A little more than a month after an extra was permanently brain damaged following an accident on the set of Transformers 3 in Chicago, there’s been another accident, this time on the set in Washington DC.  You can see video of the crash after the jump, but it looks like a cop car (the SUV indicated by the blue arrow above) drove through the set perimeter and smashed into the yellow Camaro playing Bumblebee.

A nearby shop owner tells TMZ there was a lot of police activity  in the area right at the time of the accident due to a bomb scare. It is unclear if the cop car involved in the accident was part of that investigation.  D.C. police tell TMZ the cop car involved was part of the Explosives Ordinances Division. We’re told the cop driving was taken to a nearby hospital.

Excuse me, but when you’re talking about a Michael Bay movie, it’s not a bomb threat, it’s a bomb promise.  BOOM.

UPDATE: Now with even better video:

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Last I heard about Gabriela Cedillo, the 24-year-old Transformers 3 extra who was left in critical condition after a cable sliced through her skull in a set accident last month, Paramount had agreed to pay for her medical bills.  It was the right thing to do, but unfortunately Cedillo didn’t hear about it because she was and presumably is still in a coma.  “They periodically remove the ventilator and she can sometimes breathe on her own,” said a family spokesman at the time.

Not surprisingly, paying her medical bills probably isn’t going to cut it.

The family says in a lawsuit that Cedillo is permanently brain-damaged.
The suit was filed Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court and blames negligence by the makers of the movie.
“Gabriela suffered a severe open head trauma,” said her lawyer, Todd A. Smith.
Cedillo was among 80 extras and was driving her own car in the westbound lanes of a vacated part of Cline Avenue for the stunt, according to the lawsuit.
While she and the others were driving, stunt vehicles were being towed by flatbed trucks in the opposite lanes at 50 mph, the suit states.
The stunt called for two of the towed vehicles to rise in the air and then flip “by use of a pulling cable with the idea being to cause violent rolls of the cars involved,” her lawyers said.
On the day of the accident, a cable and bracket attached to the bottom of a stunt car closest to Cedilla and the other extras snapped, the lawyers said.
The vehicle became “airborne into the oncoming lanes, striking Ms. Cedillo’s hood, windshield and eventually her head,” the lawyers said.
Among other issues, the lawsuit alleges that movie officials were negligent through faulty welding and the design of the bracket and allowed extras to be too close to the stunt.  [BostonHerald]

Still no word on the amount the family is suing for, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that it’s a lot.  Hopefully she doesn’t blow it all on fancy sheets and gem-encrusted feeding tubes.  My, this is an uplifting story, isn’t it?  Director Michael Bay was not named in the suit, but it appears he has nonetheless begun to cut down on luxury items out of respect, like collars for his shirts.

[picture via]

Perez Hilton is reporting that actress Rooney Mara has been “severely injured” on the set of David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in Sweden.  Take that with a grain of salt, because it’s Perez Hilton, and the only things I’d trust that fat mongoloid to do are blow things* out of proportion and not know what words like “serious” mean.  For what it’s worth, here’s some google translated text from Perez’ Swedish source:

Rooney Mara seriously injured when she was preparing for the role of Lisbeth Salander.
Now Hollywood filming of “Men Who Hate Women in danger.”
On Monday came the shooting of the lavish movie started. Scenes with extras filmed in Ingarö in the Stockholm archipelago.
Now Amusement sheet reveal that Rooney Mara, 25, who will play Lisbeth Salander, have been injured so severely in the shoulder that several major recording days to be moved.

My guess is that by “serious injury”, they mean she dislocated her shoulder, and Perez took the opportunity to write something breathy and shrill.  But what do I know, I’m just a man who hates women in danger.  Seriously, this is the picture Perez used as his banner image.  I heard he would’ve made her a “Get Well Soon” card out of construction paper, macaroni, and glue, but he ended up eating all the macaroni and glue.

*no homo… er, yes, homo. (*sigh*)  I don’t even know anymore.

