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These are some rumors
that are frequently posted on the Internet. Many fans still
don't know what is true and what isn't.
If you have a fact or
fiction question to ask, please email
us.
Trivia: Brandon wore
his wedding tuxedo to his funeral, and Eliza wore her wedding
dress?
Fact/fiction: Well
it's half true. It has been reported from reliable sources that
Brandon was buried in the tuxedo he had brought for his wedding.
Eliza did not wear her wedding dress to his funeral. She wore it to
the memorial service, which was held the day AFTER his private
funeral.
Trivia: Brandon was
in talks to do Rapid Fire II?
Fiction:
Slightly
factual. Brandon was working on a script with the writer of Rapid
Fire Alan McElroy for a new film, that would be produced by FOX, but
it was not a sequel (according to screenwriter Mc Elroy). Producer
Robert Lawrence was working on the project with Brandon and was
hoping to do something with the same character, but Brandon wanted
to make a fresh start with a new character, which he had already
named. Lawrence says this film was later changed into Die Hard III.
Trivia: Brandon was
going to open his father's death for investigation when he was
killed.
Fiction:
False. No evidence to suggest this is true. Brandon believed in the
official cause of Bruce Lee's death by
Cerebral
Oedema.
Brandon thought any such theories that his father died of anything
but natural causes to be ridiculous, and commented as much before
his death. Any theories involving Chinese mafia are equally
ridiculous and have no factual basis to them.
Trivia: Brandon
has a son
Fiction: It is
true that Brandon and Eliza were planning to start a
family immediately after they were married, but they had yet to
conceive when he died. Eliza did not give birth to Brandon's child
like some people have claimed.
Trivia: Brandon
was obsessed with death?
Fiction:
There is no evidence or commentary to suggest that Brandon was
obsessed with death. Quite the contrary, close friends attest to
Brandon’s great passion for life and living.
Most people make the assumption about Brandon’s interest on
discussing the mystery of death, that he was somehow obsessed with
death. Some of these opinions are based on photos of Brandon
visiting Jim Morrison's grave in the 1980's, or reports of Brandon
doing rebellious and dangerous stunts, or talking about death. One
visits gravesites out of respect not because they are obsessed with
death. Any interest in the philosophical aspect of death and dying
is human nature for any individual, especially one like Brandon who
had to face death at age 8 when his father died. Questioning your
own mortality doesn't make you obsessed with death, and an interest
or fascination with the unknown is hardly an obsession. Brandon
loved life, and was looking forward to having a long one. As far as
reports of Brandon having premonitions of dying young, only Brandon
can say. His closest friends seem to attest to the fact that any
"death" talk was done earlier on in his 20's or as a black joke (not
to be taken seriously). After he met Eliza he became more focused
and more excited about life and the prospects of a happy future,
after which such talk tended to cease. He did have a very black
sense of humor, but those who knew him do seem to be of the opinion
that is was just in a playful tone, and he did not mean for it to be
taken literally.
Trivia: Brandon
was first thought for the role of NEO in The Matrix?
Fiction.
There
is no evidence to suggest this one is true. The Matrix wasn't even
in script form when Brandon died in 1993, and there has been no
facts on record to support this widely circulated claim. Although
many internet rumoroids make a claim that the directors of The
Matrix in interviews claim that NEO was inspired by Brandon, no one
can actually produce evidence of such interviews as proof. If these
interviews existed, then it would not be hard to document such
claims now would it?
Trivia:
Brandon's autopsy revealed that he had heart disease and would have
died young, whether or not he had been killed.
Fiction. The source of this rumor came from RE PAYNE, who had longed
claimed that for a price he could prove that
Brandon
was murdered. Not only does he have no evidence, but his claims at
having Brandon's autopsy
report don't appear to have been proven by any kind of factual
documentation. The autopsy report was never released, and his report
contained so many errors, including supposed medical evidence (which
is absent) that it is illogical to even entertain this ridiculous
rumor. Payne is in the business of lies, and his so-called evidence
is non existence (his original claim was that
Brandon’s mother ordered a hit on Brandon – which as you
would agree is so off the radar one questions the sanity of RE
PAYNE). His report has so many holes (not to mention numerous
grammar errors), that once again it has no factual basis to it.
