In discussing weapon safety on film sets on Twitter, Alec Baldwin said police officers should be present on sets “to specifically monitor weapons safety”. His statement comes as cast and crew in the industry have discussed the issue following the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on October 21.
There Were Issues on the Set of Rust Before the Shooting
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office reported that Baldwin fired the gun after he was told that the gun was safe to use by armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. He was standing before a camera and running through how he planned to draw the gun from his holster.
When he pulled the trigger, the bullet struck and killed Hutchins and wounded Joel Souza in the shoulder. According to a warrant, the guns were brought from a secured safe and checked by Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director Dave Halls—the latter of whom announced that the gun was “cold” or safe to use.
That’s according to the warrant. Also, according to the warrant, it was Halls who handed Baldwin the gun from the cart—which also had a safe, plastic gun that couldn’t fire live ammo. During a Fox News appearance, Halls’ lawyer contested this in saying that Halls didn’t hand Baldwin the gun.
Beyond the major issue on set are reports of Halls’ disregard of safety protocols on the film sets of Freedom’s Path and One Way as well as on the set of Hulu show Into the Dark. One of which—Freedom’s Path—resulted in a crew member being shot and wounded.
Also playing a role is that Rust wasn’t working with the biggest budget. Filming was done faster and there were concerns of there being no medic on the set initially. This is all going on during a protest and looming walkout in regards to the loose safety protocols.
Alec Baldwin Believes That Police Supervision Will Help
It appears that many in the industry are in favor of either changing how things are done on sets or simply strengthening safety. Last week Dwayne Johnson let it be known that his studio Seven Bucks would no longer have real guns on set nor would he participate in filming if they were on the set.
This seems like the strongest method to change things and force the strengthening of safety protocols. Alec Baldwin’s suggestion is one that could be used in tandem with existing protocols along with Johnson’s approach.
However updated safety protocols shake out, they will need mutual agreement from not just the cast but the crew themselves. It seems like the protocols will also require a stronger screening process for crew members on sets with firearms and projectile weapons.
While his Twitter is currently protected, Baldwin’s tweet read:
“Every film/TV set that uses guns, fake or otherwise, should have a police officer on set, hired by the production, to specifically monitor weapons safety.”
The filming of Rust has been suspended following the shooting and a spider bite situation involving a brown recluse and a rigger.
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