death helps to fuel the legend. Another belief is that the Chinese mafia played a part in Brandon's death due to old grudges held against Bruce Lee (It is believed by some that Bruce Lee himself was killed by the mafia). As with the conspiracy theory, these two possible causes, if looked at closely, do not hold any credence.

In closing, regardless to one's personal beliefs about the death of Brandon Lee, there is no escaping the tragedy of the event.

Take care…..amf