Clash between 'Xena' stuntmen has courtroom encore

A former stunt co-ordinator on the Hercules and Xena television programmes has appeared in court over an attack on another stuntman who took business away from him.

At the Auckland District Court yesterday 50-year-old Peter Charles Bell was sentenced to six months supervision and ordered to pay his former friend and colleague, Mark Ian Harris, $7600 in reparation.

Bell, of Greenhithe, was found guilty by a jury on one charge of injuring with intent to injure.

Mr Harris suffered a broken nose, fractured face, cut lip, chipped tooth, heavy bruising, a cut ear and concussion.

Passing sentence yesterday Judge David Wilson, QC, said that society "would not condone trial by combat as a way of resolving conflict".

The court heard that Mr Harris received a phone call telling him to go to a meeting in the Riverhead Forest in January last year regarding an advertisement for a stunt job.

Crown counsel Marc Corlett said that while it was open to the judge to find that Mr Harris was lured to the meeting, the Crown did not rely on the meeting being a deliberate set-up.

Bell's lawyer, Paul Borich, said that the meeting had been coincidental and the attack was spontaneous.

He said that Bell had also received a telephone call inviting him to the "recce" for a job in the forest.

Mr Corlett said that some of the injuries were caused while Mr Harris was still in his car.

But Mr Borich said that the injuries were sustained during a fight which had "agreed rules of engagement" which were observed.

Bell was said to have told Mr Harris: "Instead of being a low-life - step out and face me, man to man and we will sort this out now."

He told the police: "I called him all the names under the sun. We went toe to toe like men. The first one to hit the ground and it's over."

However, Mr Corlett said that the Crown did not accept that the fight was "consensual" and that Bell was therefore somehow less culpable.

He said that Mr Harris was forced into a position of trying to defend himself.

A third man, known to Mr Harris as a "loose cannon", had parked his vehicle behind Mr Harris' and yelled abuse at him.

Trapped, Mr Harris feared for his life, said Mr Corlett.

Mr Borich said that the background to the dispute included Bell's feelings of betrayal and the loss of business and mana.

Mr Borich referred to an earlier High Court civil case to try to resolve the conflict.

In 2000 Mr Harris resigned and a little later Bell was visited one Sunday night by around 40 staff who also tendered their resignations.

Bell was said to have blamed Mr Harris for the mass defections.

The Court received glowing testimonials about Bell's stunt work.

In addition to Hercules and Xena, the court heard that Bell was stunt co-ordinator for Street Legal, Mercy Peak, Shortland Street, World Famous and Going Straight as well as Once Were Warriors and Came a Hot Friday. The court heard that Mr Harris used to work for Bell's company, NZ Stunts, but left and set up a rival company, taking some of Bell's people.

Bell was seen by many in the industry as "Mr NZ Stunts".

One colleague wrote to the court: "I can only imagine how he felt when his work was taken away and his most trusted work colleagues turned their backs on him."

Bell said in a letter to the court that his career in the film industry was over and that was the bitterest pill of all.