WALKING DEAD FILMING RESUMES AFTER MISHAP

P roduction on the eighth season of the TV show The Walking Dead has resumed. Filming was shut down last week following the death of stuntman John Bernecker (above). Cable network AMC has confirmed the news, reports variety.com. Last Wednesday, Bernecker was filming a scene with series regular Austin Amelio. The scene called for him to fall approximately 20 feet off a balcony onto a safety cushion. But assistant director Matthew Goodwin told the Coweta County Sheriff ’s office that Bernecker did not appear to get “a good separation” from the balcony and attempted to abort the jump by grabbing onto the balcony with both hands, according to the incident report. His momentum caused Bernecker to slam into the bottom of the balcony, which made him lose his grip and fall, missing the safety cushion by “just inches”.

Bernecker landed on his head and neck, and an on-site medic immediately rendered aid. He was airlifted to an Atlanta medical centre and placed on a ventilator, which his family opted to turn off on Thursday. The Coweta County Coroner’s office listed his official cause of death as blunt force trauma. Bernecker was a veteran stunt performer and fight choreographer. He had worked on films such as Olympus Has Fallen, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay parts 1 and 2, and Logan, among others. He is also listed as having worked on upcoming films like Marvel’s Black Panther and Dwayne Johnson’s Rampage.

He also worked as an actor in several films; this included a small part in Logan, the X-Men spinoff.

Several Walking Dead series stars, including Lauren Cohan, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Norman Reedus, posted tributes to Bernecker online, along with many others in the entertainment industry with whom he had worked.