Bird Box got everyone talking about the movie when it premiered on Netflix last November, but the conversation turned into public outcry.
The streaming service finally threw in the towel after a heated disagreement with the people of Quebec. Netflix agreed to replace the real-life disaster footage from the 2013 Lac-Megantic rail train collision in Canada that was used in original sci-fi thriller Bird Box.
The service will replace the clip, which showed the moment a train hauling shale oil derailed, exploded, and killed 47 people. The filmmakers bought the scene from a stock-footage vendor and used it in the beginning of the film to show the chaos erupting.
“Netflix and the filmmakers of Bird Box have decided to replace the clip,” a Netflix spokesperson tells The Canadian Press. “We’re sorry for any pain caused to the Lac-Megantic community.”
Canadian politicians and people across Quebec called out Netflix in January for using the video, claiming the streaming service was insensitive and demanding it be removed.
Netflix originally refused to remove the footage. Then, they poked the bear by using it again for the Netflix Original series Travelers. However, the show’s Canadian production company replaced the video clip and sent out an apology “to anyone who was offended, especially the victims and their families.”
Photo: Saeed Adyani
