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

[happyday]

Producers are a lot of times just “investors.” They put up money for the production but don’t really participate in any day to day running of things. I think they could be held responsible in civil court but I’ll be surprised if they’re criminally charged.

It also will depend on New Mexico’s specific laws regarding negligence, manslaughter etc. It will be interesting to see what the investigation uncovers, but I think it was a perfect storm (like tragic accidents usually are) of lax safety rules, NM film industry strike, the fact that it’s been a long time since a high profile accident like this has happened etc. Unless something else comes up I don’t really see it being criminal, but I’m not familiar w/NM laws.

 

[steeltowngirl]

Tobey Bays, a prop and set artist by training and the business agent for IATSE Local 44, told The Daily Beast that saying on-set that a gun is “live” doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a live round in it, and can mean there’s a blank in the chamber.

He further explained that Hollywood propmasters will “only put the amount of blanks into the gun that are meant to be shot in the scene... They’re pretty strict, they’ll always yell out, ‘Gun is hot!’ before they hand it over to the actor.”

Bays said the Rust shoot was “lower budget” and used a local crew that didn’t include any of his union members. There are only two major armorers in Los Angeles that provide modified prop guns for the entire country, he said, and “a proper round would not work in any of those guns.”

“I don’t know where this gun could’ve come from, if it came from a private owner and wasn’t fitted for entertainment weaponry?” Bays said. “That’s a possibility, but I have no clue.”

“This should not have happened,” said another prop guns expert, who primarily deals with Western-style weapons. Based on Rust being set in the 1880s, he believes for authenticity’s sake they may have been filming with a real firearm, either a time period revolver or a rifle.

What Went Wrong? Gun Prop Experts on Alec Baldwin Disaster

 

[Gardenista]

Listen to 911 dispatch call after Alec Baldwin shooting

 

[mickey2942]

<modsnip>

My hope is that this situation will be investigated completely, and that witnesses will be allowed to state the true facts. Baldwin is very powerful, and there may be ramifications and retaliation if there is already a "story", and people are supposed to follow that script.

 

[shotgun09]

I am now wondering if ETOH was on board....

 

[Gardenista]

<modsnip - quoted post removed>

Here's the story confirming they'd walked off

https://www.latimes.com/entertainme...d-off-set?_amp=true&__twitter_impression=true

 

[ilovewings]

Forgive me if I am unclear, was there a live bullet in that gun or blanks? If there was a live bullet I would imagine that would be something that simply should not happen and if it was blanks in the gun, how could blanks kill somebody? If there was a live bullet there should be hell to pay for whoever put it in the gun

 

[Lexiintoronto]

Here's the story confirming they'd walked off

https://www.latimes.com/entertainme...d-off-set?_amp=true&__twitter_impression=true

Thank you. From your link: ‘The cinematographer who was accidentally killed, Halyna Hutchins, had been advocating for safer conditions for her team, said one crew member who was on the set.”

 

[Mo Thuairim]

<modsnip - quoted post removed>
Those are seriously unsafe working conditions. My SO works camera department on films and even the lowest-budget shoots have proper safety meetings and protocols, and provide decent accommodation for crew. Working on film sets is exhausting at the best of times and those reports of some crew sleeping in their cars at basecamp are truly alarming. This sounds like a recipe for a bad accident on set.

 

[Mrs G Norris]

There should be no live rounds on set at all .. terrible.

 

[shotgun09]

Thank you. From your link: ‘The cinematographer who was accidentally killed, Halyna Hutchins, had been advocating for safer conditions for her team, said one crew member who was on the set.”

And who would Halyna Hutchins have gone to...to advocate for her team?

 

[happyday]

Live, reportedly

Are we sure? I thought we didn’t know that yet.

 

[happyday]

IMO, it should be! SAFETY first!

But that’s not how it works. An actor is usually handed a prop gun at the last minute. An actor is NOT responsible to discern if it is safe or not.

 

[Gardenista]

Forgive me if I am unclear, was there a live bullet in that gun or blanks? If there was a live bullet I would imagine that would be something that simply should not happen and if it was blanks in the gun, how could blanks kill somebody? If there was a live bullet there should be hell to pay for whoever put it in the gun

Not clear at this point, but there is this:

A source close to union said Local 44 does not know what projectile was in the gun and clarified that “live” is an industry term that refers to a gun being loaded with some material such as a blank ready for filming.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainme...d-off-set?_amp=true&__twitter_impression=true

 

[Msskeptic]

He apparently was hysterical and saying “who the hell gave me a live gun?!”

Wouldn't he know who handed him the gun?

And, if he really said that, it suggests he thought he was dry firing.

 

[Lexiintoronto]

Are we sure? I thought we didn’t know that yet.

Sorry, I’ll report my post!

 

[Gardenista]

Alec Baldwin Gun Accident 911 Call, 'We Need Help Immediately'

 

[orchidaceaes]

Alec Baldwin Gun Accident 911 Call, 'We Need Help Immediately'

I didn't know she had kids. Her poor family

 

[SuziQ]

The human tragedy of this is mind blowing to me. Sounds like mistakes and chances were taken. Why? Hubris? Ego? Money? I am very sorry for the victims and their families, and not to disregard their pain, but I am fascinated with the human dynamics that led to this. And you, @10ofRods are a great person to post about this in particular. I look forward to any analysis you might share as this case unravels and moves forward.

I'm eager to find out what went wrong. What is that theory, something like six mistakes happen before a tragedy takes place? I heard that a lot following the Champlain Tower thread.

 

[SuziQ]

How did this happen? It's easy to tell a blank from a live round. Didn't Baldwin bother to check the rounds before shooting? Here is a chart, a blank doesn't have a point on the end. The pointy thing is the projectile.

I don't think it's the actors job and most wouldn't know what to look for. That's probably why they have professionals...supposed to anyways.