Kill Bill stunt coordinator Keith Adams wasn’t even aware that Uma Thurman was filming a driving scene for the movie, which resulted in a car crash. Thurman sustained multiple injuries during the accident, such as damaged knees, a neck injury, and a concussion.
“No stunts of any kind were scheduled for the day of Ms. Thurman’s accident,” Adams told The Hollywood Reporter via email. “All of the stunt department was put on hold and no one from the stunt department was called to set. At no point was I notified or consulted about Ms. Thurman driving a car on camera that day. Had I been involved, I would have insisted not only on putting a professional driver behind the wheel but also insuring that the car itself was road-worthy and safe.”
Kill Bill director Quentin Tarantino apparently didn’t think that the scene warranted a stuntman. “I start hearing from the production manager, Bennett Walsh, that Uma is trepidatious about doing the driving shot,” he told Deadline. “None of us ever considered it a stunt. It was just driving. None of us looked at it as a stunt. Maybe we should have, but we didn’t… It’s the biggest regret of my life, getting her to do that stunt.”
Thurman opened up about the car crash for the first time during an interview with the New York Times, wherein she also publicly recollected the assault she endured from Harvey Weinstein. She alleged that Harvey Weinstein and Creative Artists Agency covered up the crash. Kill Bill producer Lawrence Bender later issued a statement denying any involvement with a cover up.
