Heat director Michael Mann accidentally shoots self at gun range

Michael Mann, the acclaimed director of crime classics Heat and Collateral, accidentally shot himself at a gun range in Los Angeles, resulting in minor injuries, a statement released on Sunday said.

“On Saturday, at a gun range, a weapon accidentally discharged while holstered resulting in a superficial injury to film director Michael Mann. He was treated and is being released,” a representative of the filmmaker said in a statement.

The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that they had responded to a “shots fired” incident around 4pm local time and that the shooting was “determined to be accidental”.

Mann, 83, is said to be an experienced target shooter and is known for the intense and realistic gunplay in his films, many of which are staples of the crime thriller genre.

He has directed an array of well-known films, including Thief, The Last of the Mohicans, Public Enemies, The Insider, and Ali.

But he is perhaps best known for Heat, which pitted Robert De Niro playing a master criminal against Al Pacino’s police officer in a taut thriller.

The film’s iconic final scene sees Pacino stalking De Niro in the dark beside an airport runway, both men with their guns drawn.

Mann most recently directed the 2023 biographical drama Ferrari, starring Adam Driver, and is developing a sequel to Heat, which is slated to begin filming early next year.