developing story. plus, millionaire murder trial. he is shockingly blunt on the 911 tapes. >> i just shot my wife. she's dead. >> reporter: he says it was all a tragic accident. but now, he's in court, accused of murder. a tale of family, money and fatal stakes. and worst movie ever? from the movie man who gave us "jaws," "e.t." and "jurassic park." a new thriller breaking all records for box office catastrophe. we'll show you how unbelievably bad a movie can be. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city this is "nightline," september 16th, 2011. >> good evening, i'm cynthia mcfadden. we begin tonight with breaking news. a disaster this evening at a national airplane racing event in reno, nevada.

multiple people died and upwards of 50 were injured when a plane flown by a veteran 74-year-old stunt pilot panged into a nosedive and crashed into a spectator area. eyewitnesses describe a scene of bloody chaos. reno is one of the few places still to host airplane racing, with pilots flying in excess of 500 miles an hour. in a news coverage conference tonight, the event president said mechanical difficulties may have caused the crash. it all happened in a matter of minutes, late this afternoon, local time, at the famous reno air show. one of the few places in the country where plane races still take place. something went tragically wrong. >> holy [ bleep ]! >> reporter: the crash left a sea of injured, many critically. the death toll is climbing. >> did you see that? >> something must have broke. i don't know if a cable or what. it started wobbling. then it came up and he started heading towards the stands.

looked like he was going to try and -- if he was still controlling, he was going to try and fly over the stands to get away from those. >> twisted and turned and it was all brown smoke. and debris, no fire. >> there appeared to be a problem with the aircraft that caused it to go out of control. >> reporter: jimmy leeward, a well-known and respected racing pilot, was helping the p-51 mustang that crashed into spectator seats. he talked yesterday about how he thought he might win the races this week. >> right now, i think we've calculated out, we're as fast as anybody in the field. >> reporter: the outcome, of course, was much different. >> pulled out of formation, came around here -- >> reporter: ty jacobson was about 100 yards from the crash and took this video. i spoke with him tonight via skype. i asked him if he could tell what went wrong. >> i was over in the pit area, walking around to find some pilots that i knew from my hometown and saw two planes that were in formation coming around turn four.

another plane that was just by itself trying to chase them and then the fourth plane after that did what's called a mayday maneuver and he pulled out of formation and pitched up very high, probably to 6,500 feet and banked to the right and did a rolling maneuver and came back down and went into the crowd. >> reporter: jacobson knows all about tragedy and air shows. >> i lost my dad in a plane crash in 1990. he went in at a similar angle of attack. >> reporter: the scene on the ground was dire. bodies strewn, people removing their shirts to stop the bleeding of others. immediately after the crash, the local hospital was told to be prepared for 80 to 100 patients the reno air show is one of the few places in the country where planes race extremely low to the ground. speeds can reach 500 miles an hour. as for the future of such shows? >> you know, that's just a risk

that comes with that kind of sport. and i think it's a risk that you choose. >> reporter: what about the spectators, i asked? >> my first thought is that that pilot probably had everything in his mind about not hurting people, and if you're a good pilot you don't think about yourself, you think about the other people that are around. >> reporter: this year's show, which was supposed to go through the weekend, was officially canceled. his plane, a vintage world war ii fighter, was named "the galloping ghost." we are joined by our aviation analyst, john nance. the pilot of this plane was 74. is that just too old to be racing in an air show? >> no, it has nothing, i'm sure, to do with it, cynthia. a full investigation has to go on here, but somebody like jimmy knows what he's doing, he's hale and hardy and well-fit for that. could have been racing to age 85. i doubt age has anything to do

with this. >> reporter: there is so little margin for error, john, these pilots flying at high speeds and so close to the ground. is it reckless? >> no, this isn't reckless. actually this is why these air races are a spectator sport. just very much the same as the indy 500 or the daytona for motor racing. because we know it's on the edge. they are flying to the nth degree of what these planes can do. and there is assumed risk, not only for the pilots but quite frankly, for anybody who is on the sidelines. though we certainly don't want this to happen again. we want to make sure everything can be done to prevent it. >> reporter: which brings up the ntsb investigation, which will begin tomorrow. what are they going to be looking for, john? >> classic ntsb investigations and where great will look for all the facts. not the prejudice with anything else. and until they know every aspect of what can be known, then they won't get to conclusions. conclusions are, what can we do to prevent this from happening again? and that will take quite awhile. >> reporter: john nance, thank

