Alec Baldwin shot 2 crew members accidently

[Husky]

I felt very sorry for Mr Baldwin when I read it.

There are a lot of questions though that are difficult to explain:
1. Why was the firearm aimed at the director and the camera woman?
2. Why was live ammunition in the weapon (as several newspapers write)?
3. How can 2 people be wounded by 1 shot?

 

[PeterG]

Lots of discussion about this in the Let's Talk Movies thread:

Let's Talk Movies #36 - 2020 - Yep it is a new decade

8/10 - The Invisible War is a 2012 investigative documentary about rape within the US military. This is a very well made film and tackles a very serious issue in an informative way, yet not overwhelming. Tough to do with sexual assault as the topic. The Invisible War was nominated for Best...

www.fsuniverse.net

 

[Lemonade20]

Very sad, I can't imagine what the whole crew is going through right now, especially Alec. Definitely there will be an investigation to find out what happened, but in my heart I don't think it was anything but an accident.

 

[Husky]

Lots of discussion about this in the Let's Talk Movies thread:

Let's Talk Movies #36 - 2020 - Yep it is a new decade

8/10 - The Invisible War is a 2012 investigative documentary about rape within the US military. This is a very well made film and tackles a very serious issue in an informative way, yet not overwhelming. Tough to do with sexual assault as the topic. The Invisible War was nominated for Best...

www.fsuniverse.net

I didn't know, I had carefully searched for this topic though. This thread can be deleted if the moderator wishes. (But maybe others are also searching for this topic and can't find it.)

 

[once_upon]

Very sad, I can't imagine what the whole crew is going through right now, especially Alec. Definitely there will be an investigation to find out what happened, but in my heart I don't think it was anything but an accident.

Delete

I guess the investigation will give clues if that was occurring.

 

[genevieve]

In case anyone wants to know more about this story: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/21/us/alec-baldwin-shooting-rust-movie.html

 

[ЭPiKUilyam]

I also read that the production held a walk out a few days earlier to protest the unsafe conditions. I wouldn't want to be the insurance company in this situation. This is indefensible. A gun that can kill people should NEVER be on set. I mean, this isn't a theoretical, it's just common sense. As this situation has again reminded us. To me it would be like an anesthesiologist drawing up the meds for a surgery case and deciding "Hmm, let me draw up some cyanide in a 10 cc syringe. There is no use for it, but what's the worst that could happen?" Like a syringe of cyanide in an OR, a prop gun that can actually kill someone should never be available on set, ever. No excuses. Alec Baldwin could have accidentally shot and killed himself. I just hope it was an accident. This really should NEVER happen. Someone screwed up BIG, and will pay criminally too.

 

[Barbara Manatee]

This twitter thread from a film armorer (the person responsible for guns) makes it clear that many people must have broken many basic safety rules for this to have happened. I can hardly think of it as an accident - the level of negligence makes it seem inevitable.

 

[miffy]

Very very sad

I thought of Brandon Lee and The Crow as soon as I saw the headline about this - I used to be a huge fan of that movie. It’s terrible that something like that has happened again, although this actually sounds like a much worse error.

 

[Aceon6]

It turns out that the AD who told Alec that the gun was cold was fired from a previous job for... wait for it... playing with the guns. I think it's time that productions change their minimum requirements for an AD from "breathing and have an in with the production team" to "responsible adult".

 

[vgerdes]

Very very sad

I thought of Brandon Lee and The Crow as soon as I saw the headline about this - I used to be a huge fan of that movie. It’s terrible that something like that has happened again, although this actually sounds like a much worse error.

I just saw this a little while ago...

Brandon Lee's family reacts to Alec Baldwin's prop gun shooting accident

 

[Vash01]

Breaking news-

Alec Baldwin and two others to be charged with involuntary manslaughter

Alec Baldwin to be charged with involuntary manslaughter in 'Rust' film shooting

The Santa Fe District Attorney's Office has announced charges in the 2021 fatal shooting on the New Mexico set of Alec Baldwin's film "Rust."

abcnews.go.com

 

[Cachoo]

For a moment I thought he shot another person.

 

[skateboy]

Breaking news-

Alec Baldwin and two others to be charged with involuntary manslaughter

Alec Baldwin to be charged with involuntary manslaughter in 'Rust' film shooting

The Santa Fe District Attorney's Office has announced charges in the 2021 fatal shooting on the New Mexico set of Alec Baldwin's film "Rust."

abcnews.go.com

While Trump, the orange hemorrhoid, still hasn't been charged for the many crimes he committed ON PURPOSE.

Grrrrr.

 

[DreamSkates]

My hope and prayer us that when this goes to trial, the whole truth will be told and the jury can make a clear decision based on the evidence and witnesses. From what I’ve read, safety was lax in the production, there was live ammunition on the set (which can mean away from where cameras are filming as in people doing target practice elsewhere although it is not part of the movie), and the armorer is paid to be responsible to check every gun - that there are only blanks loaded - before it goes into the actor’s hand.
Sad situation.

 

[Vash01]

One of the persons charged is a woman from Arizona. Our local tv stations will be giving a lot of attention to this trial.

ETA- DA explains why Baldwin was charged.

Why Santa Fe district attorney decided to charge Alec Baldwin over 'Rust' shooting | CNN

Actor Alec Baldwin will be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of cinematographer  Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western movie "Rust," as will the armorer who oversaw all weapons used in the production.

www.cnn.com

 

[ballettmaus]

^I like Honig but I don't see how it's relevant how the life rounds got on set given that the charge is involuntary manslaughter. The prosecution is not charging them with intent, so, I think the prosecutor is right when she says, they were there and they were fired. That's kind of the involuntary part. Something that was there was handled with negligence and it resulted in the death of a person.

