Lightning Strikes "Passion" Set 3 Times

About halfway through the filming of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion,” the crew was high on a hilltop in the town of Matera, Italy, and rain began to fall. The production was over budget and behind schedule, so instead of wrapping, Gibson decided to run for cover and wait it out. One older woman couldn’t run, so Jan Michelini, an assistant director, grabbed an umbrella and went back to help her. No sooner had he stepped from safety when a massive bolt of lightning struck the umbrella, running through Michelini and down into the ground. He suffered light burns on the tips of his fingers—but that was about it. For the rest of shooting, Michelini had a new nickname: “Lightning Boy.”

A few months later, in the midst of the worst European drought in decades, the crew flew back to Italy to get one final shot of Jesus delivering the Sermon on the Mount. They were on a remote location, a couple hours from Rome. Lots of extras, lots of gear. And a few minutes before filming, out of nowhere, a freak storm rolled in. At the time, Michelini, again carrying an umbrella, was standing beside star Jim Caviezel on top of a hill.

“I’m about a hundred feet away from them,” recalls producer Steve McEveety, “when I glance over and see lightning coming out of Caviezel’s ears. Both Caviezel and Michelini got struck this time. The main bolt hit Caviezel and one of its forks hit Michelini’s umbrella." And again, neither were hurt.

Just in case you were wondering, scientists and oddsmakers put a person’s chances of being struck by lightning at one in 600,000. What the odds are on a triple strike during the making of one film has never been calculated.