Alec Baldwin involved in accidental shooting death on set of "Rust"

[gafftaper]

Rumors are that Alec Baldwin, was using a prop gun while filming "Rust". Somehow, the Director of Photography Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed and the film's Director Joel Souza was hospitalized with injuries.

Sheriff's office: Alec Baldwin discharged prop gun that killed crew member, wounded director

Baldwin is one of the film's star actors and producers. He went to the sheriff's office willingly and provided a statement to investigators, sheriff's office spokesman Juan Ríos said.

www.santafenewmexican.com

 

[techieman33]

The link isn't working, looks like a problem with the website. Here's a link to the story on Reuters.

 

[MrsFooter]

Going to be very interesting to watch this unfold. There's a reason these incidents only happen once a decade or so, so for one to take place, there has to have been human error on a catastrophic level and committed by multiple parties.

 

[TimMc]

With a nod to Warren Zevon - Lawyers and money will be required once the gun was involved.

My condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Ms Hutchins, and my hopes for a full and speedy recovery for Mr Souza.

 

[JD]

Very strange indeed. Although a blank can be lethal if fired at very close range, to hear that a second person was also injured is something I have never heard of. The only thing that comes to mind is if the prop gun fragmented when fired. Very sad.

 

[gafftapegreenia]

There’s a lot of speculations and word of mouth in the rumour mill right now. Suffice to say, I’m not entirely sure how “prop” the firearm was exactly.

 

[gafftaper]

Going back to Brandon Lee's death they had been filming closeup shots of the camera looking down the barrel of the gun. They put dummy bullets into the gun that would look real in the revolver chamber, but had no charge in the back so they couldn't actually fire. Then they switched to blanks to film the next scene where they actually fired the gun. Somehow one of the dummy bullets got jammed in the gun, broke off, and they put a blank charge in behind that bullet. They were filming late at night. They were tired. They took two "safe things" and accidentally reassembled them into a dangerous thing.

I'm not speculating that is what happened yesterday. But I just get vibes that we will end up with a similar tragic accident where people thought they were doing things the safe and correct way, then something weird happened that their safety protocols didn't address.

 

[Footer]

Two very interesting stories about this....

'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.latimes.com

and https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/10/22/us/alec-baldwin-shooting-movie-set

This is going to be interesting to watch play out, and the union issues along with the IA contract negotiations is just making everything even weirder.

 

[What Rigger?]

Gawd, it just seems to get worse by the hour.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/24-old-head-armorer-alec-122916840.html

And the podcast episode in question:

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[ruinexplorer]

Others are leading change. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/rookie-bans-live-guns-on-set-1235035568/

 

[Jay Ashworth]

This incident is what our British cousins would call a dog's breakfast, involving union hands quitting due to sloppy gun discipline and being ignored about it (by the 1AD, I gather, who by all accounts is a bastard), and non-union replacements, yada yada yada...

There are, now, several days later, a couple good roll-up stories with all the current facts; I'll see if I can find the one I most recently posted.

 

[FMEng]

The latest, from unconfirmed sources, is that various people were using the gun for target practice. I speculate that someone probably brought the gun back with real ammo left in it, and the gun was grabbed by the first assistant director without being checked by the armorer. The 24 year old armorer wouldn't be likely to stand up to the 1AD about skipping procedures, especially when he was already yelling at other crew members. I'm no expert, but it seems like there were multiple, ongoing failures allowed to continue, making the accident almost inevitable.

 

[TimMc]

The hits just keep on coming!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/10/25/alec-baldwin-rust-search-warrant/

Detectives Find Loose, Boxed Ammo In Fanny Pack On 'Rust' Set

Scattered ammunition raises new questions about safety on the movie set where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed with a prop gun.

www.huffpost.com

Edit PS:

One more for good measure. Bad things come in threes, right?

