Alec Baldwin fired prop gun, killing 1 on movie set, Oct 2021 #2

[LaborDayRN]

Gun Alec Baldwin used to accidentally kill Halyna Hutchins had been used by crew that morning | Daily Mail Online

Well this doesn't bode well for anyone .....

Well, there it is. I think this is what many of us have suspected. I'm curious who the "crew members" will turn out to be.

 

[Lux et Veritas]

A few here seem to think AB should be 100% liable for this tragic accident, that he should have been the final authority on the condition / safety of his gun ... even though he's not a firearms expert hired for his vast weaponry expertise.

Should he also - in addition to his many duties as actor - also be in charge of costumes / hair / makeup, cameras, lighting / electricians, scripts, craft services, sound techs, medics, props, location scouting, transportation, security, lodging and a million other jobs that go into creating a film (some of which can injure/ kill you if not done correctly)?

The point is this: ANYONE on that set should be able to 100% trust that everyone else is 100% competent at doing their (specialty) jobs - most especially that of the armorer. If AB (or any other actor) was the final arbiter on guns, no set would ever need an expert armorer.

On a crucial note: some actors have been known to show up on set in various states of "impairment" for various reasons (either known or unknown at the time to those around them). Should actors really be required or allowed to be the final check on their weapons?

As others here have pointed out: the armorer had ONE job.

Nothing can mitigate her abject failure.

JMO

 

[everybodhi]

BBM

If I were on a movie set, and I was the actor who was going to fire a weapon in a scene, I would totally trust the armorer who is (supposedly and hopefully) fully trained and qualified to be the armorer. Period.
I wouldn't have the same trust in anyone if I were given a weapon, told it wasn't loaded, and told to fire at someone. Nope. Never. WRT LE's impression and action -- I'm almost positive I and the one who gave me the weapon and the promise, would both be handcuffed and taken to the LE headquarters. Period. JMO.

Even if you were to hold the gun to your own head, filming a suicide scene?

 

[Cool Cats]

'Rust': How to Watch the Santa Fe Sheriff Press Conference on Alec Baldwin Film Set Death

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s department and the county District attorney are planning a joint press conference Wednesday to update the public about the ongoing investigation of the death of Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins last week on the set of the Alec Baldwin western “Rust.”

The press conference is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. Pacific, 10:00 local time on Wednesday morning.

Santa Fe County officials are making the press conference available to watch live, online. So if you want to check it out, all you need to do is visit the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s official Facebook Page, here.

 

[LaborDayRN]

Hi, new member here.
I’m an Equity actor who has done live shows where I had to “shoot” another actor.
This was an AEA contract theatre production.
Our process:
4 of us gather before every performance (me:shooter, actor I have to shoot at, Director, person in charge of gun.)
Person in charge of gun opens gun so we can all see chamber and rounds are empty. He takes a blank and blows out half of the gunpowder (blanks are very loud and powerful and we didn’t need that much), then loads the gun with the half-blank while we all watch.
Each night I intuitively aimed NOT quite at the guy I had to shoot. If there had been a round in there, it would have hit the wall, not the actor. Guns scare me.
This is what we did.
It’s not what these people did.
This is horrific.

Thank you for sharing this. It seems things were done safely on your set. Welcome to WS!

 

[Cool Cats]

BBM

Even if you were to hold the gun to your own head, filming a suicide scene?

Normal for the professional armorer to show the actor the gun is not loaded with a live round.

Shouldn't take their word for it. To me that is foolish and the armorer
would not be doing their job.

 

[everybodhi]

And that was after a movie set fatality involving a train in Georgia, back in 2015!?

'Midnight Rider' Filmmakers Edited Footage from Horrific Train Accident Shoot

From your link in the case of the death of 27-year-old camera assistant Sarah Jones and the others injured..

[Director] Miller, his wife producer Jody Savin, producer Jay Sedrish and first assistant director Hillary Schwartz, were charged with involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespass. Miller pleaded guilty on March 9 to the charges, so the edited scene was never shown in court. He was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine. Miller is also prohibited from being a director or assistant director for the next 10 years. It the first time in history that a Hollywood director had been held responsible for a death on set.

“It was a very big deal because...in California, they're invincible,” said Brunswick Assistant District Attorney John Johnson. “It showed that directors and producers… can be held responsible if a crewmember dies… We take life seriously here in South Georgia, and we also take death seriously too.”

Jay Sedrish and Hillary Schwartz also pleaded guilty to with involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespass charges and each were sentenced to 10 years probation. As part of the plea deal for Miller, charges against Savin, who had pleaded not guilty, were dropped.

 

[LaborDayRN]

So far, everything I've seen and read about and by HGR gives me the impression of a 14 year old, not a 24 year old woman. She had no business on that set.

100% JMO.

I'm curious why she was hired in the first place. I think who ever hired her showed a real lack of judgement.
Not only is she very young, very inexperienced (1 previous film) but she was fired from her first film (handing a loaded weapon to an 11 year old I believe). I imagine she was hired for Rust because she would save them money. In the end she may cost them more money than they ever imagined.

