Brendan Fraser apologizes to San Francisco for confusion over dummy during filming ‘George of the Jungle’

Actor Brendan Fraser issued an unprompted apology to the residents of San Francisco this week for confusion created years ago during filming of his film ‘George of the Jungle’ when the filmmakers hung a dummy in a parachute from the Golden Gate Bridge to shoot a scene.

The scene in the 1997 movie depicts the rescue of a parachutist who is stuck dangling from the Golden Gate Bridge. At the time of filming, unbeknownst to Fraser, no permit had been acquired for the stunt, and soon news crews were reporting a parachute stuck on the bridge awaiting rescue.

“When we were doing ‘George of the Jungle,’ George goes to rescue a parachutist tangled in the Golden Gate Bridge,” Fraser told SF Gate in an interview prior to a screening of his new film, ‘The Whale’. “That means Disney put a mannequin hanging by a parachute from the uprights.”

He continued, “It brought traffic to a standstill on either side of the bridge … There was a special news report with helicopters saying a parachute is dangling on the bridge. And I’m going — wait a minute, I’m looking at the helicopters and TV — somebody didn’t pull a permit, somebody’s going to get in trouble with the mayor’s office. So I can only apologize for that.”

Fraser repeated the anecdote and his apology in his speech thanking the Mill Valley Film Festival for a lifetime achievement award, and the audience responded with laughter.

Fraser recently made headlines for receiving two long standing ovations for ‘The Whale,’ his first film after recovering from severe depression that he says resulted from a 2003 sexual assault he endured at the hands of a Hollywood producer.