{"id":73683,"date":"2022-06-18T18:08:28","date_gmt":"2022-06-19T01:08:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/?p=73683"},"modified":"2022-06-25T10:15:27","modified_gmt":"2022-06-25T17:15:27","slug":"production-paused-on-netflixs-american-jesus-adaptation-after-two-actors-die-in-a-car-accident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2022\/06\/production-paused-on-netflixs-american-jesus-adaptation-after-two-actors-die-in-a-car-accident.html","title":{"rendered":"Production paused on Netflix’s American Jesus<\/i> adaptation after two actors die in a car accident"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Last year<\/a>, I mentioned that Netflix was developing a series based on Mark Millar\u2019s American Jesus<\/a><\/i>, a comic book about a 12-year-old boy who realizes that he is the second coming of Jesus. Today I learned that the series has a new title, The Chosen One<\/i>, and that it actually started filming two months ago<\/a> \u2014 but, alas, the production has been paused because of a car accident that killed two actors and injured six other people.<\/p>\n

Variety<\/a><\/i> reports that Raymundo Gardu\u00f1o Cruz and Juan Francisco Gonz\u00e1lez Aguilar were the two actors who died as a result of the injuries they sustained in the crash. The six injured passengers included two other actors and four crew members, none of whom have been identified so far. The six survivors are all said to be in stable condition.<\/p>\n

Variety<\/i> also notes that the accident did not take place on the set but, rather, while cast and crew members were in transit to the local airport near Santa Rosalia in Mexico.<\/p>\n

As noted above, production on the series has been paused for now. It is not yet known how the accident might affect the production in the long term.<\/p>\n

Incidentally, this series probably shouldn\u2019t be confused with another<\/i> Netflix series called The Chosen One<\/a><\/i>. That show, produced in Brazil and released in 2019, concerns three doctors who have to deal with a faith healer and his cult when they set out to vaccinate the residents of a remote village against a new strain of the Zika virus.<\/p>\n

June 21 update:<\/b> Netflix and its production partner Redrum issued statements about the accident yesterday. Variety<\/a><\/i> has the statements as well as some details about the two actors who died, who both had supporting roles and were in their late 40s.<\/p>\n

The trade paper adds:<\/p>\n

Variety<\/i> spoke to a transport driver who is familiar with the road where the accident occurred and has worked on other shoots in Baja. He noted that long, exhausting hours for drivers are the norm in most productions in Mexico. The accident occurred in \u201cthe most dangerous stretch of road between Loreto and Mulege, full of curves and potholes,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of accidents happen there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, logistics are an issue, with the nearest airport, Loreto, about four hours from the location shoot.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe lost two very beloved peopled, we\u2019re all hurting,\u201d said an actor on the production who prefers to remain anonymous. He said the set was a hybrid of union and non-union actors. \u201cIt\u2019s a very good project, it\u2019s a shame it has been tainted by people writing as if they know what really happened.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Deadline<\/a> says friends of the actors have raised concerns about the production:<\/p>\n

Friends of Gardu\u00f1o and Gonz\u00e1lez spoke out on Sunday<\/a> asking for a thorough investigation alleging there were logistical and transportation issues with the production, among other accusations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a plea for justice for these deaths,\u201d said friend and novelist Rick Zazueta via Facebook<\/a>. \u201cThis was no ordinary accident, the cast had been complaining openly about the logistical and transport issues faced in this production, calling it illogical, unreasonable, ignorant, and stupid. The conditions of the van were completely unfit for the purpose of transporting people; worn out tires, noisy brakes, loose steering wheel, not all seat belts worked, easily identifiable signs of danger. But, the show must go on, and the actors get wrapped up in the artform and want to work, and don\u2019t get as many opportunities to work, so they take these gigs with big dreams of Netflix and the promise of a small paycheck.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Variety<\/i> says the production is expected to resume \u201cafter the current investigation and a period of mourning has passed, according to sources close to the production.\u201d<\/p>\n

June 25 update:<\/b> A preliminary report indicates that the crash may have been due to excessive speeding<\/a>. Yeray Albelda, an actor who survived the crash but has no memory of it, described the circumstances surrounding it to Variety<\/a><\/i> and Deadline<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The series was being filmed in Mexico under the title The Chosen One<\/i>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":73695,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[3638,6540,6542],"class_list":["post-73683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-american-jesus","tag-rick-zazueta","tag-yeray-albelda"],"yoast_head":"\nProduction paused on Netflix's American Jesus adaptation after two actors die in a car accident<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The series was being filmed in Mexico under the title The Chosen One.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2022\/06\/production-paused-on-netflixs-american-jesus-adaptation-after-two-actors-die-in-a-car-accident.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Production paused on Netflix's American Jesus adaptation after two actors die in a car accident\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The series was being filmed in Mexico under the title The Chosen One.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2022\/06\/production-paused-on-netflixs-american-jesus-adaptation-after-two-actors-die-in-a-car-accident.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FilmChat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-19T01:08:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-25T17:15:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/227\/2022\/06\/americanjesus-cover-b-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"460\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Peter T. 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