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

[glamourkitty1922]

I don't understand why they continued filming if their staff left.

I think they jumped at the chance to employ cheaper help and save money. It was a low budget Western. The producers would want to spend as little as possible on the crew.

 

[Dotta]

You kind of have to in a movie when you are pretending to kill people ...

Not really.
The scenes are shot at angles and the actors never really point at their colleagues.
Or special transparent screens are used.
Well, that's what I once read

 

[Dotta]

Production crew walked off Alec Baldwin movie set hours before tragic shooting | Daily Mail Online

Updates

 

[Msskeptic]

Alec Baldwin was handed loaded gun by the Director
https://twitter.com/ZekeJMiller/status/1451690538743341061?s=20
https://twitter.com/ZekeJMiller/status/1451690538743341061?s=20

 

[mickey2942]

On the civil lawsuit, I imagine that Alec Baldwin would be listed, the production company, anyone else?

I hope that there is some accountability here, and not just "shrug, accident".

 

[Gardenista]

This gives some details from the warrant

Live Updates: Assistant Director Declared Gun Safe Before Alec Baldwin Fatally Fired It, Affidavit Says

 

[LaborDayRN]

This gives some details from the warrant

Live Updates: Assistant Director Declared Gun Safe Before Alec Baldwin Fatally Fired It, Affidavit Says

Would you mind sharing some of the info? It requires a subscription for me.

 

[Mo Thuairim]

(Snipped)
My general understanding from living in SOCAL for a while and talking to set pros is that movies have staffs, not "a staff".

There are alot of contractors and sub contractors to handle different needs regarding the film. As other posters have stated, the set pros also told me that drama is fairly common- it is, after all, Hollywood.

Evidently, it is not unheard of for one of the staffs to get angry about something and leave. Yet other staffs could be willing to tolerate the work environment, or actually like it- alot.

The pros also told me that some of the drama was sometimes due to very different working conditions between the staffs. Some staffs were well known to the director and always contracted. As a result, they received noticably better pay, better food and better living conditions than other contractors.

And.... woe to anyone on some sets if they got in the wrong serving line- or used the wrong bathrooms. The pecking order could extend that far. Other sets, however, gave the same food, bathrooms to everyone.

Yes that sounds about right. Film sets are very hierarchical and can often be rife with bullying, as well as having huge disparities in pay and working conditions among various departments. When they're not well managed this can sometimes lead to crew burnout and a hazardous work environment. There can also sometimes be pressure to cut corners when it comes to safety protocols to get a particular shot. I don't know exactly what happened here but it sounds like a toxic set. (My opinion only as I don't work on film sets but my other half does.)

 

[Gardenista]

Would you mind sharing some of the info? It requires a subscription for me.

While the five-page filing provides many basic logistical details of the shooting, it leaves many questions unanswered — namely how a live round ended up in a gun fired by an actor.

The assistant director “did not know live rounds were in the prop gun,” Detective Joel Cano wrote in the affidavit.

The weapon was “set up” on the tray by the movie’s weapons specialist, or armorer, along with a Western-style gun belt used in the scene. Detective Cano did not say what the armorer told investigators who arrived at the Bonanza Creek resort, where the film was shooting.

Ms. Hutchins, who was 42, was sitting in front of Mr. Souza, the director, watching the scene play out when the projectile struck her, the police said.

The armorer “was given the prop gun after it was fired by actor Alec Baldwin” and “then took the spent casing” out of the weapon before handing it over to the police, Detective Cano wrote.

Mr. Baldwin “was wearing Old Western style clothing during the filming,” and changed into his street clothes before turning over his costume to the department’s evidence technician, he wrote.

“These clothes appeared to have blood stains,” Detective Cano added.

 

[Deleted member 158085]

Would you mind sharing some of the info? It requires a subscription for me.

"The assistant director of the western film “Rust” grabbed a prop pistol from a gray cart and handed it to the movie’s star, Alec Baldwin, shouting “cold gun!” — which was supposed to indicate that it did not contain any live rounds, and was safe to handle around the crew huddled by the camera.

But the weapon fired when Mr. Baldwin pulled the trigger a few minutes later, discharging a live projectile that hit the director, Joel Souza, in the shoulder and struck the director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, in the chest, killing her."

