Hurt pulls out of Allman role in bio-pic

Midnight Rider star William Hurt has pulled out of the Gregg Allman bio-pic, which suspended production in February after a train accident killed a camera assistant.

“I can confirm he’s out of the movie,” said a spokesman for ICM, the talent agency that represents Hurt. The Oscar-winning actor was cast as the legendary rocker.

Hurt’s withdrawal from Midnight Rider raises doubts about whether producersRandall Miller and his wife, Jody Savin, can revive the project.

The couple had planned to resume production of the f ilm in Los Angeles in June, raising concerns among union officials and some local crew members, who questioned why filmmakers would proceed with the project after the death of 27-year-old Sarah Jones.

Friends and colleagues of Jones set up a Facebook page calling for crew to boycott Midnight Rider in the wake of the accident, which has sparked multiple federal andstate investigations into possible negligence.

The camera assistant was killed and several other workers were injured by a freight train that ran into the crew on the first day of filming in Georgia.

The tragedy prompted nationwide calls to improve safety on sets.

Hurt himself had raised concerns about crew safety shortly before the incident occurred on a train trestle outside of Savannah. The crew had placed a bed on the tracks to prepare a dream sequence for Hurt.

MovieStyle, Pages 36 on 04/25/2014

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