Brandon was very healthy, and while he did smoke, that would of
hardly caused significant heart disease at age 28, to the degree
Payne suggests. Brandon did not have a heart condition or heart
disease and Payne's claim that he was genetically going to die, has
no evidence to support it. To there be a genetic link to death,
there first has to be a family member in their direct line to die of
it (Bruce didn't die of heart disease, and most of Brandon's
grandparents died of old age related conditions, so much for that
theory, Payne). His heart, though, did take an enormous beating when
he was shot. In fact his aorta (which is connected to the heart and
is responsible for circulating blood to the organs) was severely
damaged, and had to be surgically repaired. If there was any damage
to the heart, it most probably was done after his accident, in an
attempt to save his life.
Trivia: The
members of Eric Draven's fictional band 'Hangman's Joke' is a real
band.
It is both. The
rumor persisted that Hangman's Joke were a real band, and for years
no one knew if the members of the band were local extras or were a
real band. Thanks to Cindy T of the starthrillerbrandonlee site, we
have been able to tell what is truth from what is fiction. There was
no real band called Hangman's Joke - that is fiction. But the
members in the promotional shots with Brandon were actually members
of a real band called Charlie's On Acid. They were cast as
extras to pose in promotional pictures with Brandon, which they did.
You can read an article from 1993 about the band here.
Trivia: Brandon
was signed on to do two sequels to The Crow
Fact. It is true
that shortly before he was killed, Brandon had in fact signed to do
two sequels to he Crow if it proved to be successful.
They were to be based around the character of Eric
Draven.
Trivia: Rapid
Fire was going to be called something else?
Fact: This is
true. Brandon (with agent David Goldman) and producer Robert
Lawrence worked to secure a deal with Fox for a film, which would be
written especially for him. Originally, writer Cindy Cirile was
writing a script called "The Red Pole," which had the storyline
based around a martial artist using his skills to fight the Hong
Kong Mafia in New York City. However, Brandon wanted a more
realistic character who he could relate with, and after Alan McElroy came on board as one of
the writers, the storyline dealing with both martial arts, and with
the loss and spiritual growth seemed more appropriate to Brandon. It
had the working title of "Moving Target," until after the film was
made. It was then changed to Rapid Fire.
Trivia: Brandon
died in the big shootout scene in The Crow
Fiction:
Brandon's accident did NOT occur in the big shootout scene in the
boardroom. That particular scene was shot over 10 days prior to the
fatal accident occurring. Several actors such as Michael Wincott,
Bai Ling and Tony Todd had already left Wilmington because their
scenes had already been filmed. Brandon's accident occurred filming
the death scene of his character Eric Draven.
Trivia: Eliza
Hutton ordered scenes between Eric and Shelly be removed after
Brandon's death.
Fiction. There is no evidence to suggest this is true. This rumor
was generated after some claims in the much read but factually
inconsistent book The Crow: The Story Behind the Film by Bridget
Baiss, that scenes that were shot between Brandon (Eric) and Sofia
Shinas (Shelly) were cut from the film by Eliza's request. However,
the evidence available contradicts such claims and proves that they
are false, as Eliza Hutton made no formal or official requests to
have any scene removed, besides the death scene. Given the fact that
both she and Linda wanted the film done and completed, it makes
claims from misinformed people rather redundant. The fact also
remains Eliza was not even aware of the contents of such scenes as
the main love scene was filmed during a time when she was back in
L.A, and she did not see the film until after it had been edited.