Veteran prop master turned down 'Rust' film: 'An accident waiting to happen'

LOS ANGELES — Neal W. Zoromski has spent three decades in Hollywood, working on movies...

www.sfgate.com

 

[ruinexplorer]

Watching Trevor Noah last night, it was reported that they were live rounds, not blanks.
Target practice, really? What happened to not touching the props? So many things wrong here.

 

[Footer]

The latest, from unconfirmed sources, is that various people were using the gun for target practice. I speculate that someone probably brought the gun back with real ammo left in it, and the gun was grabbed by the first assistant director without being checked by the armorer. The 24 year old armorer wouldn't be likely to stand up to the 1AD about skipping procedures, especially when he was already yelling at other crew members. I'm no expert, but it seems like there were multiple, ongoing failures allowed to continue, making the accident almost inevitable.

crap. Thats bleeping crazy. I guess now if you are going to run live fire guns you now have to fully secure the set and airport style security the entrances. That's insane.

 

[TimMc]

In another post I alluded to Warren Zevon's song "Lawyers, Guns and Money". The gun part has been covered. Cue the lawyers and money:

Potential legal woes mount after the 'Rust' shooting tragedy

Producers on the film, including star Alec Baldwin, might be civilly or criminally liable in the accidental discharge of a live round that killed the cinematographer.

www.npr.org

 

[MrsFooter]

crap. Thats bleeping crazy. I guess now if you are going to run live fire guns you now have to fully secure the set and airport style security the entrances. That's insane.

I mean, or just, ya know...don't use guns.

The latest, from unconfirmed sources, is that various people were using the gun for target practice. I speculate that someone probably brought the gun back with real ammo left in it, and the gun was grabbed by the first assistant director without being checked by the armorer. The 24 year old armorer wouldn't be likely to stand up to the 1AD about skipping procedures, especially when he was already yelling at other crew members. I'm no expert, but it seems like there were multiple, ongoing failures allowed to continue, making the accident almost inevitable.

Also, reason 485k for why toxic working environments where management feels entitled to s*hit on people need to go. I know that I personally let some slightly sketchy things slide in my youth because I didn't feel that I would be supported by management if I tried to tell road co no. I was lucky in that nothing went wrong; the woman working as armorer that day was not.

I'm also wondering, as I sit here drinking my coffee and stalling on labeling breakouts, if this incident doesn't invite a re-examination of the resistance to admitting you don't know what you're doing that can be pervasive in this industry. @Footer and I have long held the credence that the key to success in this industry is to convince everyone around you that you know what you're doing...and then figure out how to do it before they realize you don't. But that philosophy also invites the connotation that admitting you don't know something isn't acceptable, and that is also starting to feel really toxic. What if the armorer had felt empowered to say, "I don't feel experienced enough to take on this job"? (I realize that there's also the issue where when you're young and beginning in the industry, gigs are hard to come by and you may not be in a financial situation to turn down a job. Another problem for another cup of coffee.) What if the "fake it till you make it" doctrine is putting people in situations where they don't feel safe asking for help or guidance, which in turn, puts the safety of others at risk?

If you'll excuse me, I have some personal beliefs to re-examine. And some breakouts to label.

 

[cbrandt]

What if the "fake it till you make it" doctrine is putting people in situations where they don't feel safe asking for help or guidance, which in turn, puts the safety of others at risk?

I've long wondered why our industry has been so against any sort of official certification system. There are many positions and responsibilities with very well defined industry standards. Most importantly with life safety critical items that rely completely on the responsible person's judgement.

 

[TimMc]

I've long wondered why our industry has been so against any sort of official certification system. There are many positions and responsibilities with very well defined industry standards. Most importantly with life safety critical items that rely completely on the responsible person's judgement.

Because certification is a threat to those already in senior positions... except for those who design or participate in the certification process. It would be very embarrassing for established folks to fail a cert test.

 

[cbrandt]

But wouldn't that tell us something extremely important if they did? (I say quite facetiously)