The freshly Oscar'd actress was taken to a hospital after sustaining an eye injury when a stunt went awry on the set of the new James Bond film, Die Another Day.
Berry, who plays new Bond babe Jinx opposite Pierce Brosnan, was shooting a helicopter battle scene Saturday on location in Spain. As our hero 007 blasts the chopper out of the sky, several explosive devices detonated. Debris from a smoke grenade lodged in Berry's left eye, according to the British celebrity news site PeopleNews.com.
As the site breathlessly recounts, the Jinx-ed actress was rushed to the hospital for a 30-minute procedure to remove the fragment. The 33-year-old actress suffered no permanent damage, but still has a tender eye.
"It could have been much more serious," the site quotes Dr. Antonio Fernandez, who treated Berry. "She has been quite lucky, in fact."
A rep for MGM, the studio behind the Bond franchise, downplays the incident, confirming that Berry was hurt but saying the injury was not as traumatic as the Website made it out to be.
Indeed, a statement issued Wednesday by the producers completely contradicts the CelebNews report: "Ms Berry experienced some discomfort when a gust of wind blew some dust into her eye during filming of an action sequence," the filmmakers say. "It was not as a result of debris from a smoke grenade. As a precautionary measure the production sought medical attention for what was a slight inflammation.
"We are happy to report that Ms Berry suffered no lasting ill effects and returned to work immediately."
Apparently the stars of the flick are taking the title to heart--this is the second time during shooting that a key player has been hurt, albeit not seriously.
In February, Brosnan suffered a knee injury while doing a stunt. The accident sidelined the 49-year-old actor for two weeks. He has since recovered and resumed blowing things up.
Aside from the two walking-wounded actors, little else is known about Die Another Day. The plot involves some North Korean ne'er-do-wells led by a General Zao (The Fast and the Furious's Rick Yune). John Cleese and Judi Dench are returning as 007-helpers R and M, respectively. And Madonna is recording the title track.
Shooting began in January in Hawaii. Aside from Spain, other locations include Hong Kong, Iceland and England. The film is due out November 22.
(Originally published 4/9/02 at 1:35 p.m. PT.)