Halyna Hutchins Shot With Prop Gun - Alec Baldwin indicted & Hannah Gutierrez-Reed charged, 2021 #6

[Betty P]

Benavidez says when the cart was brought back to him, it appeared to be disorganized. Benavidez clears the gun and puts it in the front of his car. It did not have any ammo in it. HGR is beside Benavidez and looks distressed."Oh my god, . Are they okay?" HGR panics and says out loud.

Doesn't this establish that the gun was supposed to be empty with no blanks? There was the live round that shot Helena, but otherwise the gun was empty. The armorer wouldn't have just loaded one blank bullet into the prop gun. Doesn't this prove that AB was told and expected that the prop gun wasn't loaded?

It will be interesting to hear what the Asst Director has to say under oath.

 

[Betty P]

snipped.

In Halls' deposition he claimed that he did not hand AB the gun. Considering he's a prosecution witness, it'll be interesting to see how that plays out during his testimony.

Is he saying that HGR handed AB the gun? Sounds really shady. Early in the investigation it was said he handed the gun to AB. Is he now implying HGR handed AB the gun? There were several witnesses present, so assume we will hear from them. Also video from the cameras shooting at the rehearsal.

 

[ch_13]

Is he saying that HGR handed AB the gun? Sounds really shady. Early in the investigation it was said he handed the gun to AB. Is he now implying HGR handed AB the gun? There were several witnesses present, so assume we will hear from them. Also video from the cameras shooting at the rehearsal.

Yup, that's what he claims.

Dave Halls, ‘Rust’ Assistant Director, Gives Account of Shooting That Conflicts With Others’ Statements (EXCLUSIVE)

In a deposition, 'Rust' first A.D. Dave Halls said that no one person is responsible for Halyna Hutchins' death.

variety.com

Halls testified that he checked the gun with Gutierrez Reed — as was their typical practice — and then she was the one who handed it directly to Baldwin.

As far as I know, no one else has substantiated his version of events. And judging by Lewis's opening statement, the prosecution doesn't believe him either.

 

[Slick762]

Doesn't this establish that the gun was supposed to be empty with no blanks? There was the live round that shot Helena, but otherwise the gun was empty. The armorer wouldn't have just loaded one blank bullet into the prop gun. Doesn't this prove that AB was told and expected that the prop gun wasn't loaded?

It will be interesting to hear what the Asst Director has to say under oath.

I think it means that someone on set, probably HGR, emptied the weapon after the shooting but before police got there.

 

[Betty P]

I think it's important to note that despite the headlines this wasn't just a lawsuit between Alec Baldwin and the Hutchins family. In addition to AB, the suit was also filed against the production company, the producers, HGR and other crew as well. So, the settlement encompassed a lot of parties, and presumably insurance companies, etc. were also involved.

As to whether the settlement was generous, on one hand the suit was settled within 7 months, which is a relatively short period of time considering the number of players involved. But on the other hand, the production company was a limited liability company created expressly for the purpose of filming the movie, so it didn't have much in the way of assets associated with it. The difficulties in finding a defendant with big pockets almost certainly played a part in the negotiations.

Here's a really good article from the Hollywood Reporter on the lawsuit and what may have precipitated the settlement: Inside the Secret ‘Rust’ Settlement: Why Did Halyna Hutchins’ Widower Drop His Suit to Become an Executive Producer?

As the Hollywood Reporter article points out, the suit that AB settled with Helena's husband was separate from another lawsuit against the producers of the movie. Just clarifying. There were six producers for the Rust movie, including AB. There were also two executive producers. Several producers were on set the day of the fatal shooting.
AB's producing credit was for managing the story. Court records how Halls was the one who handed the gun to AB

“Any producer that had worked on that film, that witnessed the alleged safety violations leading up to this, will no doubt have to hold a certain amount of accountability,” Knox said. “There is no way that all six companies are responsible because some of those are just production companies in name. In today’s world, producer credits get handed out like Tic Tacs, and that’s what’s happened here.”

It’s not the first time questions about safety have been raised related to movies to which Cheney and Smith were attached.

In Georgia this year, first camera assistant Lisa Long raised safety concerns while filming the action thriller “One Way,” starring Machine Gun Kelly, Long said.

Long was bothered by what she saw as first assistant director Dave Halls’ disregard for safety protocols and reported his behavior to two producers and an IATSE Local 600 union representative, she said.

Who are the producers behind deadly ‘Rust’ film?