 

[Satchie]

Hi, new member here.
I’m an Equity actor who has done live shows where I had to “shoot” another actor.
This was an AEA contract theatre production.
Our process:
4 of us gather before every performance (me:shooter, actor I have to shoot at, Director, person in charge of gun.)
Person in charge of gun opens gun so we can all see chamber and rounds are empty. He takes a blank and blows out half of the gunpowder (blanks are very loud and powerful and we didn’t need that much), then loads the gun with the half-blank while we all watch.
Each night I intuitively aimed NOT quite at the guy I had to shoot. If there had been a round in there, it would have hit the wall, not the actor. Guns scare me.
This is what we did.
It’s not what these people did.
This is horrific.

Thanks for that.

Wondering where the gun would be during the performance? Sitting somewhere among the props offstage, I imagine. So that, just speculation, if it wasn't required until the last moment of the play, and someone removed it from the prop cart and used it for target practice, and then put it back...as I say, just speculation.

I expect many actors are going to be even more afraid of using a real gun, now.

 

[Spyralflare]

Thanks for that.

Wondering where the gun would be during the performance? Sitting somewhere among the props offstage, I imagine. So that, just speculation, if it wasn't required until the last moment of the play, and someone removed it from the prop cart and used it for target practice, and then put it back...as I say, just speculation.

I expect many actors are going to be even more afraid of using a real gun, now.

Yes, our gun was on a prop table, small cast, not a lot of people backstage, we were all careful, but still…it’s a gun. Which is why I never aimed directly at the actor I was “shooting,” And no one told me to do that, that’s just me being overly cautious.

 

[Mrs G Norris]

Gun Alec Baldwin used to accidentally kill Halyna Hutchins had been used by crew that morning | Daily Mail Online

Well this doesn't bode well for anyone .....

How does this even happen .. wouldn't you think guns that are to be used for scenes would be stored and controlled separately by the Armorer .. I just can't even wrap my head around the stupidity of this! God bare minimum armorers should be people who have a healthy respect for weaponry and know better than to get all loose with firearms. This is just so messed up.

 

[Mrs G Norris]

This is negligent homicide.

 

[Mrs G Norris]

Alec Baldwin is credited as a producer on 'Rust.' What does that really mean?

It means he ponied up some cash to get this film made and would see a proportion of the box office or any profits.

 

[borndem]

Hi, new member here.
I’m an Equity actor who has done live shows where I had to “shoot” another actor.
This was an AEA contract theatre production.
Our process:
4 of us gather before every performance (me:shooter, actor I have to shoot at, Director, person in charge of gun.)
Person in charge of gun opens gun so we can all see chamber and rounds are empty. He takes a blank and blows out half of the gunpowder (blanks are very loud and powerful and we didn’t need that much), then loads the gun with the half-blank while we all watch.
Each night I intuitively aimed NOT quite at the guy I had to shoot. If there had been a round in there, it would have hit the wall, not the actor. Guns scare me.
This is what we did.
It’s not what these people did.
This is horrific.

Thanks much for your comments. Obviously the "shooting thing" can be handled correctly, and has been for many years.
Guns scare me, too. I've never even held a pistol. <shudder>

Welcome to Websleuths,
Spyralflare !!​

 

[borndem]

BBM

Even if you were to hold the gun to your own head, filming a suicide scene?

I wouldn't do the scene, and I wouldn't point the weapon at anyone if I were to do a shooting scene.

 

[borndem]

Normal for the professional armorer to show the actor the gun is not loaded with a live round.

Shouldn't take their word for it. To me that is foolish and the armorer
would not be doing their job.

Exactly. Good point.

 

[borndem]

I'm curious why she was hired in the first place. I think who ever hired her showed a real lack of judgement.
Not only is she very young, very inexperienced (1 previous film) but she was fired from her first film (handing a loaded weapon to an 11 year old I believe). I imagine she was hired for Rust because she would save them money. In the end she may cost them more money than they ever imagined.

I've been thinking the same thing -- did the person who hired the armorer see a recommendation/resume/prior-set-experience for her, or was it mainly a matter of budget and availability perhaps?

 

[Cool Cats]

‘Rust’ Producers Open Internal Investigation Into Fatal Shooting On Alec Baldwin Film; Hire Outside Lawyers To Conduct Interviews With Crew

In addition to cooperating with authorities, we hired a legal team from Jenner & Block to conduct an investigation of the events,” said a correspondence sent tonight from the Rust production to cast and crew members.

• Hollywood Studios Reviewing Gun Safety Protocols Following Fatal 'Rust' Shooting
• Watch Santa Fe Sheriff's Press Conference On Alec Baldwin Movie Set Shooting
• Alec Baldwin Fatal Shooting On 'Rust' Could See More Search Warrants Soon; Police Say Probe To Last "A While"

“We have stressed that they will have full discretion about who to interview and any conclusions they draw,” the note added.

 

[Spyralflare]

I've been thinking the same thing -- did the person who hired the armorer see a recommendation/resume/prior-set-experience for her, or was it mainly a matter of budget and availability perhaps?

If the Union crew walked out that morning, it sounds like they used whoever they could find instead. Which makes no sense; you’re either a Union set or you’re not. I don’t know how they could legally have dumped their IATSE contract and gone with amateurs at that point. But maybe the subs were union as well. It doesn’t sound like it from their actions, though.

 

[Cool Cats]

Can read full AFFIDAVIT in this article here:

‘Rust’: Released Affidavit Reveals Details About Fatal Shooting – Read It – Deadline