Let computers do it: Film set tragedy spurs call to ban guns

With literally millions of rounds of blanks fired in movies in the last 100 years or so and serious accidents you can count on less than the fingers of one hand - and those were caused by stunning negligence - there is no need to go silly and virtuous by calling for an end to the use of real gunpowder.

“With all of that Hollywood talent and imagination are we still writing stories about shooting one another?” he asked. “Do we really have nothing better to spend millions of dollars on than the glamorization of gun battles?”

Would be nice if the subject matter was broadened wouldnt it

Its either gun crazy violence or woke guff. Netflix is full of it.

I dont watch modern American films, only the classics, and very little modern American TV.

Its either boring, seen it a thousand times before or lecturing me about the evils of men, white men in particular.

Couldnt care less.

So the real issue here is that there are just so many guns in the US that the likelihood of this happening is quite high, while I can guarantee you that a gun on the set of a Japanese movie would be treated like the Holy Grail with a whole crew hired just to watch and protect that gun.

Your statement is full of errors. Prop guns on US movie sets are treated extremely carefully with multiple steps and safety precautions. You say the likelihood of this happening is quite high. In fact there have only been three serious accidents involving guns on US movie sets in the last 100 years. From before John Wayne through Clint Eastwood to Stallone, Schwarzenegger etc. All those movie scenes involving untold “gunshots”,

Only when there is extreme negligence, as in this case with Baldwin and his production, do such deadly incidents occur.

Yes! Let’s ban any activity and substitute it with CGI. Even walking can be deadly, so let’s stay safe on our sofas and watch how virtual characters perform physical activities.

It's already bad enough that we have fake CG blood, now they want fake CG gunshots? How about don't allow live rounds on a set.

A live bullet would be used for what exactly? A blank bullet is understandable.

Can't you use practical effects in replica guns? Flashbangs in the barrel - not blanks, just basically more effective cap guns. Sounds added in post production. You don't need real guns.

Wouldn't banning live bullets suffice?

appealed to Baldwin directly “to use his power and influence" in the industry

which he should no longer have after this.

Naturally, because there is so much gun violence in the US, TV and film have to have gun violence too in order for art to reflect life. Japanese movies rarely have much gun violence for the same reason. So the real issue here is that there are just so many guns in the US that the likelihood of this happening is quite high, while I can guarantee you that a gun on the set of a Japanese movie would be treated like the Holy Grail with a whole crew hired just to watch and protect that gun. It really sounds like on American film sets, they have all kinds of guns laying around and they are treated with the same due diligence.

Believable CGI would be expensive. Handled properly a gun with a blank is safe. Agree no one should fire a gun without first checking it and why was it pointed at another person? Should never point a gun at anyone, for a film there is no real reason to, picture of shot, picture of person being shot, no need for them to be done at the same time.

Can not understand why there is any need for a live round on a film set? Criminal negligence at worst, an accident waiting to happen and it did. RIP an innocent victim.

This was just negligence on the prop department. There should have been multiple checks that would have caught this error. Still using CGI is not a bad idea and no one would really notice the difference.

Hey look! A squirrel!

Again, as usual, it's the GUN's Fault...not the imbicile who handed someone a LOADED weapon.

If someone hands you a Firearm, you ASSUME it's LOADED, and treat it as such.

Jumping in on the other side of the gun debate for...maybe a first for me. For a rarity, I don't think the problem in this case are gun laws.

The problem here though is simply the of cutting corners to save money and time on these kinds of productions. These are multi-million projects that recoup many times more than that usually, but are still employing underqualified individuals who are overworked for their positions simply to maximize profit.

From the other story on this, the armorer was about 28 years old, which seems exceptionally young for a project of this magnitude. Definitely a lot cheaper than hiring somebody with decades more experience in the field though.

Until this cost-cutting stops, things won't actually improve. It was a gun this time, but it could have been a forklift, a dolly, or improperly secured light. Anything could be a risk, especially when people are overworked and/or inexperienced.

First of all, they should ban the guns in Zollywood.

Any responsible gun owner knows that a weapon is to be considered live and loaded until the user confirms otherwise.

This incident underscores the need for firearm safety legislation.

Alex Baldwin is an irresponsible idiot and a fool for taking another person's word that the weapon was safe. He should be found guilty of negligent homicide, along with the other fool who told him the weapon was safe.

Just for anyone that doesn't know, most gunfire and explosions you see in movies are already CGI, even when the use of blank rounds are used it's mostly just to get a more believable movement/reaction from the actor. The actual muzzle flash etc is usually either enhanced with CGI or replaced entirely, although I guess for a western they would probably keep it as raw as possible.

Found it a bit funny when it said inexpensive CGI effects, the reason many want to do it raw is to save money, at least if you want the effect to look professional, with correct lighting and effects that follows the actual movement of the gun and it's surroundings, it will be way more expensive than handling real guns on set. It's of course another thing if you are just throwing a premiere template light effect on and call it a day.