The scenes that had been filmed between the characters were VERY
short, therefore the scenes could not have been put in a narrative
context. There was only one sex scene in the script and no nudity
(which was by Brandon's request as he felt it wasn't needed
- instead wanted more emotional driven dialogue between the
characters of Eric and Shelly). There is also some claims that seems
to be supported by script notes that interaction between Eric and
Shelly were always intended to be brief flashback like "sparks" that
tormented and reminded Eric of his pain and his past. The actress
who played Sofia Shinas (who had never acted before The Crow and
therefore was inexperienced with the decision in film making) was
only on set for the last two weeks of the shoot, so she had scenes
still left to film with
Brandon
in the last week, and they were actually already behind schedule. Brandon died before the
large majority of the scenes between his character and Shelly had
taken place. Small scenes between the character had been shot in the
last week of his life, but
Brandon
requested to have the bulk of them filmed at the end of production,
so he could get the action over and done with. The decision to
edit was Alex's, and was done because there was not enough footage
to go around of the couple in order to show more of the before life
of Eric Draven. The decision was Proyas's and his alone. While some
actors do get disappointed that some of their work does not make it
on screen, it is frankly a fact of life in Hollywood. Sometimes an
actor's best shots end up on the cutting room floor. Ultimately, I
would take what you read in such "sensational" books with a grain of
salt, since some people may not be speaking from fact, but rather
from their own opinion which may be completely illogical and away
from any kind of hindsight.
Trivia:
Brandon Lee played the guitar in the rooftop Inferno song?
False: It is not
Brandon in this scene, as is obviously from the scene being filmed
from the back. The guitarist is rumoured to have been Brandon's
guitar teacher, J.K Loftin.
Trivia: Did
Brandon ever say 'The Key to immortality is living a life worth
remembering' or 'Immortality is to live your life doing good things,
and living your mark behind' ?
Fiction. It is rather
odd
that sayings Brandon
is connected with he never said or knew about in his lifetime
(according to evidence anyway). When Brandon died, the film based on
his father's life Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story was due to be
released, the film's director, Rob Cohen decided to include a
dedication to Brandon at the end of the film and asked his mother,
Linda if she had one in mind. After no suggestions were given, Cohen
asked her what she thought of the
St Augustine quote "The Key to Immortality
is Living a Life Worth Remembering", and she thought it was
perfect. Brandon never said it or
does any evidence to suggest he had heard of the quote while alive.
Linda Lee Cadwell used the quote and had it engraved on a bench that
was placed at the graves of Bruce and Brandon Lee in 1995. There is
also no evidence that Brandon had said or heard
of the second quote, although many fans have placed it on their
banners and pages - he never said it. It seems to be a variation of
the St Augustine quote, but once
again there is no evidence that Brandon ever said it.
Trivia: Brandon Lee was good friends with actor Mark
Dacascos, who played Eric Draven in ‘The Crow: Stairway to Heaven’
TV series.
Fiction. While both men had met in their lifetime, they were not
friends. Dacascos confirmed in 1998 to Black Belt Magazine that the
pair had known each other briefly as teenagers and their fathers had
known each other, but he and Brandon were not in contact when he
died, nor were they friends. Dacascos did also say that he was a
great fan of Brandon’s work in The Crow.
Trivia: Mark Dacascos filled in for Brandon Lee when he died.
Fiction. Mark Dacascos was not involved in The Crow film at all. He
did star in the TV series that was filmed in 1998-1999.
Trivia: Brandon
smoked.
Fact. Brandon was known to be a
chain smoker at the time he died.
Trivia: Brandon was killed by a
live bullet.
Fiction. Brandon
was not shot by a live .44 bullet, it only ultimately had the
simulated force of one.
Trivia: Brandon defended himself
against an intruder in his own home.
Fact: In 1990, Brandon was living in the Echo
Park area of Los Angeles and returned home one night to
find a intruder still in the house. Brandon
indicated in press interviews afterwards that the men first chased
each other around the room of the house, then the intruder grabbed a
knife and attempted to stab
Brandon
with it, only cutting him on the left thumb.
Brandon
used the knife-drill training he received at the Inosanto Academy
to successful disarm the intruder, before breaking several bones in
the intruder’s bones. The police were called and the intruder was
charged with break and enter and attempted robbery, for which he
served a small amount of prison time.
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