Safety questions had been raised about another film involving two of the producers.

www.latimes.com

The article also noted at the time that the settlement AB made with Helena's husband was pending approval by a judge. It was eventually approved, as these kind of civil suits are. Judges review them and rule on whether the agreement is legit and beneficial to the injured party.

 

[Betty P]

Yup, that's what he claims.

Dave Halls, ‘Rust’ Assistant Director, Gives Account of Shooting That Conflicts With Others’ Statements (EXCLUSIVE)

In a deposition, 'Rust' first A.D. Dave Halls said that no one person is responsible for Halyna Hutchins' death.

variety.com

Halls testified that he checked the gun with Gutierrez Reed — as was their typical practice — and then she was the one who handed it directly to Baldwin.

As far as I know, no one else has substantiated his version of events. And judging by Lewis's opening statement, the prosecution doesn't believe him either.

The LA Times article I linked above states that court records show Halls was the one who handed the gun to AB. Assume that means there's a witness on record who disputes Hall's claim. We will find out.

According to an affidavit filed by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, Halls believed that the lead bullet that fatally wounded Hutchins on Thursday was supposed to be a dummy round. Halls told investigators that he did not check all the rounds in the gun before it was handed to Baldwin, a major breach of safety standards.

Who are the producers behind deadly ‘Rust’ film?

Safety questions had been raised about another film involving two of the producers.

www.latimes.com

Halls says he assumed it was a dummy round in the prop gun, but AB didn't need a dummy bullet if he was only using the prop gun to practice drawing the gun.

On “One Way,” Halls did not hold a safety meeting before shooting a dangerous scene involving a Russian Arm — a crane-like piece of equipment that is attached to a high-speed vehicle during filming, Long said. The highway had not been cleared of outside traffic when filming began, she said.

 

[Dre]

I found defense’s opening statements to be very compelling

 

[Luna20]

I found defense’s opening statements to be very compelling

I did too but I think prosecutors are going to make compelling statements about her character. Allegedly the drugs, her negligence of leaving the ammo/gun unattended, not being on the set while the gun was being used, etc.

She certainly looks different now from what she looked like then. Her hair and clothing are strategically aligned to appear professional and relatable.

 

[clearskies1]

DBM.

 

[arielilane]

WATCH LIVE: ‘Rust’ Movie Shooting — NM v. Hannah Gutierrez — Day Two
https://youtube.com/live/46Bx5QB3DDw?si=c9gtjhIh3O-UdZ9w via @YouTube

https://twitter.com/x/status/1761035334228591034

 

[arielilane]

Doesn't this establish that the gun was supposed to be empty with no blanks? There was the live round that shot Helena, but otherwise the gun was empty. The armorer wouldn't have just loaded one blank bullet into the prop gun. Doesn't this prove that AB was told and expected that the prop gun wasn't loaded?

It will be interesting to hear what the Asst Director has to say under oath.

I can’t fathom why at least one live round would be mistakenly loaded into a revolver, such carelessness. Not saying done purposely, but why, it is so irresponsible, imo. Defense did claim their client had a lot going on, many responsibilities, and asked for help, and was declined. No excuse. Waiting for more evidence.

 

[arielilane]

2 LIVE rounds of ammunition were loose on top of the prop cart intermingled with dummy rounds and blanks. The two on the right were confirmed by the FBI to be live rounds per testimony today.








A gun belt on the top of the prop cart contained a LIVE round. The round on the far left is a LIVE round confirmed by the FBI. This belt was assigned to actor Jensen Ackles.





The gun belt assigned to #AlecBaldwin contained a LIVE round per testimony. It's the second from the left in this pic.


@cathyrusson

 

[arielilane]

Day 2 of witness testimony in the trial of #Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. Yesterday we saw heartbreaking body cam video of the moments immediately following the shooting that killed Halyna Hutchins. We could see possibly incriminating text messages today.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1761053741132738679

Marissa Poppell is still on the witness stand. She is a crime scene technician who photographed and analyzed evidence found on the Rust movie set. We begin by looking at additional photos of the evidence, including ammo (both live and dummies) as well as ammo boxes.


We are looking at the bloodied t-shirt from Director Joel Souza. The right shoulder has intense blood stains on the front. When flipped over, the blood runs all the way to the base of the shirt.Now Halyana Hutchins shirt, also covered in blood. It is ripped from top to bottom from where paramedics likely cut it open to access her chest for treatment.

