Brendan Fraser Apologizes For Stunt That Halted San Francisco Bridge Traffic

There’s a moment during “George of the Jungle” where George (Brendan Fraser) fearlessly climbs the towering structure of the Bay Bridge to rescue a trapped parachuter. But as reported by Entertainment Weekly, the actor revealed not everyone got the memo a movie stunt was being staged. When out of the loop bystanders looked up and saw what appeared to be a body dangling precariously above them — they were understandably distressed. “It brought traffic to a standstill on either side of the bridge,” Fraser explained. He continued:

“There’s this dummy parachutist hanging from it. I had the TV on, and Oprah got interrupted because there was a special news report with helicopters saying a parachute is dangling on the bridge. And I’m going — wait a minute, I’m looking at the helicopters and TV — somebody didn’t pull a permit, somebody’s going to get in trouble with the mayor’s office. So I can only apologize for that.”

Obviously, it wasn’t like it was Fraser who dropped the ball. But at least he had the hindsight to look back on the incident and recognize the kind of turmoil it probably caused that day. If anything, the fact that it fooled so many people including news crews is a testament to the believability of both the stunt and mannequin. Clearly, no one was in any real danger and the whole thing was a misunderstanding. But it also underscores just how much productions in urban locales need to make sure they don’t all their i’s and cross all their t’s when it comes to permits. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only blunder in retrospect that one of the lead actors in “George of the Jungle” had in regard to the film.