2 Hospitalized After Accident on Film Set

A two-time Oscar-nominated director of photography and one of his camera operators remained in Columbia Los Robles Hospital on Thursday after an accident the day before on the Lake Sherwood set of the Disney movie “Mighty Joe Young.”

Don Peterman, nominated for “Flashdance” and “Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home,” was in serious but stable condition in the intensive care unit with a broken leg and minor head injuries, while camera operator Ray de la Motte was in good condition with minor chest and back injuries, a nursing supervisor said.

“Since [Peterman] is listed in stable condition, he is not in a life-threatening situation,” she said. “The clinical prognosis is very good.”

Peterman will be transferred to UCLA Medical Center in Westwood at a later date to be closer to his family, the nursing supervisor said. De la Motte, speaking from his hospital bed, said he would probably be released today.

The two men were injured about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday on the film site when a crane holding a platform 18 feet off the ground snapped, sending the platform crashing to the ground, said de la Motte, who was on the structure when it fell. He said Peterman was under the platform at the time.

The crew was preparing to shoot a scene for the remake of the 1949 RKO gorilla-on-the-loose classic.