Kill Bill producer, Harvey Weinstein deny covering up Uma Thurman car crash

Uma Thurman says the producers of Kill Bill tried to cover up a harmful car crash which occurred on set. Photo / supplied

Harvey Weinstein and Lawrence Bender, the producer of the Kill Bill films, have come forward to deny Uma Thurman's allegations that film-makers tried to cover up details of a car crash which left her with concussion and permanent damage to her knees and neck.

In an interview with the New York Times, the actress described how director Quentin Tarantino insisted she film a driving scene herself rather than use a stunt double, although she felt the car wasn't safe to drive.

"Quentin came in my trailer and didn't like to hear no, like any director," she said. "He was furious because I'd cost them a lot of time. But I was scared. He said: 'I promise you the car is fine. It's a straight piece of road.'"

Uma Thurman in Kill Bill Vol. 2. Photo / supplied

Thurman said he persuaded her to do it, and instructed her: "'Hit 40 miles per hour or your hair won't blow the right way and I'll make you do it again.' But that was a deathbox that I was in. The seat wasn't screwed down properly. It was a sand road and it was not a straight road."

The car crashed and Thurman was injured. She claims that Harvey Weinstein's film company Miramax witheld footage from the crash from her unless she agreed to sign a document that would legally "release them of any consequences of my future pain and suffering".

In an Instagram post on Monday, Thurman wrote: "THE COVER UP after the fact is UNFORGIVABLE [...] they lied, destroyed evidence, and continue to lie about the permanent harm they caused and then chose to suppress."

View this post on Instagram

i post this clip to memorialize it’s full exposure in the nyt by Maureen Dowd. the circumstances of this event were negligent to the point of criminality. i do not believe though with malicious intent. Quentin Tarantino, was deeply regretful and remains remorseful about this sorry event, and gave me the footage years later so i could expose it and let it see the light of day, regardless of it most likely being an event for which justice will never be possible. he also did so with full knowledge it could cause him personal harm, and i am proud of him for doing the right thing and for his courage. THE COVER UP after the fact is UNFORGIVABLE. for this i hold Lawrence Bender, E. Bennett Walsh, and the notorious Harvey Weinstein solely responsible. they lied, destroyed evidence, and continue to lie about the permanent harm they caused and then chose to suppress. the cover up did have malicious intent, and shame on these three for all eternity. CAA never sent anyone to Mexico. i hope they look after other clients more respectfully if they in fact want to do the job for which they take money with any decency.

A post shared by Uma Thurman (@umathurman) on Feb 5, 2018 at 10:15am PST

Now both Weinstein and Lawrence Bender, the veteran producer of the two kung fu revenge flicks, have responded to the allegations.

In a statement, Weinstein's spokesperson said that whilst "Harvey has tremendous affection for Uma Thurman nevertheless he denies these allegations."

"He did not give instructions to destroy the vehicle or orchestrate a cover-up and this is the first time he has learned that Ms. Thurman had any issues regarding the handling of her accident," the statement continued.

"In fact, she continued working with Mr Weinstein on three more films, including The War with Grandpa which was scheduled to be released this year.

"Ms Thurman has reported in the past that that Mr Weinstein personally came on set during the filming of the scene where she was being buried alive, concerned with her well-being, he demanded that they reconfigure the shot to her approval so that she felt more comfortable."

The representative added: "Anything that occurred on the set, Quentin Tarantino had the final say."

Kill Bill director Quentin Tarantino with actress Uma Thurman. Photo / AP

Meanwhile Lawrence Bender, the veteran producer of the two kung fu revenge flicks, apologised to Thurman but also denies that evidence of the crash was hidden or covered up.

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Bender said: "I deeply regret that Uma suffered the pain she has, both physically and emotionally, for all of these years from the accident that occurred on the set of Kill Bill. The safety of the professionals who work on the movies I produce is vital to me and I never want to let anyone down.

"I never hid anything from Uma or anyone else nor did I participate in any cover up of any kind – and I never would," he continued.

"I was informed of Uma's feelings in regard to this incident a few months ago and have done my best over this time to get as much verifiable information from all of the relevant sources that I could and shared it with Quentin. I wanted to make sure she had all of the answers she had been seeking.

"I have great respect for Uma Thurman, both as an artist and a person, and only wish her well."

Tarantino apologised for the crash on Monday, calling the incident "the biggest regret of my life".

"I am guilty, for putting her in that car, but not the way that people are saying I am guilty of it," he told Deadline Hollywood. "It was just driving. None of us looked at it as a stunt. Maybe we should have, but we didn't."