Alec Baldwin's Movie Set Was Plagued by Gun Misfires Before Halyna Hutchins' Tragic Death

[babylonsister]

Last edited Fri Oct 22, 2021, 08:15 PM - Edit history (1)

Alec Baldwin’s Movie Set Was Plagued by Gun Misfires Before Halyna Hutchins’ Tragic Death
There were at least two prior incidents of a gun being misfired on the set of the film ‘Rust’ before cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed in a shooting accident on set.
Cheyenne Roundtree
Entertainment Reporter
Updated Oct. 22, 2021 7:10PM ET / Published Oct. 22, 2021 6:59PM ET

snip//

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Baldwin, who was both an actor and producer on the film, fired the prop gun that reportedly had a live round among the blanks. “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours,” Baldwin said in a statement on Friday morning. “I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred.”

But according to a knowledgeable production source, Hutchins’ death was avoidable, as they told The Daily Beast that within the past week there had been at least two previous incidents of firearms being misfired on set. The Los Angeles Times reported there was an additional misfiring the previous week.

“They had two negligent discharges on the same set, on the same day and still had jobs,” the source told The Daily Beast, clarifying same-day misfirings occurred on Saturday. “They had struck out twice and were given a third opportunity.”

The source points to producers trying to cut costs on the low-budget film as being a direct cause for the accident. Already, six hours before the tragic incident, seven International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) union camera crew workers had walked off set in protest of the abysmal conditions.

more...

https://www.thedailybeast.com/alec-baldwins-movie-set-was-plagued-by-gun-misfires-before-halyna-hutchins-tragic-death?ref=home

[exboyfil]

1. If we have a near miss at our work, we shut it down and do an immediate safety evaluation.

Obviously we still need the details.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

2. Depressing ... but I do kinda wonder if there wasn't a saboteur ... not saying there WAS, but ...

I won't be terribly surprised either way.

[BootinUp]

22. ok Columbo

H. Lebowski. Nah, its an accident with contributing factors. I'd bet money that I had.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

23. Your story would make for a really boring episode of Columbo, I just gotta say (nt)

[BootinUp]

24. im trying to think of a better show, got it!

Emergency!

Rampart we have a female victim

[Hugh_Lebowski]

25. That would work. Also, hey, Westworld! One of the robots 'thinks' they're shooting blanks but

a bad guy put real bullets in the 6-gun, to take out his mortal enemy by proxy!

The perfect crime!

Actually I think that might've been on an episode of Westworld now that I think about it

[BootinUp]

26. This scenario discussion could go on a while, lol.

[gldstwmn]

28. It was an accident. The LA Times article has some good details:

Safety protocols standard in the industry, including gun inspections, were not strictly followed on the “Rust” set near Santa Fe, the sources said. They said at least one of the camera operators complained last weekend to a production manager about gun safety on the set.
Three crew members who were present at the Bonanza Creek Ranch set on Saturday said they were particularly concerned about two accidental prop gun discharges.

Baldwin’s stunt double accidentally fired two rounds Saturday after being told that the gun was “cold” — lingo for a weapon that doesn’t have any ammunition, including blanks, two crew members who witnessed the episode told the Los Angeles Times.

“There should have been an investigation into what happened,” said the crew member. “There were no safety meetings. There was no assurance that it wouldn’t happen again. All they wanted to do was rush, rush, rush.”

A colleague was so alarmed by the prop gun misfires he sent a text message to the unit production manager. “We’ve now had 3 accidental discharges. This is super unsafe,” according to a copy of the message reviewed by The Times.
(Snip)
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was huddled around a monitor lining up her next camera shot when she was accidentally killed by the prop gun fired by Baldwin.

The actor was preparing to film a scene in which he pulls a gun out of a holster, according to a source close to the production. Crew members had already shouted “cold gun” on the New Mexico set. The filmmaking team was lining up its camera angles and had yet to retreat to the video village, an on-set area where the crew gathers to watch filming from a distance via a monitor.

Instead, the B-camera operator was on a dolly with a monitor, checking out the potential shots. Hutchins was also looking at the monitor from over the operator’s shoulder, as was the movie’s director, Joel Souza, who was crouching just behind her.

Baldwin removed the gun from its holster once without incident, but the second time he repeated the action, ammunition flew toward the trio around the monitor. The projectile whizzed by the camera operator but penetrated Hutchins near her shoulder, then continued through to Souza. Hutchins immediately fell to the ground as crew members applied pressure to her wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

Late Friday, the Associated Press reported that Baldwin was handed a loaded weapon by an assistant director who indicated it was safe to use in the moments before the actor fatally shot a cinematographer, according to court records. The assistant director did not know the prop gun was loaded with live rounds, according to a search warrant filed in a Santa Fe County court.

