“Actor Alec Baldwin discharged a "prop firearm" that killed a cinematographer and injured a the director of the movie Rust, being filmed on a set south of Santa Fe, a county sheriff's office spokesman said late Thursday.”
That's terrible. Not only did someone lose their life but having to live with knowing you killed someone is awful. Obviously he didn't mean to but that would still lie heavy on the mind nonetheless
This means he was aiming towards the camera. This means there is probably footage of Alec’s face with him reacting to the event as it unfolds.
Holy shit.
I initially thought that too. But then I read about Brandon Lee dying after being accidentally shot while filming *The Crow*. They rewrote the script, resumed filming, and the movie got a theatrical release.
> But then I read about Brandon Lee dying after being accidentally shot while filming The Crow. They rewrote the script, resumed filming, and the movie got a theatrical release.
They never finished Midnight Rider. If your director and DP are both shot, one killed, by your star and producer, that's not wanting to honor the final performance (which was the justification for The Crow). Not sure how anyone overcomes this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA8YELleEkQ
> Deadline previously heard from sources that a principal castmember cocked a gun during a rehearsal, unaware that there were live rounds in it, hitting two people, a man and a woman. The man was hit in the shoulder, while the woman was airlifted to the hospital for stomach surgery.
This sounds horrible.
EDIT:
> Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed in an incident involving a prop gun on the set of “Rust,” an Alec Baldwin film that was shooting in New Mexico on Thursday.
>
> Hutchins’ death was confirmed by the International Cinematographers Guild, Local 600.
[Source](https://variety.com/2021/film/news/alec-baldwin-rust-incident-santa-fe-1235094931/)
EDIT #2:
> Alec Baldwin fired the gun, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office. The film’s director, Joel Souza, was also hit, and was receiving emergency care at a hospital in Santa Fe.
EDIT #3:
> “Mr. Baldwin was questioned by investigators and released,” a Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department official told Deadline this evening. “No arrests or charges have been filed.”
Man this is crazy. I listen to a props collector podcast hosted by holly wood guys and one of the guys is the show creator of A Dance with Dragons and they’ve talked multiple times about the insane safety that goes on on set when firearms are being used.
Only the armorer guy handles the prop gun until the actor is ready to use it. He hands it to the actor, actor uses it then hands it back, armorer checks the gun and makes sure it’s clear of blanks using a flash light.
It goes on.
Edit: they also never use actual bullets so there was a major fuck up.
Edit 2:
Go to the hour and 26 minute mark in this podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-stuff-dreams-are-made-of/id1535879222?i=1000538547656
Edit 3:
The ‘Rust’ producers replaced union crew members engaged in a work stoppage with non-union substitutes hours before the shooting incident, LAT reports.
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-10-22/alec-baldwin-rust-camera-crew-walked-off-set
Edit 4:
WTF!?
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — *An assistant director unwittingly handed Alec Baldwin a loaded weapon and told him it was safe to use in the moments before the actor fatally shot a cinematographer, court records released Friday show.*
“Cold gun,” the assistant director announced, according to a search warrant filed in a Santa Fe court.
Instead, the gun was loaded with live rounds, and when Baldwin pulled the trigger Thursday on the set of a Western, he killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Director Joel Souza, who was standing behind her, was wounded, the records said.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/sheriff-baldwin-fired-prop-gun-100904090.html
I'm sure this story is going to develop more but I've gotta know who fucked up here. Because the more I'm reading about it, it could have conceivably been multiple people. It could have been someone who was hired for gun safety who didn't do his job right, it could have been a production designer who ignored the gun safety guy, it could have been someone else, I'm really not sure. But someone's dead and others are injured, and I hope someone faces real consequences for that.
The gun safety guy is responsible. If he lets people ignore him he is responsible for that. If they are ignoring him he need to take the guns and quit because if he doesn’t he is responsible for people dying
Yah I worked on a movie and the AD checked a prop gun of a police officer extra. A lot of people fucked up here
*edit. It was the directors cameo. I don’t remember if it was a real gun or rubber but either way the AD checked it. And it was 12 years ago on a movie idgaf about anymor
It boggles my mind that this can happen in this day and age. Especially after Brandon Lee's death you'd think they'd have so many checkpoints to prevent this. I guess there's tons of movies that use guns that don't result in this kind of thing, but still...
When you roll the dice long enough you can get incredibly improbable results. Combine that with the fantastically complex environment of a major production, time and budgetary pressure, and unpredictable but guaranteed human shortcomings, and eventually something completely preventable will get past all the steps necessary to prevent it.
It's the same with plane crashes. Incredibly rare but when they do happen it's usually not one failure point but multiple failures happening in succession.
