UPDATE Feb. 5, 4:21 PT: Harvey Weinstein denies covering up the Uma Thurman car accident that occurred on the “Kill Bill” set, saying she continued to work with him “on three more films, including ‘The War With Grandpa’ which was scheduled to be released this year.”
Uma Thurman does not believe there was any “malicious intent” behind director Quentin Tarantino’s decision to have her do a dangerous driving stunt in “Kill Bill,” which she discussed in a New York Times piece from Saturday, and says he was “deeply regretful” and “remorseful” about the event.
“The circumstances of this event were negligent to the point of criminality,” the actress wrote. “I do not believe though with malicious intent.”
She added, “Quentin Tarantino was deeply regretful and remains remorseful about this sorry event, and gave me the footage years later so I could expose it and let it see the light of day, regardless of it most likely being an event for which justice will never be possible. He also did so with full knowledge it could cause him personal harm, and I am proud of him for doing the right thing and for his courage. THE COVER UP after the fact is UNFORGIVABLE.”
On Saturday, the New York Times published a story in which the “Kill Bill” actress blamed Tarantino for a “permanently damaged neck” and “screwed up knees,” as well as the feeling that she had been reduced to a “broken tool” during the filming of a famous scene in the film.
In the climax of the film, Thurman’s character, Beatrix Kiddo, is seen driving through Mexico in a Karmann Ghia as she looks for Bill. Behind the scenes, Thurman told the Times’ Maureen Dowd that she wasn’t comfortable driving the car after a teamster told her there might be problems with the vehicle because its transmission had been reconfigured.
Thurman wanted a stunt driver to do it, but acquiesced after a “furious” Tarantino talked to her in her trailer. “He said: ‘I promise you the car is fine. It’s a straight piece of road’,” she recounted. He persuaded her to do it, and instructed: “‘Hit 40 miles per hour or your hair won’t blow the right way and I’ll make you do it again.’ But that was a deathbox that I was in. The seat wasn’t screwed down properly. It was a sand road and it was not a straight road.”
She also said that after she came back from the hospital, she and Tarantino had an “enormous fight” over the incident.
Now, instead of blaming the director, the actress took aim at three others.
“For this I hold Lawrence Bender, E. Bennett Walsh, and the notorious Harvey Weinstein solely responsible,” she said of the film’s producers. “They lied, destroyed evidence, and continue to lie about the permanent harm they caused and then chose to suppress. The cover up did have malicious intent, and shame on these three for all eternity.”
In response, Weinstein said in a statement, “Harvey has tremendous affection for Uma Thurman nevertheless he denies these allegations. He did not give instructions to destroy the vehicle or orchestrate a cover-up and this is the first time he has learned that Ms. Thurman had any issues regarding the handling of her accident. In fact, she continued working with Mr. Weinstein on three more films, including ‘The War with Grandpa’ which was scheduled to be released this year. Ms. Thurman has reported in the past that that Mr. Weinstein personally came on set during the filming of the scene where she was being buried alive, concerned with her well-being, he demanded that they reconfigure the shot to her approval so that she felt more comfortable.We understand that members of the production team have stated to individuals in the media that Mr. Weinstein had nothing to do with the aftermath of the crash. Mr. Weinstein wishes Ms. Thurman would have spoken to him at the time to express her concerns and would like for her to provide any additional details so that he can assist in closing and repairing this chapter of her life. Once again, he is remorseful and regrets making a pass at her in England.”
Representatives for Tarantino have not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment. Representatives for the other two have not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Read her entire post below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Be0x6OCFRwQ/?utm_source=ig_embed