you so much for joining us this evening. and just ahead, a millionaire murder defendant. he says he was trying to save his wife's life. prosecutors say he killed her. but my nose doesn't. it gets stuffed up and that means i stay up all night. good mornings? not likely! i've tried the pills, the sprays even some home remedies. then i tried something new. [ male announcer ] drug-free breathe right nasal strips. [ woman ] you just put it on and...amazing! instant relief. i breathed better, slept better. and woke up ready to face a fresh new day. [ male announcer ] get 2 free strips at breatheright.com. it's my right to breathe right! it's nice 'n easy colorblend foam! permt color with tones and highlights. now in a deliul foam. just three shakes, foam it, love it! it's foamtastic! new nice 'n easy colorblend foam.

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>> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with cynthia mcfadden. >> we turn now to a high-profile murder case unfolding in florida. the defendant, a millionaire developer who lived in a giant mansion in the same posh orlando suburb where tiger woods wrecked his suv, calls 911 to report that his wife had been shot. not only that, he said he shot her. he says it happened when he tried to stop her from committing suicide. prosecutors beg to differ. here's matt gutman for our series "crime and punishment." >> 911, what's your emergency? >> i just shot my wife. >> you just what? >> i just shot my wife. >> reporter: in the sensational murder trial of bob ward, the prosecution is relying on one star witness. bob ward. >> she's dead. she's done. i'm sorry. >> reporter: the debt-ridden developer faces second-degree murder charge s in the shooting

death of his wife in the family's orlando mansion in 2009. jurors will have to choose between the man who now claims it was a terrible accident, seen here, consoling his daughter yesterday after hearing that 911 tape for the first time. today, holding his head in his hands as grisly pictures of his wife's body flickered on a courtroom screen. and on the other hand, this man. >> i just shot my wife. i shot my wife. >> reporter: he tells the 911 dispatcher five separate times that he shot his wife. >> there's no question this is a case where his own words are coming back to haunt him. and it's not like he said "i shot her" and now let me explain to you what i meant. his story has slowly evolved, which i think could be a big problem. >> reporter: the mystery deepened just minutes into that fateful 911 call when prosecutors say his story starts to change. >> sir, did you purposely do this or was it an accident? >> it was an accident.

>> reporter: and just hours after that, in the orange county jail -- >> it was an accident. >> and later now, feet up, seemingly relaxed. >> i have nothing to be worried about other than i just tried to get the gun out of her hand. >> changing your story is one thing. changing your story from, i did it, to, i didn't do it, is quite different. >> reporter: on the face of it, everything seems stacked against him. >> this case is about the fact that it was bob ward that shot her, almost dead between the eyes. >> reporter: it was his .357 magnum shown in these court pictures. his wife was about to testify in his bankruptcy trial. he owed millions of dollars and was near foreclosure on their $5.2 million home and yesterday his defense team insisting he was nobly trying to save his wife from suicide. arguing that she was dangerously mixing alcohol and antidepressants.

>> he turns to the sound and right there is his wife with the gun in her hand, instinctively bob grabs the gun, tries to wrestle it away. >> reporter: a theory supported by the couple's two daughters. >> i know that it was a relationship built on respect and two people that loved each other so much. >> reporter: but forensic evidence presented today for the prosecution indicates diane ward was shot in the face from over 18 inches away. and that it would have required 12 pounds of pressure to pull the trigger, higher than on most handguns. and then there's this heated exchange over the purple stain on bob ward's shirt. >> i object to the narrative form. >> sustained. >> reporter: prosecutors say the stain indicates a struggle which preceded the struggle. jurors watching it all closely, taking notes, says wftv reporter kathy bellich. >> a few of them i noticed would

glance at ward when he's not looking, just to see if there's a reaction from him. >> reporter: a very different ward appeared in this jailhouse visit with his daughter mallory. >> i'm fine. everyone is being great. we're fine. and you know that, you know, sarah and i are completely, completely behind you and everyone else is. >> reporter: ward seemed in high spirits, joking as he talked about his filthy cell. >> there's no cold water and barely any hot water. the toilet does flush, though, so, believe me, i'm here in the ritz. >> such a lifestyle change for you. >> reporter: indeed a far cry from the family's multimillion dollar seven-bedroom mansion. in the plush development, their neighbors including tiger woods and shaquille o'neal among others. >> i think the best hope for the defense is that these jurors say, this seems fishy, i'm not sure i believe him, but i can't say for certain beyond a reasonable doubt that i'm ready to convict. >> reporter: and it would seem the only person standing in the