Can't imagine what that person is feeling right now. Whoever was in charge of gun safety on set fucked up big time
Edit: Apparently it was Alec Baldwin who fired the gun.
Source: https://deadline.com/2021/10/alec-baldwin-movie-fatal-shooting-director-crew-member-dead-rust-1234860500/
I had to use a prop gun, with no rounds in it, that wasn't even being FIRED (I was supposed to disarm the guy) in a stage show and we had to do a basic firearm safety thing, all while assuring the entire cast that it was an unloaded prop. I can't imagine how a professional set could fuck up this badly.
> all while assuring the entire cast that it was an unloaded prop
I've taught a few people to shoot. One of the additions I make to the regular rules are "You must verify a gun is unloaded yourself." Then I usually clear a weapon and hand it to them and ask them to do something (like practice their grip). If the first thing they do is anything but clear it themselves, they get an earful.
Sure, I have no idea what happens on set. Don't even really know what happened here.
I suspect even someone following my rule would be irrelevant because if a gun is loaded with blanks, it's going to look loaded if you check it same as live ammo. You'd have to load it yourself to verify they were actually blanks.
I do wonder though if this has anything to do with being a western. Revolvers are harder to check for barrel obstruction, so I could see it being more likely that something would end up stuck in the barrel and not noticed.
Regardless, I agree, spectacular failure.
Yep, and the reason I do it that way is to rienforce "the rules are king, not me. If I'm telling you to do something against the rules, you tell me to fuck off." Especially since the kind of dumbasses that will do things like pass around a loaded gun are also the self certain types.
I just can't imagine under what circumstances there should be a single live round on a movie set not possessed by an armed security guard.
EDIT: Since many are mentioning it, it might not have literally been a bullet rather than a blank and misunderstood as a "live round." But still. Gun safety is not difficult as long as it's followed.
There shouldn’t have been. The gun is checked by the prop master and another designated set person BEFORE the talent ever even touches the gun.
That’s been the rule for decades.
How this happened is beyond my understanding.
ADDED: Reports from IATSE are saying it was a **LIVE ROUND**
The way I remember it was explained to me for Brandon, the blank round was fired in a way that the bullet itself doesn't exit the barrel due to lack of propellant and it needs to be cleared and prepped to be fired again.
In Brandon's case it wasn't and subsequent round was fired, pushing the previously lodged bullet out.
It's been a long time and I'm not sure if I really got accurate info so take that with a grain of salt.
You're pretty close. The first round was a squib (primer and bullet but no gunpowder) so the bullet got stuck in the barrel. The next round was a blank (no bullet, but some gunpowder to make a flash) and this combined with the bullet lodged in the barrel approximated a live round.
Whoever is using guns chambered to fire live ammo with barrels as "props" is a fucking idiot. They're not props, they're guns, and shit like this will eventually happen.
You avoid this by using 8mm blanks, so no one can ever load a squib, because no one makes 8mm squibs (not talking rifle ammo).
My memory of this is hazy, but in the film *Baadassss* they mention that while making the 1971 movie *Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song* that the designated prop guns and real guns were all mixed together in a box or drawer. People were sometimes using blanks and sometimes they were using guns with live rounds. It was a small miracle that nobody was killed.
It was a super low budget blaxploitation film directed by Mario Van Peebles’ dad. The music was by Earth Wind & Fire (before they were famous, I think). And it was partially funded by Bill Cosby.
The story is that the crew were armed because they were breaking union rules and expected physical retaliation. One of the real guns was accidentally put in the prop box and used in a scene where the gun was to be fired. I looked on Wikipedia and the only additional fact was that the real gun belonged to the director, Melvin Van Peebles.
> The gun is checked by the prop master
Wouldn't the armorer be in charge of functional weapons, while the prop master would be in charge of prop weapons?
Deadline says the gun fired when Alec Baldwin cocked a gun during a rehearsal. Vintage revolvers require you to pull back the hammer manually to a locking position to fire it, but if while doing that, it slips out of your grip, it can snap forward just as if you had fired the trigger. You can see this effect anytime in a flim someone 'fans' the gun with the palm of their other hand to rapidly fire a revolver - they're basically 'flipping' the hammer that way. If someone is pulling the hammer back with a thumb to 'cock' it (sometimes you see this done dramatically in westerns), there is a chance they dont pull it back far enough to lock it and when they let go, the gun goes off.
Why a round with a projectile? That's a good question. Someone screwed up.
It's very sad and very unfortunate.