 

[becca]

While Trump, the orange hemorrhoid, still hasn't been charged for the many crimes he committed ON PURPOSE.

Grrrrr.

Someone died in this incident.

 

[Kasey]

Someone died in this incident.

People died in the January 6th insurrection as well. Your point?

 

[Vash01]

One may say it was an unfortunate accident, but why bring real ammunition to a movie set? Don't they know that accidents Can happen and they are deadly with these weapons? There should have been only blanks.

Since they did use real bullets-

Before shooting any scene, they must check for safety. They obviously did not. This was negligence on the part of all those involved. I am glad that they are not letting a famous actor go free while the less paid people get charged.

Now if they used a similar approach to an Ex-President (and possibly other top politicians and rich peopke), we could be a better country that values the laws.

 

[screech]

I read somewhere (Reddit?) someone comparing Alec's situation to the following:

Your car was just serviced by a mechanic. You pick up your car and drive home. On the way you hit and kill a pedestrian, because it turns out that your breaks were cut. Are you responsible? Why didn't you check under the hood of your car? Why did you trust the person who returned your car to you, who is seemingly an expert, without making sure everything was as it should be?

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

The only part of charging Alec Baldwin in this is the part where he was a producer. He had executive responsibility over the production. Charging him as an actor did not make sense to me because it is the props and safety people responsible for handing him a prop gun.

 

[sk8pics]

The article said that authorities checked with other actors who’ve done similar roles and they all said they would either check themselves that the gun was not loaded or have someone else check it in front of them. Alec Baldwin did neither of those things.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

The article said that authorities checked with other actors who’ve done similar roles and they all said they would either check themselves that the gun was not loaded or have someone else check it in front of them. Alec Baldwin did neither of those things.

That wouldn't help if it was supposed to have blanks. How would an actor know if the rounds were live or blanks?

 

[sk8pics]

That wouldn't help if it was supposed to have blanks. How would an actor know if the rounds were live or blanks?

I don’t know, especially since I’ve never loaded or shot a gun in my life. I’m just pointing out a part of the article that may be relevant, which implied the actor does bear some responsibility.

 

[screech]

The article said that authorities checked with other actors who’ve done similar roles and they all said they would either check themselves that the gun was not loaded or have someone else check it in front of them. Alec Baldwin did neither of those things.

I've read other things where it's been said that if the actor opens(?) the gun to check, it basically invalidates what the armourer did, so it has to be re-evaluated by the armourer again. Not sure of the correct phrasing for this, but it's another take that I've read.

 

[Vash01]

My main problem with the whole situation is - and I mentioned it in an earlier post- why do they have to use Real ammunition? A movie is not real. It is fiction, even when it is based on a true story.
They should Not real bullets. How will the audience know if they were blanks or real bullets?

Now in larger scenes like fire, blowing up something in a war scene, etc. they would have to use real stuff. I don't see why a single gunman needs real bullets.

Mixing blanks and real bullets sounds extremely dangerous. This would require the utmost caution.

Hollywood needs to set some restrictions on such harmful things. Human errors Can happen and Can cost precious lives.

My feeling is that Baldwin will escape, since he said he didn't pull the trigger, but others will be convicted.

 

[Barbara Manatee]

The proper procedure would be for the armorer to bring the gun to the set, show both the person meant to fire the gun and the person meant to be shot that all the rounds are dummy or blank, and then hand it directly to the actor as filming is about to start. No one should hand off or accept a gun assuming it's properly loaded (or unloaded), it should be verified at every step. That's basic gun safety, even when you aren't planning to shoot at a person. I don't know if Alec Baldwin is criminally liable for the shooting, but if he pointed and fired a gun at someone without knowing for sure what was in it, he is definitely responsible for what happened.

 

[Amy L]

My main problem with the whole situation is - and I mentioned it in an earlier post- why do they have to use Real ammunition? A movie is not real. It is fiction, even when it is based on a true story.
They should Not real bullets. How will the audience know if they were blanks or real bullets?

What I heard was they were supposed to be using blanks, but the crew had been using the gun for target practice during their free time. A real bullet was still in the gun and apparently the armorer didn't do a proper check.

They didn't have to use a real gun/blanks at all. CGI is advanced enough to where they can make a gun shot look real, but there were a lot of budget constraints and other problems during the production.

Alec's upcoming charge, I think, has more to do with his role as a producer than as the (accidental) shooter. Many of the crew had walked off the set due to pay disputes (ie, they hadn't gotten paid) and other bad treatment by the people in charge. The armorer didn't have a lot of experience and she apparently wasn't on set as much as the should have been due to the aforementioned budget constraints.

 

[Vash01]

The proper procedure would be for the armorer to bring the gun to the set, show both the person meant to fire the gun and the person meant to be shot that all the rounds are dummy or blank, and then hand it directly to the actor as filming is about to start. No one should hand off or accept a gun assuming it's properly loaded (or unloaded), it should be verified at every step. That's basic gun safety, even when you aren't planning to shoot at a person. I don't know if Alec Baldwin is criminally liable for the shooting, but if he pointed and fired a gun at someone without knowing for sure what was in it, he is definitely responsible for what happened.

Baldwinhas said that he did not pull the trigger. Could the gun have automatically fired? That will be up to the experts - their testimony could be key, at least for Baldwin. I think Hanna is in deeper trouble because she was the one to check the gun before handing it over.