Alec Baldwin shoots 2 on set of western, 1 dead

[Husky_Khan]

Details covered in the article:

the actor and crew were setting up a shot that required Baldwin to cross-draw a revolver and point the weapon at the camera. However, thanks to a shadow that was coming into the church structure from light outside, the camera had to be adjusted to a different angle. Baldwin was working with the director and the cinematographer demonstrating how he was going to draw his revolver from its holster and where his arm would be for the new shot. While demonstrating, the firearm went off.

Armorer Hanna Gutierrez Reed reportedly handled prop guns left on a cart outside the structure they were shooting in due to coronavirus restrictions. Assistant director Dave Halls handed one of those guns to Baldwin. According to a Santa Fe court, Halls announced that it was a "cold gun" before giving it to the actor, lingo meaning that the firearm was unloaded. As a result, Baldwin and the two people who were wounded believed the firearm was safe to use in the staging of the scene. Both the director and Russell noted that cameras were not rolling at the time as they were still setting up the shots.

Souza said in the warrant that the cast and crew prepared the scene before lunch and then had their meal away from the shooting location around 12:30 p.m. He was not sure if the gun was checked again when everyone returned from lunch. However, he stated that firearms are supposed to be checked by the armorer followed by the assistant director before handing them to the actor. He said he was not sure if people were checked for live ammunition on their person, but stated that live ammunition should not have been anywhere near the scene.

Alec Baldwin accidental shooting details emerge offering look at Halyna Hutchins' final moments

New details have emerged regarding the on-set incident in which Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on the set of the movie “Rust” that resulted in the death of the film’s director of photography, Halyna Hutchins.

www.foxnews.com

 

[ShadowArxxy]

If he didn’t follow gun safety, that’s 100% his fault tough, even if it is involuntary.

As much as I don't like Baldwin, I do have to point out that movie sets follow their own specialized safety rules designed to enable things that are necessary to filming action that would not be safe under normal circumstances. The big problem with "Rust" is that it was an indie production that was trying to push the limits and do big, dramatic gun-heavy action scenes like the big boys while being dismissive of those safety rules even after *multiple* dangerous accidents had already happened on set.

 

[Cherico]

As much as I don't like Baldwin, I do have to point out that movie sets follow their own specialized safety rules designed to enable things that are necessary to filming action that would not be safe under normal circumstances. The big problem with "Rust" is that it was an indie production that was trying to push the limits and do big, dramatic gun-heavy action scenes like the big boys while being dismissive of those safety rules even after *multiple* dangerous accidents had already happened on set.

which makes baldwin as producer liable.

 

[ShadowArxxy]

Based on the described situation, the person carrying the most responsibility for this disaster was assistant director Halls, who had a previous reputation for being dismissive of safety around firearms. It sounds like Halls was acting as an impromptu prop master at this time -- the union confirmed that there was *no* qualified prop master on scene -- and broke the cardinal safety rule that absolutely no crew member except for the armorer handles firearms, ever.

 

[ShadowArxxy]

which makes baldwin as producer liable.

I would say that depends on whether he was a co-producer or merely an *executive* producer; executive producers do not exercise day-to-day authority on set. I haven't followed the production of this movie so I'm not sure which he actually is.

 

[Cherico]

I would say that depends on whether he was a co-producer or merely an *executive* producer; executive producers do not exercise day-to-day authority on set. I haven't followed the production of this movie so I'm not sure which he actually is.

this is his show his baby and he's the one who actually fired the gun, and there are reports of him taking said gun and using it for target practice which is a big freaking no no in the industry.

He is absolutely liable, now as much as I dislike the man this isnt murder but manslaughter and negligent homiside are both firmly on the table. Keep in mind a person is dead at his hands that is serious freaking business.

 

[LindyAF]

Based on the described situation, the person carrying the most responsibility for this disaster was assistant director Halls, who had a previous reputation for being dismissive of safety around firearms. It sounds like Halls was acting as an impromptu prop master at this time -- the union confirmed that there was *no* qualified prop master on scene -- and broke the cardinal safety rule that absolutely no crew member except for the armorer handles firearms, ever.

I agree Baldwin might not be the most responsible, but IMO there's still responsibility for trusting someone to be competent when they've shown themselves to not be. For instance, I don't know the film industries safety standards, but if no crew members except for the armorer is supposed to be handling firearms, then Halls certainly bears responsibility for handling the firearm and declaring it safe when it was not, but Baldwin also bears some responsibility for taking a gun from someone not the armorer.

 

[ShadowArxxy]

Consider it this way -- the actor really can't check firearm safety in the normal manner, because there's not necessarily any visible difference between an inert dummy round used for scenes where a firearm is visibly loaded on film and/or pointed at another cast member, and a blank round used for a "live" shot.

That's why firearm safety in the unique context of movie production is basically a "chain of custody" type setup where the professional armorer does the safety check and then personally hands it off to a specific cast member with a verbal declaration whether they are being handed a "hot" or "cold" prop, then after a scene is cut the cast member hands it back to the armorer and no one else.

 

[Emperor Tippy]

Consider it this way -- the actor really can't check firearm safety in the normal manner, because there's not necessarily any visible difference between an inert dummy round used for scenes where a firearm is visibly loaded on film and/or pointed at another cast member, and a blank round used for a "live" shot.

That's why firearm safety in the unique context of movie production is basically a "chain of custody" type setup where the professional armorer does the safety check and then personally hands it off to a specific cast member with a verbal declaration whether they are being handed a "hot" or "cold" prop, then after a scene is cut the cast member hands it back to the armorer and no one else.

