entertainment

Stars stunned by 'mismanaged set' in fatal prop-gun shooting

17 Comments
By RYAN PEARSON and GILLIAN FLACCUS

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.


17 Comments
Login to comment

First off Alec Baldwin got rid of the Union crew and bought in a bunch of scabs including the Firearm specialist who has a record of shoddy handling of firearms on set in the past just to save a few dollars. Secondly it take 5 seconds to personally insure a firearm is empty and anybody who trusts any firearm that is handed to them not to be loaded is irresponsible period.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Alec Baldwin has made dozens of movies, many involving firearms and lots of shooting.

He knows very very well the careful and systematic procedures that are standard practice and yet he knowingly saw them flouted. Not only did he not raise the alarm, he actually took the gun and fired it in the direction of people with fatal results.

As I’ve said before, something is seriously awry with this.

Theres more to this story than has emerged so far. What it is I don’t know. Drugs? Alcahol? Something else?

3 ( +5 / -2 )

First off Alec Baldwin got rid of the Union crew and bought in a bunch of scabs including the Firearm specialist who has a record of shoddy handling of firearms on set in the past just to save a few dollars.

Baldwin posted social media supporting the crew in their dispute with the production company about housing.

The 24 year-old armourer was incompetent. We're living in the Era of Mass Incompetence.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I’m not surprised, hollywood treats firearms like toys, it’s just a matter of time.

Actually, Hollywood does not treat firearms on movie sets as toys, and has an exemplary safety record to prove it.

The goings-on with the Baldwin movie are simply bizarre, mystifyingly incompetent and in dereliction of every established safety procedure.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Why are real guns with live ammo used on movie sets? Wouldn't fake guns suffice with sound effects added afterwards? Or am I missing something?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Last week, @Helix 9:08am the L.A. Times published an eyewitness account of the events ‘on-set’:

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 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 did so, 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 AP 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 fired it, 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.” -

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-10-22/alec-baldwin-rust-camera-crew-walked-off-set

@Helix 9:08am: “Alec Baldwin has made dozens of movies, many involving firearms and lots of shooting.

He knows very very well the careful and systematic procedures that are standard practice…, he actually took the gun and fired it in the direction of people with fatal results.

As I’ve said before, something is seriously awry with this. Theres more to this story than has emerged so far. What it is I don’t know. Drugs? Alcahol? Something else?”

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Baldwin posted social media supporting the crew in their dispute with the production company about housing.

Amazing how easy it is to fool so many people.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

The problem is with live bullets? Why have them?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Take toy guns and overlap with CG and digital shoot sounds, that’s also cheap if it’s all about costs and greedily money saving. Otherwise let do those more realistic scenes by staff or stuntmen/stuntwomen who are experienced in using guns and handling weapons. But first of all, what all good parents already teach their toddlers and kids, don’t point weapons against other known , friendly or unarmed people or pets and animals in general.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Wouldn't fake guns suffice with sound effects added afterwards? Or am I missing something?

Having to superimpose muzzle flashes and ejected cartridges would cost several times more than blanks. And when the director wants to re-edit, the CG needs to be redone from the start.

Also, actors are not perfect. To get the realism desired by directors, real muzzle flash, sound, and recoil is necessary.

I’m sure it’s possible to create a prop gun that can safely produce muzzle flash, cartridge ejection, and recoil. But given the abundance of guns in America, and the established operation procedures in Hollywood; phasing out real guns is virtually impossible.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Coincidentally(?), actress Roseanne Arquette, quoted in this story, was one of Silverado’s ensemble cast first filmed at the same Bonanza Creek Ranch. She did not handle a gun in its filming. She was also part of Robert Altman’s ensemble anthology Gun.

Was she the only one of the still living, Silverado co-stars Kevin Costner, Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn that could be reached for comment?

All three became very adept at gun work and gun safety as a result. A great majority of Costner’s films involved guns.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

I admit of not knowing anything about firearms, but in this era of technology, its should be possible to make a replica gun that looks, feels, and sounds exactly like a real one, but is capable only of firing blanks and no live bullets.

Because it seems that people are still irresponsible, incompetent, etc. to fool around with a real gun on a film set.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

“I don’t recall ever being handed a weapon that was not cleared in front of me — meaning chamber open, barrel shown to me, light flashed inside the barrel to make sure that it’s cleared," Wright said. “Clearly, that was a mismanaged set.”

A set managed by BALDWIN. He can try to pass the buck all he wants, but HE NEVER VERIFIED THE FIREARM WAS NOT LOADED.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

I’m not surprised, hollywood treats firearms like toys, it’s just a matter of time.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Baldwin is truly remorseful and responsibly acknowledging his part in this preventable & tragic loss of a human life by meeting with the surviving family. (Unfortunately, it’s mentioned in the last paragraph and the photo is not even shown)

“Baldwin, who is a producer on “Rust,” met with Hutchins' husband and 9-year-old son Saturday at a hotel in Santa Fe where the actor had been staying during filming. Baldwin and Hutchins' husband can be seen embracing in a photo published by the New York Post.” -*

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites