Michael Mann made the downtown L.A. shootout in "Heat" the gold standard for movie gunfights. On Halloween, a gun went off on him for real.
The 83-year-old director accidentally shot himself in the leg Saturday at a Los Angeles gun range. According to his rep, the injury was minor.
What happened
ABC News, citing law enforcement sources, reported that Mann was holstering a .45-caliber handgun at a members-only indoor range in West L.A. when it went off and hit him in the left thigh. TMZ, which broke the story, said the range was The Range LA, according to People.
"On Saturday, at a gun range, a weapon accidentally discharged while holstered, resulting in a superficial injury to film director Michael Mann," his representative said in a statement reported by the Los Angeles Times, People and ABC. "He was treated and is being released."
NBC News reported his rep described the wound as a minor, subcutaneous injury.
The police side
The LAPD said officers answered a call of shots fired on Missouri Avenue around 4 p.m. and determined the shooting was accidental. "The subject was transported to a local hospital in stable condition. An injury report was completed," the department told People.
ABC's sources said range staff gave first aid before paramedics took Mann to the hospital.
Not a rookie
The Los Angeles Times and NBC News, citing his rep and a person familiar with the circumstances, said Mann has been an experienced target shooter for decades and was doing target practice when it happened.
That tracks with his films. NBC News noted that Mann told Vulture in 2017 that the "Heat" cast fired full-load blanks to capture the sound of real gunfire, not edited sound effects. His résumé also includes "Collateral," "Thief" and "Miami Vice," and he's Emmy-winning, per People and NBC.
Mann hasn't commented beyond his rep's statement. By every account, he's walking away from this one.
Photo: Raph_PH via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (Michael Mann at the BFI, London, 2023)