It's really not hard to safely use firearms on camera.

1) Remove all of the firing pins from everything.
2) Lock down all of the ammo (live or blank).
3) Blank (or real) firing guns are only to be handed from the armorer directly to the user and then directly back to the armorer by the user, with the user warned.

Live gun with live bullets on set without specifically being prepared for is a violation of basically every industry standard.

In this case, the armorer fucked up and bares the highest responsibility for leaving a live gun unattended to be grabbed. The director fucked up for grabbing a gun and failing to check that it wasn't live/was the appropriate gun and bares substantial responsibility for that. Baldwin fucked up for failing to check/clarify that the gun was appropriate for the situation. In most respects, Baldwin's fuckup is the smallest as he very likely had no reason to even suspect that a live gun was even on set in the first place.

Admittedly it's a little harder to secure a revolver, but Rust seems to have just ignored every safety procedure around.

 

[Urabrask Revealed]

Snip

Which part of "Don't care" did I misspell? Lock him up and throw the keys away.

 

[Free-Stater 101]

Which part of "Don't care" did I misspell? Lock him up and throw the keys away.

Please don't be so dismissive, he was just pointing out flaws in your argument, remember this is a forum, you don't get to post something on a message board of any type and then dismiss or tell others to 'shut up' when 'shock' they criticize your logic.

People are going to be shocked or unnerved when you are demanding someone be jailed evidence or circumstances be damned on the issue for more or less purely political reasons.

In fact you are using the same justifications to railroad Baldwin that liberals use to railroad Rittenhouse, ignore the evidence or circumstance, trump up any charges that might be pressed to the maximum extent possible and then tack on anything else.

You asked this question earlier.

Why should he walk when people like Ritterhorsen are being hounded by his allies?

And the answer is a multitude but beyond what has already been said the most obvious is that.

1. We are not stooping to the liberals level as we are better than them.
2. Even if circumstances dictated we 'had' to stoop to that level Baldwin is most definitely not the individual to waste that type of capital on when the evidence might not support it.

If the evidence suggest he indirectly attributed to the death via action as producer other than the miss-firing of the weapon he should be prosecuted, and if a judge rules he wasn't to blame, he isn't, it's that simple.

 

[The Original Sixth]

Which part of "Don't care" did I misspell? Lock him up and throw the keys away.

Go buy yourself a bottle of pamprin, I hear it really eases those menstrual cramps.

 

[Captain X]

Details covered in the article:

Alec Baldwin accidental shooting details emerge offering look at Halyna Hutchins' final moments

New details have emerged regarding the on-set incident in which Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on the set of the movie “Rust” that resulted in the death of the film’s director of photography, Halyna Hutchins.

www.foxnews.com

This leads to a couple of questions from me:
1) Did this fool just completely fail to use any kind of trigger discipline?
2) Was this a replica of a black powder or cartridge conversion Colt like you normally see in westerns? Because those are single action, and I really can't understand how this gun could have discharged during a demonstration if that's the case.

 

[Cherico]

This leads to a couple of questions from me:
1) Did this fool just completely fail to use any kind of trigger discipline?
2) Was this a replica of a black powder or cartridge conversion Colt like you normally see in westerns? Because those are single action, and I really can't understand how this gun could have discharged during a demonstration if that's the case.

the more we find out the more negligence we see.

 

[Zachowon]

This leads to a couple of questions from me:
1) Did this fool just completely fail to use any kind of trigger discipline?
2) Was this a replica of a black powder or cartridge conversion Colt like you normally see in westerns? Because those are single action, and I really can't understand how this gun could have discharged during a demonstration if that's the case.

For certain scenes they probably want to get the trigger timing down, so they probably were not having trigger discipline for that reason.

 

[Rocinante]

For certain scenes they probably want to get the trigger timing down, so they probably were not having trigger discipline for that reason.

IT'S A MOVIE.

The CHARACTER might not have good trigger discipline, and doesn't need to.

If things were running as they should, the gun given to the actor should be perfectly safe to do whatever with. That should have been ensured before the gun ever entered his hands.

Yes that can mean shitty trigger discipline, and no muzzle discipline, because once the gun enters the actor's hands it's a prop. Normal gun safety doesn't apply. If it did, we wouldn't be able to record movies without perfect characters who always follow perfect gun safety.

 

[ShadowArxxy]

Knowing whether or not a prop firearm is rigged to go "bang" is exactly why it's supposed to have a controlled chain of custody, and more precisely, why the prop is explicitly declared to be either "hot" or "cold" at the point of handoff, even though everyone should *already know* based on advance planning and briefing whether a hot prop is scheduled.

 

[Zachowon]

Knowing whether or not a prop firearm is rigged to go "bang" is exactly why it's supposed to have a controlled chain of custody, and more precisely, why the prop is explicitly declared to be either "hot" or "cold" at the point of handoff, even though everyone should *already know* based on advance planning and briefing whether a hot prop is scheduled.

Oh for sure

 

[Abhishekm]

Hours Before Fatal Shooting on Alec Baldwin's 'Rust,' a Half-Dozen Crew Members Quit to Protest Work Conditions - TheWrap

"We will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down," a rep for Rust Productions says in response

www.google.com

'Rust' crew describes on-set gun safety issues and misfires days before fatal shooting

At least one of the camera operators complained last weekend to production managers about gun safety on the set.

www.google.com

 

[Typhonis]

As we were taught at work. You will have many near misses before an incident. This was not an accident. Accidents are sudden and you can't predict they will happen.