 

[IceIce9]

"The assistant director of the western film “Rust” grabbed a prop pistol from a gray cart and handed it to the movie’s star, Alec Baldwin, shouting “cold gun!” — which was supposed to indicate that it did not contain any live rounds, and was safe to handle around the crew huddled by the camera.

But the weapon fired when Mr. Baldwin pulled the trigger a few minutes later, discharging a live projectile that hit the director, Joel Souza, in the shoulder and struck the director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, in the chest, killing her."

If the assistant directed handed the gun to Baldwin and told him it was a cold gun, I don’t see any way that the actor is responsible.

 

[Gardenista]

Replacement, non-union worker was in charge of Alec Baldwin's deadly prop gun

 

[IceIce9]

"The assistant director of the western film “Rust” grabbed a prop pistol from a gray cart and handed it to the movie’s star, Alec Baldwin, shouting “cold gun!” — which was supposed to indicate that it did not contain any live rounds, and was safe to handle around the crew huddled by the camera.

But the weapon fired when Mr. Baldwin pulled the trigger a few minutes later, discharging a live projectile that hit the director, Joel Souza, in the shoulder and struck the director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, in the chest, killing her."

So the AD handed the gun to Baldwin and told him it was a cold gun. So I don’t see any way the actor was responsible.

My question is who gave the gun to the AD and informed him that it was a cold gun?

The assistant director “did not know live rounds were in the prop-gun” when he gave it to Mr. Baldwin, according to the affidavit, which was made as part of a search warrant application. The affidavit did not specify what kind of ammunition the gun had been loaded with

 

[Deleted member 158085]

I can’t link it, but a cameraperson on twitter posted how they film scenes where a prop gun is fired: those filming are behind a bullet-proof clear shield.

I don’t understand this. Also the reports that live rounds were used..I’m just baffled

I haven’t read all the posts here yet, will start now.

I saw something very similar (possibly the same thing) but it was pointed out that the shield was simply plexiglass meant to keep the cameras clean. I do not believe sets are putting cameras behind bullet-proof shields.

 

[IceIce9]

This film should be scrapped out of respect for the victims.

After actor Jon-Erik Hexum was killed by a gun on set in 1985, the episode he was filming was broadcast, only two weeks after his death.

IIRC it was a gun loaded with blanks that killed Hexum.

 

[Marysmith]

"The assistant director of the western film “Rust” grabbed a prop pistol from a gray cart and handed it to the movie’s star, Alec Baldwin, shouting “cold gun!” — which was supposed to indicate that it did not contain any live rounds, and was safe to handle around the crew huddled by the camera.

But the weapon fired when Mr. Baldwin pulled the trigger a few minutes later, discharging a live projectile that hit the director, Joel Souza, in the shoulder and struck the director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, in the chest, killing her."

Wow. Thank you for copying the article for us!
What a mess. I’m so sorry for Halyna, Joel and Alec.

 

[Msskeptic]

If the assistant directed handed the gun to Baldwin and told him it was a cold gun, I don’t see any way that the actor is responsible.

For their own protection and peace of mind though, actors handling fire arms should learn how to check the ammunition status of the weapons they're handling, and do it every time. I'll bet they start doing exactly that now after this accident.

 

[Dotta]

But who is the "CEO" of this whole enterprise?

The ultimate boss?

Is it Alec B as a producer?

The more I read about the conditions the staff endured, the more appalled I am.

Chaos reigned there and where is the ultimate boss?

 

[Marysmith]

For their own protection and peace of mind though, actors handling fire arms should learn how to check the ammunition status of the weapons they're handling, and do it every time. I'll bet they start doing exactly that now after this accident.

I could this changing too for sure but clearly it is not what the procedure is currently.

 

[Loveallmyhorsesdogsandcats]

If the assistant directed handed the gun to Baldwin and told him it was a cold gun, I don’t see any way that the actor is responsible.

General rule of thumb when handling any weapon is to check safety features, if there is a cartridge in yourself, never rely on others . That said, if this is normal procedure on a movie set, an assistant clears the weapon as “cold” I don’t see the responsibility resting solely on Alec.