The person in charge of overseeing the gun props, known as the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, could not be reached for comment. The 24-year-old is the daughter of veteran armorer Thell Reed and had recently completed her first film as the head armorer for the movie “The Old Way,” with Clint Howard and Nicolas Cage.
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-10-22/alec-baldwin-rust-camera-crew-walked-off-set

[BeckyDem]

34. Explains a lot. Thank you.

[BeckyDem]

3. I don't understand why the guns aren't fake.

It seems like this tragedy could have been avoided.

[underpants]

4. I don't either. I was thinking about this today and was thinking maybe it's cost

Sounds like it was just keeping costs down. Baldwin, as producer, definitely bears responsibility.

[BeckyDem]

7. Agree, it is odd.

Considering all the graphic technology that is available, I don't get it.

Baldwin will face scrutiny, no doubt.

[underpants]

9. Cost of sound editing vs nonunion personnel a gun and some blanks.

Horrible.

[stillcool]

5. I don't know the protocol...

but what would be the point of using bullets, and why wouldn't more people be getting shot? Are people in the entertainment industry trained to check any weapons on the set they might come in contact with, to make sure they won't kill somebody with it? You'd think in a hundred years the corpses would have piled up by now.

[BeckyDem]

8. Yea, it seems that many of the camera crew walked off before the tragedy took place.

Perhaps the standards of safety were not met, as you suggest.

There are so many films where the firepower is nuts, and no one is hurt. I recall the end of Saving Private Ryan, so intense.
But I will add, I have no idea how they pulled it off, are all the actors actually on set as they do this? I have no idea.

[Zeitghost]

15. They should not be using real ammunition

They should not be using real ammunition at all. They shouldn't be anywhere near the set. They should be using blanks for action shots and dummy rounds for close ups.

[Maraya1969]

12. Yea, like starter pistols don't shoot anything. Something like that with added

editing for sparks and sound seems like it would be the safest way to go

[BeckyDem]

33. Yes. It appears from the LA.Times article, safety negligence was a factor.

[ManiacJoe]

17. In a western movie

there is no technical need for fake guns since revolvers easily fire the blanks.
Semi-auto handguns sometimes need to be converted to blank-only guns due to the factory guns not correctly cycling the blanks.

[yardwork]

10. This is not good. Looks like negligence.

[Sibelius Fan]

11. Why are blank guns designed to accept live ammo?

Why not make the chamber smaller so real bullets won’t fit?

[ManiacJoe]

18. Blank-only guns always start out as real guns.

Blanks are the same width, but usually shorter, compared to real rounds.

[Zeitghost]

13. Misfired blanks

and a real live round being placed in a movie prop are two very different issues. It's not just a different ballpark, it's a different universe. Live ammo hs NO place on set and whoever allowed it to happen is in some serious trouble if that is indeed what happened.

If true, it's a very different situation than something like the tragic, but not criminal, Brandon Lee shooting.


If it was indeed a live round, the only scenario that I can come up with (outside of some sinister sabotage plot which seems highly unlikely) is that somebody thought it would be fun to do some shooting out on the ranch in their off time with a cool prop gun.

[ManiacJoe]

19. There are unconfirmed rumors that the target shooting actually happened.

[Zeitghost]

32. I've seen that

I've seen that as well. That lapse in judgement is criminal IMO, live rounds should have been nowhere near that set.

[markpkessinger]

14. Given what happened to Brandon Lee . . .

. . . there is simply no excuse for anyone having a live round anywhere near a movie set.

[Zeitghost]

16. Brandon Lee

Brandon Lee was not killed by a live round, it was a tragic series of events using dummy rounds followed by blank ammo without properly checking between shots.

[LeftInTX]

20. It created the equivalent of a live round

[Zeitghost]

31. Yes

But the negligence involved in the Lee shooting was not anywhere near the negligence in loading a prop gun with live rounds and handing it to an actor on set. One is a tragic series of accidents, one is criminal negligence in my opinion.

[BootinUp]

21. This whole thing stinks, and its

getting me riled.

[KentuckyWoman]

27. Count me in the chorus

Of those wondering why it is even possible to put a bullet in a prop gun.

[Wingus Dingus]

29. I don't know--I'm not comfortable with anonymous attempts to steer the narrative.

I'm reserving judgment until more facts are known. Edit to add: there appears to be a lot of acrimony and hostility among various groups involved, and that makes me leery of taking anyone's word as truth.

[UTUSN]

30. Very bad.

[Steelrolled]

35. A mixture of live rounds and blanks -- sounds like Russian roulette.