 

[BeachSky]

I did too but I think prosecutors are going to make compelling statements about her character. Allegedly the drugs, her negligence of leaving the ammo/gun unattended, not being on the set while the gun was being used, etc.

She certainly looks different now from what she looked like then. Her hair and clothing are strategically aligned to appear professional and relatable.

That nose in the air doesn’t do her any favors. To me she holds it up there- like she is holding her place in not being responsible.

All JMO

 

[arielilane]

Having an issue with understanding why live ammunition is even needed on a movie set. Nowadays, with technology as advanced as it is, it’s not needed. Right? Has no one heard of editing, etc? I'm no movie expert, so guess I'm missing something, however, that’s what I am thinking. So who brought live rounds to the movie set and why would they need to do that? Moo, at this time.

 

[arielilane]

Defense attorneys say Gutierrez-Reed is not to blame and is being smeared and unfairly scapegoated. Jason Bowles told jurors that his client had to perform two jobs on “Rust” while being rushed — and that her requests for more resources went unanswered by her manager.


Prosecutors said they plan to present evidence that Gutierrez-Reed unwittingly brought live ammunition onto the set, where it was expressly prohibited, and to show “how these live rounds slowly spread their way throughout the set, eventually landing in several of the actors’ costumes.”

Negligence or scapegoating? Trial of 'Rust' armorer begins in fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin

Prosecutors sought to pin blame on a movie weapons supervisor for bringing live ammunition on set that contributed to the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin during production of the film "Rust."

kslnewsradio.com

 

[clearskies1]

Defense attorneys say Gutierrez-Reed is not to blame and is being smeared and unfairly scapegoated. Jason Bowles told jurors that his client had to perform two jobs on “Rust” while being rushed — and that her requests for more resources went unanswered by her manager.


Prosecutors said they plan to present evidence that Gutierrez-Reed unwittingly brought live ammunition onto the set, where it was expressly prohibited, and to show “how these live rounds slowly spread their way throughout the set, eventually landing in several of the actors’ costumes.”

Negligence or scapegoating? Trial of 'Rust' armorer begins in fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin

Prosecutors sought to pin blame on a movie weapons supervisor for bringing live ammunition on set that contributed to the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin during production of the film "Rust."

kslnewsradio.com

@arielilane your posts/updates are awesome! Thank you so much.

 

[Slick762]

Having an issue with understanding why live ammunition is even needed on a movie set. Nowadays, with technology as advanced as it is, it’s not needed. Right? Has no one heard of editing, etc? I'm no movie expert, so guess I'm missing something, however, that’s what I am thinking. So who brought live rounds to the movie set and why would they need to do that? Moo, at this time.

It's not needed.
My theory is that HGR, and others, were using the prop guns for target shooting after hours and the ammo got mixed with the dummy ammo by mistake. Something like:
Go target shooting. Have a few rounds left over, put them in your pocket.
Next day you're on set and grab a gun and some dummy rounds for a scene. Dummy rounds go in your pocket because your hands are full and the rounds are mixed.

Now if you're talking about not needing blank ammo, that's a different story. Guns with blank ammo, used properly, looks a lot better than most CGI (unless you have Marvel movie budget).

 

[Cool Cats]

Having an issue with understanding why live ammunition is even needed on a movie set. Nowadays, with technology as advanced as it is, it’s not needed. Right? Has no one heard of editing, etc? I'm no movie expert, so guess I'm missing something, however, that’s what I am thinking. So who brought live rounds to the movie set and why would they need to do that? Moo, at this time.

Live ammunition is not allowed and not needed on movie sets.

Cast members should be trained in gun safety in advance. Guns should never be pointed directly at anyone, especially in rehearsals but even during actual filming, since camera trickery can be used to compensate for the angle. If necessary, plexiglass is used to protect the camera operator and surrounding crew members.

And no live ammunition, ever.

Real firearms are routinely used while cameras are rolling, and injuries of any kind are rare. The reason is that safety protocols for firearms on sets are well established and straight forward.

Striving for Authenticity, Films Often Use Real Guns on Set (Published 2021)

Safety protocols for firearms on set are well established and straight forward, and injuries of any kind are rare.

www.nytimes.com

 

[clearskies1]

Sorry if this has been addressed before. If I understand correctly, by the time LE got a hold of the gun AB used when Halyna was shot there was no ammo in it. So it seems someone removed the ammo -- do we know who did that?