Actor Alec Baldwin fired a fatal gunshot from a prop gun, which he was told was safe, to a camera crew for the film he was filming, due to opposing circumstances and production issues. job that involved security concerns. The dispute in the making of the Western film Rust began around early October and lasted several hours before the murder of 42-year-old cinematographer Helena Hutchins with seven crew members.
Crew members had expressed dissatisfaction over matters that ranged from security procedures to their housing accommodations, according to one of the dropouts. He requested anonymity for fear that his prospects for future jobs would suffer. Rust Movie Productions did not respond to emails seeking comment on Friday and Saturday.
At a rehearsal on the film set Thursday at Bonanza Creek Ranch outside Santa Fe, the gun Baldwin used was one of three that a firearms specialist, or “armor,” had placed on a cart outside the building. , where a scene was being rehearsed. for court records. Court records indicate that an assistant director, Dave Hall, grabbed a prop gun from a car and handed it to Baldwin, who incorrectly indicated that the weapon did not make live rounds by shouting “cold gun”.
When Baldwin pulled the trigger, he inadvertently killed Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza, who was standing behind him inside a wooden, chapel-like building.
Baldwin, 63, who is best known for his roles in 30 Rock and The Hunt for Red October and his impression of former President Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live, described the killing as a “tragic accident”. He was the creator of Jung. Hall did not immediately return phone and email messages seeking comment.
A 911 call alerting officers to a shooting at Bonanza Creek Ranch outside Santa Fe prompts panic on the film’s set, as detailed in a recording released by the Santa Fe County Regional Emergency Communications Center.
Script supervisor Mamie Mitchell told an emergency dispatcher, “We had two people accidentally shot by a prop gun on a film set, we need help immediately.” “We were rehearsing and it went away, and I ran, we all ran.”
“I can’t tell you. We’ve got two bruises,” Michelle replied. He has to check the guns. He is responsible for whatever happens on the sets.”
The Associated Press was unable to contact the film’s armorer Hannah Gutierrez, and multiple messages sent to production companies affiliated with “Rust” did not elicit a response Friday.
Court records say that Halls grabbed the firearm from the car and brought it inside the actor, unaware that it was full of live rounds, a detective wrote in a search warrant application.
It is not known how many rounds were fired. Court records state that Gutierrez removed a shell from the gun after the shooting, and that he handed over the weapon to police when police arrived.
The guns used in making movies are sometimes actual weapons that can fire either bullets or blanks, which are gunpowder charges intended to produce little more than flash and bang.
New Mexico workplace safety investigators are investigating whether film industry standards for gun safety were followed during the making of “Rust.” The Los Angeles Times, citing two crew members who did not name it, reported that five days before the shooting, Baldwin’s stunt double accidentally fired two rounds, after being told that the gun had no ammunition. was not.
“We’ve had 3 accidental discharges now. It’s super unsafe,” a crew member terrified of the misfire told a unit production manager in a text message. The New York Times reported this also reported that there were at least two prior accidental gun discharges; it cited three former crew members.
Script supervisor Michelle told The Associated Press that she was standing next to Hutchins when the cinematographer was hurt.
“I ran and called 911 and said ‘Bring everybody, send everybody,'” Mitchell said. “This woman is gone early in her career. She was an extraordinary, rare, extremely rare woman.”
Filmmaker Souza, who was shot in the shoulder, said in a statement to NBC News that he was grateful for the support he was receiving and was disappointed by the loss of Hutchins. “She was kind, vibrant, incredibly talented, fought for every inch and always inspired me to be better,” he said.
Santa Fe-Area District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altweiss said prosecutors will review the evidence in the shooting and do not know whether charges will be filed.
Hutchins’ husband Matthew Hutchins posted on social media to mourn the loss of his wife, demanded privacy for his family, and thanked his friends and mentors at the American Film Institute, who said, “That success nurtured what we had just started to flourish.”
In response to Hutchins’ death, the institute’s conservatory canceled cinematography classes on Friday.
About 200 film crew workers gathered in a vigil on Saturday to light a candle as the sun went down. He shared grief over the loss of one of his loved ones, and fear of accidents on his own film sets.
Many in attendance lit candles, held a moment of silence, recited poetry and made brief remarks, including a testimonial for his artistic spark and generosity.
“They shouldn’t have died, union sets should be safe sets,” said Liz Pecos, president of IATSE Local 480.
The production of ‘Rust’ was stopped after the shooting. According to the Internet Movie Database website, the film is about a 13-year-old boy who is left to care for himself and his younger brother after the death of his parents in Kansas in the 1880s.
The crew member who spoke to the AP said he never saw any formal orientation about the weapons being used on set, which usually happens before filming begins.
He also said that only minimal COVID-19 precautions were taken, even though the crew and cast members often worked in small enclosed spaces on the farm.
According to a crew member, the crew was initially housed in a courthouse by Marriott in Santa Fe. In four days, however, he was told that going forward he would be kept at the budget Coyote South Hotel. Some crew members hesitate to stay there.
“We packed our gear and left that morning,” the crew member said of Thursday’s walkout. The Los Angeles Times and Variety also reported on the walkout.
Gutierrez, the film’s weapon, is the daughter of a longtime Hollywood firearms expert. She gave an interview to the Voice of the West podcast in September in which she said she learned how to use a gun from her father since she was a teenager.
During a podcast interview, Gutierrez shared that he finished his first film in the role of Head Armor, a project starring Nicolas Cage in Montana titled “The Old Way.”
“I was really nervous about it at first and I almost didn’t take the job because I wasn’t sure I was ready but doing it, like, it went really smoothly,” she said.
In another on-set gun death from 1993, Brandon Lee, son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, was killed by a bullet fired into a prop gun after the previous scene. Similar firing involving platform weapons loaded with live rounds has occurred during historical re-enactments.
Since then gun-safety protocols on set in the United States have improved, said Steven Hall, a veteran director of photography in the UK. But he said one of the riskiest positions is behind the camera as the man is in line of fire in scenes where an actor is seen pointing a gun at the audience.
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