car accident Tagged Articles at Cinematical

WREG-TV in Memphis is reporting that actor Morgan Freeman was airlifted to The Med hospital in "critical condition" following a car crash in Mississippi late last night. According to the Mississippi Highway Patrol, the actor's car reportedly went off Highway 32 in Tallahatchie County at around 11:30PM and "flipped several times." A woman in the car with Freeman was also taken to The Med. WREG says they were told by police Freeman may have fallen asleep at the wheel.

TMZ reports that, according to their source, Freeman was "sitting up and talking at the hospital" following the crash, that the actor suffered some broken ribs and injured knees, and that his female passenger had to be cut out of the car using the Jaws of Life, but that she's also okay.

Freeman lives in Mississippi, where he took time out of his busy filming schedule in February to give a boost to the Oxford Film Festival as a surprise guest, showing up at the fest's first screening to kick things off with some words of encouragement for the fest and attending filmmakers, and encouraged the local audience to continue their support of independent film.

The venerable actor was most recently seen in box office smash The Dark Knight as Lucius Fox, and IMDb lists numerous projects in pre-and-post production on his slate. We here at Cinematical hope that Freeman will be okay, and we thank Michelle Emmanuel at Oxford Film Festival for letting us know about the accident this morning. We'll keep you posted throughout the day as we have updates for you, in the meantime, we'll be keeping Freeman in our thoughts and prayers.

Remember the car accident that Joaquin Phoenix survived with hardly a scratch on him? Well, the story just got a whole lot weirder. In Phoenix's own words: as he lay in the car, he heard "...this German voice saying, 'Just relax.' There's the air bag, I can't see and I'm saying, 'I'm fine. I am relaxed.' Finally, I rolled down the window and this head pops inside. And he said, 'No, you're not.' And suddenly I said to myself, 'That's Werner Herzog!'" Yeah, that's right: German genius Werner Herzog rescued Joaquin Phoenix. And it wasn't just a concussion-related fantasy, either, because a spokesperson for Herzog confirmed that his client was there and helped Phoenix after the accident.

What makes the story even better, though, is Phoenix's description of the effect Herzog's presence had on him: "There's something so calming and beautiful about Werner Herzog's voice. I felt completely fine and safe." Anyone who has heard Herzog's voice (if you haven't, rent Lessons of Darkness a gorgeous film that he both directed and narrates) will immediately understand where Phoenix is coming from, because no matter what he's saying, listening to Herzog talk is incredibly soothing. Personally, if I ever have the misfortune of flipping my car, I hope Guardian Angel Herzog is looking out for me, too.

[via Beau and Defamer]

In a scene straight out of one of them eerie thrillers, Joaquin Phoenix was happily driving along a canyon road above the Sunset Strip early Friday afternoon when, suddenly - cue dramatic music - his brakes (code for drugs?) went out. Phoenix lost control, and the car overturned and smashed into another vehicle.

Apparently, it sounds much worse than it is because, after being helped out by a stranger (perfect autograph opportunity if I've ever seen one), Phoenix simply walked away. Although it may seem strange for him to be so immune to a horrific accident like this, the guy did win a Golden Globe for Best Actor recently and is about to be nominated for an Oscar. I've heard, come awards season, that actors somehow develop superhuman strength when faced with danger just in case, ya know, they should have to write a speech...or wear a really hot dress.