"Straight To DVDead", Way to Die #404, is the sixth death to be featured in "Better Them Than Us", which aired on March 16, 2011.
Description[]
Two men are participating in a low-budget film of the American Revolution in 1775. One of them was furious about not getting the main role, so he plotted to kill the lead by filling his pistol with gunpowder, hoping to make it look like an accident. However, it explodes due to an excessive amount of gunpowder, destroying his hand and fragments from the pistol sever his femoral artery, killing him within seconds by massive blood loss.
Plot[]
A low-budget film taking place during the Revolutionary War, in 1775, is being filmed. Jim, an actor, plays a British captain. In one scene, his character duels with an American patriot.
In the next scene, he duels against the main character American hero, played by Samuel. In the scene, the hero is supposed to duel against the British captain and kill him. The crew should have done a background check on Jim, as he had secretly planned to kill Samuel. Before filming would take place, Jim had loaded his prop pistol with a real bullet ball and gun powder. Samuel's death would be seen as an accident, and it would be a perfect plan to take Samuel's trailer. In other words, Jim was secretly a criminal. The scene began to be recorded, Jim and Samuel started walking, turned around and then told them to shoot but when Jim pulled the trigger the gun exploded because he used too much powder, the barrel was exploded, Jim's right hand was destroyed and shrapnel from the cannon hit him in the right leg which severed his femoral artery, this caused him to bleed to death and die in seconds.
"Looks like his plan backfired..."
Transcript[]
Duel Director: Gentlemen. Select your weapons.
(The duel director opens the duelling pistol box)
Narrator: We're back in 1775. Jim is a British captain.
(Duelists select their pistol)
Narrator: He's about to duel with an American patriot.
(About to start the duel. But...)
Staff #1: Hang on, guys, I got a few...
Staff #2: Don't move.
Narrator: But it's not really 1775,
Staff #1: Hang on a minute.
(Clapperboard claps)
Narrator: it's 2005,
Producer: Camera's on.
-Narrator: and it's a scene being shot for a low-budget movie about the revolutionary war (1775-1783).
-Duel Director: 2... 3...
(Duelists turn, Jim shoots the patriot, playing dead, Supernatural Seven is playing)
Director: CUT!
Producer: That's a cut! (Claps his hands) Come on, people, we're losing life here, let's go!
(The next scene...)
Female staff: MB on board.
(Clapperboard claps)
Narrator: Samuel plays the lead. The heroic American. In this next scene, Samuel is supposed to duel with his British enemy, Jim. And kill him.
Director: Action!
Jim: (Depressed) Long live his majesty the king.
Samuel: Long live our new republic.
Producer: Jim, can you do it a little more sneering and little more arrogant?
Jim: Yes.
Staff #1: Okay, Camera A...
Narrator: But Jim is not happy. He thought he was going to get the leading role, but his acting was as bad as his $5 wig.
Director: Action!
Jim: Long live his majesty the king...!
Samuel: Long live our new republic...!
Narrator: The low-rent production company should have done better background checks on its actors. If they had, they would have known Jim had a criminal record as big as his ego.
(Behind the scene, Jim secretly filled the ball in the chamber)
Narrator: He secretly filled the chamber with a real lead ball. Samuel's death would be seen as an accident and the role would be his.
(Back to the scene, Superbug is playing)
Peter Sherayko: The flintlock pistol was a very simple mechanism. You put the powder charge in, you put a ball on top of it, whatever the caliber was, closed the prison which ignited the powder.
(Duelists are ready)
Female staff: On mark.
(Cathedral of Dread is playing, clapperboard claps)
Producer: Action!
Duel Director: And 1.
(Brass March To Death is playing)
Narrator: They counted off their paces.
Duel Director: 2.
Director: 3...
Duel Director: 3.
Narrator: Soon, Jim would have the star's trailer.
Duel Director: 4.
(Jim spins faster than Samuel, about to kill Samuel once and for all, but...)
Director: Fire.
(Jim shoots but instead of killing Samuel he blows off his hand, Plot Twist is playing)
-Jim: (SCREAMS)
-Director: OH!! Oh, no!! Ow! Cut, cut, cut!
(Samuel thought he got shot for real, surprised, gets close to Jim)
-Jim: (Cries)
-Narrator: Looks like his plan backfired...
(What caused the explosion is...)
Narrator: The jealous actor made a fatal error when loading his pistol: he used way too much gun powder.
(Future Heartbeats is playing, CGI shows the overflowed gun powder in the flintlock, when shoot, the human's hand explodes; not only that, the piece of flintlock stabs on the thigh)
Narrator: When Jim pulled the trigger, the pistol became a deadly hand grenade. Excessive powder blew up the barrel, blew up his hand, and shrapnel from the barrel cut deeply into his leg, severing his femoral artery.
(Replay of duel, Jim's hand blows up)
Dr. Michael Kurtz: A person who has his hand blown off from an injury, would suffer some blood loss, not major. This poor guy died because of the cutting of his femoral artery, which resulted in blood loss from his heart going to his lower extremity and that causes death.
(Recap, Epic Rock Piece is playing, the clapperboard claps)
Narrator: Jim was desperate to be a big star,
Jim: Long live his majesty the king...!
(Jim secretly filled the ball in the chamber)
Narrator: and would kill to get that leading role.
(The clapperboard claps)
Narrator: In the end, his death scene was...
(Jim's hand blows up)
-Jim: (SCREAMS)
-Director: OH!! Oh, no!! Ow! Cut, cut, cut!
Narrator: very believable.
Cast & Interviewees[]
- Robert Lee Bell - Duel Moderator (Lead)
- Peter Sherayko - Pistol Expert
- Dr. Michael Kurtz - Sports Medicine & Family Practice
Trivia[]
- Also called "Duel Personalities" for the Spike TV website.
- The clapperboard reads "1000 WTD 3".
- It is based on the death of Brandon Lee (Bruce Lee’s son), who died during the shooting of The Crow.
- The nickname for this death on the Spike TV website is a reference to an old comedy called Duel Personalities.
- The weapon that Jim used is a Flintlock.
Goofs[]
- Crew or Equipment Visable: A tube can be clearly seen under Jim's leg squirting out the blood from his femoral artery.
- Anachronism: While it takes place in 2005, the clapperboard clearly reads September 22, 2010 -- most likely the date that the actual scene for this show was filmed.
Segment Nicknames[]
- Duel Personalities (Spike TV)
Foreign names[]
- Directo a la Posteridad (Straight to Afterlife) - Latin American Spanish dub
- El papel de tu...muerte (The role of your...death) - Spanish dub
- Direto Para DVD-Cidio (Straight To DVD-cide) - Brazilian dub
- Deppenduell (Dupe) - German dub
- Kunaklataniklat humit DVD ka morti tusundat (Unexpecting on DVD of death experience) - Lazoran dub
Gallery[]