UPDATE: My assumption was that something probably happened, and Perez’ account, based on a mainstream news report, was just highly exaggerated. Now Sony says the story is “not true at all.”  Meanwhile, I’ve upgraded my official account to (*dismissive wank*).

Late last night, I received a second-hand eye witness report that an extra had been killed in an accident on the set of Transformers 3.  I couldn’t verify it, so I didn’t run it, because I’m sure we all remember what can happen when you accidentally report that a living person is dead.  The good news is that the extra is alive, though the fact that a person who saw the accident thought she wasn’t doesn’t bode well.  …And I’m realizing now that the Massive Headwound Harry Photoshop may have been in poor taste. TMZ‘s account:

Officials say the accident happened during a driving scene … when an object went through the windshield of a car, hitting the driver.
An extra on the set described the accident to WLS-TV … saying, “The vehicle was being towed by another vehicle … the cable between the two vehicles broke. It whipped around and sliced through the woman’s car and sliced through her skull, apparently. ”
The victim was airlifted to a local hospital. We’re told she’s currently in critical condition.

Yikes.  At least Michael Bay has some good karma built up from the puppy thing.  More from CBS Chicago:

During the stunt, an object struck a 2006 Toyota and went through the windshield and hit the driver, according to the release. 24-year-old Chicago woman Gabriela Cedillo was an extra in the movie and the owner of the Toyota, but was not a member of the stunt personnel, State Police said. After being struck, the Toyota hit the inner median concrete barrier and continued for almost a mile before coming to a stop, according to the release. The vehicle had extensive damage to the driver’s side.
Off-duty Indiana State Police troopers were at the location working with Alliance Security and notified State Police immediately, according to the release. Fire and emergency medical service personnel were also on scene at the time of the crash and Hammond, Ind., fire personnel also responded.

Ugh, I hate reporting depressing, serious news.  If I wanted to do that I would’ve put on pants, and not gotten fired from all those other jobs.  Usually on Michael Bay movies, the head-injury stories are less literal.

Actress Natasha Richardson, wife of Liam Neeson and daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and director Tony Richardson, is in critical condition after a skiing accident.

Richardson …apparently suffered a traumatic brain injury.  Richardson, 45, was transferred to Hopital du Sacre-Coeur de Montreal at about 5 p.m. after initially being taken to entre Hospitalier Laurentien, which is close to the exclusive Mont Tremblant ski resort in Quebec. Sources said she was later taken to the couple’s home, though this could not be immediately confirmed. If true, it could mean that she is brain-dead and may be close to death. [IrishCentral]

Keep in mind, they said it could mean. Irish Central apparently isn’t above speculating about the worst possible scenario.  Anyway, I hope this is the last depressing news I have to report this week.  Could someone please teach Seltzer-Friedberg how to ski?  If one ran into a tree the other would probably die of laughter.

UPDATE: Says TMZ: “We’re told she was having a private lesson on a green slope (beginner) at a ski resort in Quebec, Canada. She fell — we’re not sure why. There was no blood and no sign of impact. Two ski patrollers came to her rescue. When they got there she was conscious — smiling and making jokes. An hour later, Natasha started to complain of a headache and said she didn’t feel well. Someone from the resort called 911, and she was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. Natasha was conscious when she left the resort.” Hmm, yeah… so I’m thinking saying she might be brain dead may have been a bit premature. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

DOUBLE UPDATE: TimeOutNewYork apparently reported that she was dead about 20 minutes ago but later retracted the story. So who knows what’s really happening! Stick around while I speculate wildly! *fires finger guns around the room like Yosemite Sam*

TRIPLE: Says an email to retarded 12-year-old Perez Hilton: Time Out New York sincerely apologizes for the confusion. We stand by our sources, and our friend of the family first confirmed “dead” and then called back to say “brain dead.” We find the situation incredibly tragic and obviously wish to only report the facts. Our website crashed from traffic.

See? Aren’t you glad this story had a happy ending?  Oh wait.