Production company fined $1.9 million for breaking Harrison Ford’s leg

By William Hughes | October 13, 2016 | 1:20am

Aux Features Film

A Disney-owned production company has been fined $1.946 million by the British government, for its part in a June 2014 accident that broke Harrison Ford’s leg on the set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Foodles Production (UK) Ltd admitted earlier this year that the accident—which happened, in the actor’s own words, when “a fucking great hydraulic door” hit him in the leg after being accidentally activated on set—could have killed Ford if he had been standing in a different position, or if an emergency stop hadn’t been engaged.

The court’s biggest complaint was on-set communication, and the fact that no one had taken the time to tell Ford how dangerous the door might be. The accident briefly delayed shooting on the film (giving director J.J. Abrams a chance to rework some of the film’s central relationships, in what sounds like the definition of a mixed blessing). For its own part, Foodles expressed its regrets for the accident, saying it “deeply regretted” the event. The company is still part of the franchise’s production team, and, according to its Facebook page, recently worked on both Rogue One and Episode VIII.