way of that verdict is bob ward. for "nightline," i'm matt gutman in miami. >> it is a case we will, of course, continue to follow. just ahead, is this the worst movie ever? stay with us to find out. yep. the longer you stay with us, the more you save. and when you switch from another company to us, we even reward you for the time you spent there. genius. yeah, genius. you guys must have your own loyalty program, right? well, we have something. show her, tom. huh? you should see november! oh, yeah? giving you more. now that's progressive. call or click today.

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cult classics. but a vast majority of bad movies, well, sometimes you just have to see for yourself. here's david wright with tonight's "sign of the times." >> legend tells of a creature unlike anything we have ever known. >> reporter: it opened last weekend in movie theaters across the country. and the tale of what happened next -- >> sounds like something dreamed up in a hollywood studio. >> reporter: is what keeps hollywood studio executives up at night. >> it's this horrible, guttural, awful creature. >> reporter: "creature" flopped. big-time. to be specific, "creature" had the worst opening ever of any film shown in 1,500 theaters or more. 1,507 screens for "creature." total revenue? $331,000. >> you're looking at, you know, $220 per screen per theater? that's a terrible, terrible opening.

that roughly comes to about six people per theater and that's being generous. >> reporter: what does it do to morale to have a dud? >> we're not going to live or die by the fact that this didn't work. i think i'm hurt the most by this, obviously, i mean, sid is, you know, an incredible, great, iconic figure. >> reporter: sid scheinberg, the producer, has a few hits under his belt. during his 20 years at the helm of universal, he discovered steven spielberg. supervised "jaws," "e.t." and a few others you've probably heard of. >> welcome to jurassic park. >> in fact, sid is one of the guys responsible for the modern strategy of wide releases. movies were released in a different strategy than what we see now. it's what they called road shows. we'd see it in a few markets and as buzz built up, they'd go nation wade. >> reporter: but the all or

nothing blockbuster approach he helped pioneer clearly didn't work with this creature. ironic, isn't it, that maybe he's been eaten by his own creature. >> exactly. exactly. he needs to go back to something like "jaws" probably. >> reporter: so, what happened? well, in "creature's" defense, this wasn't the weekend they expected. a few months ago, no other big movie wanted to open on 9/11 weekend. and there was a football strike. the field was wide open. so basically, this looked like a good weekend -- >> it was a great weekend. >> reporter: then, "contagion" moved its release date and the football strike was resolved. game over. not just for "creature" but for other films that opened badly, too. a few famous flops do go on to become cult classics. endlessly rerun in midnight showings for college drunks. think "rocky horror picture show." ♪ let's do the time warp again

>> reporter: or the famously bad "the room." >> you are tearing me apart, lisa! >> reporter: surprise for worst opening ever? that still belongs to "proud american." >> you are a navy s.e.a.l. >> reporter: an earnest 2008 hallmark card of a movie that opened in 750 theaters and earned less than $100,000. in other words, "creature" did twice as well. but that's small consolation. >> what happens with a lot of the movies is that you hear news about them and then they are just forgotten. because there's not anything good in the badness. >> reporter: "culture" may well become another footnote in the internet movie data base. not the worst ever. but pretty, pretty bad. i'm david wright for "nightline" in hollywood. >> oh. you can tweet us @nightline and

tell us what your favorite worst movie is. a recap of tonight's top story. the tragedy at the reno air races where an airplane nosedived into spectators resulting in multiple fatalities and dozens of injuries. mechanical difficulties are being blamed for the crash. thank you for watching abc news. "good morning america" will have all of the latest tomorrow on the tragedy at the air show. we're always online at abcnews.com. have a safe weekend, everybody. >> dicky: tonight on "jimmy kimmel live" -- >> jimmy: the president said we need to have more products stamped made in america. which -- all right. let's get the chinese to get a stamp that says made in america. >> dicky: khloe kardashian odom. >> smell my chest. >> jimmy: smells good. >> dicky: ron artest. >> jimmy: are you a good dancer? >> i'm very classy. >> dicky: and music from gabe dixon. >> jimmy: i don't wh