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

[SuziQ]

I wonder if a gun with real bullets is heavier than with blank ones?
Im asking b/c I have never even touched a gun in my life.

Also I can see Alec's family is very loyal to him - they seem to be very close to one another.

I would not feel the difference. And an actor who doesn't know anything about guns would not.

 

[happyday]

Sorry, I’ll report my post!

https://www.latimes.com/entertainme...d-off-set?_amp=true&__twitter_impression=true
No, you’re right! According to this article that was posted earlier, it was a live single round. But “live” can mean blanks or dummy bullets and they don’t know yet what the projectile was.

In an email to its members, Local 44 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, a union that represents prop masters, said the shot that killed Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza on Thursday was “a live single round.”
https://www.latimes.com/entertainme...d-off-set?_amp=true&__twitter_impression=true

 

[SuziQ]

It may not be their job, but legally and morally, a person is responsible what happens after they pull the trigger. It's easy enough to tell the difference between live and blank/dummy rounds. I think he holds blame as both the person who shot the gun and as producer of the film. mo

He wasn't in charge of loading a round into the gun. An actor would not ever see the bullet. You really want actors, that most likely know nothing about guns, to be responsible for guns on a movie set? People would be getting shot left and right on a set. An actor shooting the gun would be the least responsible person in this situation.

Moo.

 

[Msskeptic]

1. Assume every gun is always loaded
1. Don't point at anything you don't want to shoot

These rules are broken when dry firing, or aiming and pulling the trigger with an unloaded weapon. But dry firing has it's own safety proceedures, which involve checking and verifying the weapon is unloaded. It sounds like this is what Baldwin thought he was doing, but safety procedures were not followed.

 

[Chelly]

To keep the realism, real bullets are used to show an actor loading a gun. After the scene the prop gun guy is supposed to take possession of the gun unload it and make sure there is not a round in the chamber and is clear of anything. That is an old practice that should be done with.

Moo

That. is. amazing!

 

[formerlyme]

I wonder if he was "practicing" and thought it was empty, stupid yes, you should know more about guns if you are going to be handling them.... but humans make stupid mistakes.

 

[happyday]

It sounds to me like the low budget of this film may have been causing shortcuts to be taken. Specifically shortcuts to safety measures. I’ll be very interested in what armory/weapons company was hired and what they say. Was there a armory company even?

 

[Gardenista]

It sounds to me like the low budget of this film may have been causing shortcuts to be taken. Specifically shortcuts to safety measures. I’ll be very interested in what armory/weapons company was hired and what they say. Was there a armory company even?

Yes, there was. The article I posted above about his co-star talks about it.

 

[glamourkitty1922]

He wasn't in charge of loading a round into the gun. An actor would not ever see the bullet. You really want actors, that most likely know nothing about guns, to be responsible for guns on a movie set? People would be getting shot left and right on a set. An actor shooting the gun would be the least responsible person in this situation.

Moo.

I remember seeing a behind the scenes clip about Clint Eastwood and he always opened up the gun to check that the bullets were blanks and nothing was lodged in the barrel many years ago. I believe if a person is going to pull the trigger, that person needs to know is in the gun. It is their responsibility. moo

 

[shotgun09]

IMO
Was this a purposeful shooting? No

Were there staffing 'issues' on set? Apparently so, according to articles up thread.

Was SAFETY allowed to be scrapped, due to these issues? Possibly

 

[GatorFL]

I wonder if a gun with real bullets is heavier than with blank ones?
Im asking b/c I have never even touched a gun in my life.

Also I can see Alec's family is very loyal to him - they seem to be very close to one another.

Not really unless you're using a weapon that has extended capacity.

 

[shotgun09]

I remember seeing a behind the scenes clip about Clint Eastwood and he always opened up the gun to check that the bullets were blanks and nothing was lodged in the barrel many years ago. I believe if a person is going to pull the trigger, that person needs to know is in the gun. It is their responsibility. moo

Yes! The old adage: Trust, but verify.

 

[glamourkitty1922]

To keep the realism, real bullets are used to show an actor loading a gun. After the scene the prop gun guy is supposed to take possession of the gun unload it and make sure there is not a round in the chamber and is clear of anything. That is an old practice that should be done with.

Moo

If they were not so cheap, they would have invested in some "dummy rounds" which are inert which means no primer or powder. They are easily recognized due to the lack of a primer in the base. There is no excuse for them to use live rounds.

 

[GatorFL]

Well, he did go through court ordered anger management courses a couple of years ago. Which he claimed were not needed. Alec Baldwin Went to Anger Management and Learned That He’s “Not That Angry”

Careful, I had a post edited earlier.

I don't think Baldwin is the greatest person out there. Numerous issues with anger management over the years. Still, I don't think his temper had anything to do with this incident.

MOO

 

[Pseudonymph]

<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

This article explains it all so well. It was a day of confusion when nobody was in charge. The new people probably thought certain things had already been handled or didn’t have the necessary experience to know better.

 

[GatorFL]

If they were not so cheap, they would have invested in some "dummy rounds" which are inert which means no primer or powder. They are easily recognized due to the lack of a primer in the base. There is no excuse for them to use live rounds.

Brandon Lee was killed because the team working on his movie took the gunpowder out of the rounds put in the gun that killed him. The primer was enough to fire the gun, causing the projectile to become stuck in the barrel. A squib load. The blank that was later fired cause the projectile to exit the barrel and hit Lee and he died.

 

[glamourkitty1922]

Brandon Lee was killed because the team working on his movie took the gunpowder out of the rounds put in the gun that killed him. The primer was enough to fire the gun, causing the projectile to become stuck in the barrel. A squib load. The blank that was later fired cause the projectile to exit the barrel and hit Lee and he died.

Yes, they should have been using a dummy load or was the technology not as good then? Now a puff of smoke if needed and a loud bang can be put into the picture. I do know in the past a realistic gun shot was hard to animate. Perhaps the "Rust" production wanted to go back to the glory days of Westerns? moo

 

[Dotta]

This article explains it all so well. It was a day of confusion when nobody was in charge. The new people probably thought certain things had already been handled or didn’t have the necessary experience to know better.

Chaos and guns = deadly mixture

 

[glamourkitty1922]

According to this https://twitter.com/paulscheer/status/1451606504491024384/photo/1 it sounds like a dangerous non-union set. Alec Baldwin 'Rust' camera crew walked off the set in protest before the fatal shooting

And just, no, I'm sorry. actors should not be responsible for the guns they use. Scratch Alec from the picture, as he's a veteran of decades in the industry. Imagine you're someone who gets their first acting job. You've never handled a gun in your life, and you're handed a gun as a prop. You're meant to know how to use it? No, that's ridiculous. It's the propmasters job.

It only takes a few hours to learn how to safely handle a gun. If any actor is going to be using a gun, they should be required to take a safety course. Not only for other people's safety, but for their own peace of mind. I would think killing someone would be extremely traumatic for the vast majority of people moo

 

[Msskeptic]

A search warrant was issued for the property where "Rust" movie is being filmed, sheriff's official says