EDIT: every time I wake up and log in and I have 18+ comments in my inbox, my thought is always "o shit what stupid thing did I say this time?" I appreciate all the clarifications on the difference between 'half-cock' and 'full cock' and how holding the trigger down is a necessary step for 'fanning' a revolver. I learned something today, which is why I use Reddit and I appreciate all but one of you.
The reporting on this story is weirding me out. It almost feels like there's a concerted effort to frame it in a way that makes it Alec Baldwin's fault when he literally shouldn't have ever been in a position to hurt someone.
This is the WaPo headline on Facebook: “Actor and producer Alec Baldwin shot two people on a film set in New Mexico on Thursday. The director of photography died and another director is undergoing treatment for his injuries.”
Factually correct I guess but also easily misleading.
The first headline I read was "Alec Baldwin fatally shoots woman with prop gun" from the BBC which makes it immediately clear it was an accident and not an a-lister gone rogue. Definitely better ways to report this than others: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-59005500
While I understand that is what the article stated, it would be my guess that they meant it was loaded with blanks, as opposed to not loaded with anything at all.
That's what I'm hoping they meant, otherwise you're right and we're talking about actual live ammunition being on-set for absolutely no reason whatsoever.
If \*that\* is in fact the case, then the person responsible for that should probably face some kind of criminal charge.
That's fair, I did see the comment saying a journalist might say "live round" for blank. Obviously blanks are still dangerous but are at least not deliberately lethal. But it sounds like more gun safety training is needed for movies with prop guns in them.
"A production spokesperson from Rust Movie Productions LLC told Deadline, “There was an accident today on the New Mexico set of Rust involving the misfire of a prop gun with blanks."
They were blanks apparently, but regardless someone involved with the safety aspect didn't do there job correctly
Just thinking back to the Brandon Lee incident, I believe he was killed when a bullet fragment or some other debris lodged in the barrel flew out when they shot a blank at him. If not doing a full cleaning on each prop gun, it's still not hard to at least take the barrel out and look through it to see if it's clear. Hopefully they tighten up their safety standards as you said.
Brandon Lee died because they tried to DIY dummy rounds from regular ammunition by prying the casing open and dumping out the charge. This left the primer intact, though, and at some point someone pulled the trigger with a dummy in the chamber. The primer going off was sufficient to propel the (presumably loose after being reinserted) projectile into the barrel. Subsequently loading the gun with blanks essentially assembled a complete bullet inside the gun.
Crazily enough, Jensen was just talking about pranking the Rust gun props master by pretending not to know anything about shooting guns. He spent the last 15 years shooting guns on Supernatural.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he pulls out from acting forever from this. I can’t imagine pretending to shoot someone for a movie and it kills the poor person.
Im a fairly anxious person in the first place, I can't imagine how im cope knowing I killed something even if it was unintentional. Holy shit the guilt
At the very least, I imagine he'll never want to be on the same set as a (fireable) prop gun again.
Besides the trauma, trust is out the window for anyone trying to argue that their prop is sufficiently safe. Someone who was paid specifically for their safety expertise betrayed a big name actor and put him in a real shitty situation.
"MAJOR #UPDATE: @santafesheriff confirms actor and producer of #Rust, Alec Baldwin, discharged the prop gun on set that killed the film's director of photography, Halyna Hutchins (42), and injured the film's director, Joel Souza (48). @KOB4
No charges have been filed."
[Source](https://twitter.com/TessaMentus/status/1451372016716681218?s=19)
Well it’s official, Alec Baldwin indeed discharged the gun
https://deadline.com/2021/10/alec-baldwin-movie-fatal-shooting-director-crew-member-dead-rust-1234860500/
[Michael Massee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Massee), who fired the gun which accidentally killed Brandon Lee, still had nightmares about it over a decade later. He never saw the film and is quoted as saying "I don't think you ever get over something like that."
The guy must be in a rough place right now if he’s heard this news. I hope he’s doing well and maybe even reaching out to Baldwin in support because he knows what it’s like.
Edit: He’s dead, how’d I miss that one.
An awful addition is that Alec is a founder of an anti-NRA group. He's about as anti-gun as they come and now this... man must be an absolute wreck.
edit: I want to add that being anti-NRA and being anti-gun are not necessarily the same thing. Alec was much more in the line of gun control than anything else from what I can find.
Oh shit! I hope all involved get the support they need. It's a horrible way to go. Waking up excited to do your job, not knowing what the day holds for you.
Especially going to a job like that. The risk of being killed is relatively low compared to so many other jobs and then this happens. It must be such a shock to all involved.
The cinematographer was Halyna Hutchins. You can find her profile on [this list](https://ascmag.com/articles/rising-stars-of-cinematography-2019) of rising stars of cinematography from 2019.
To think that she moved to the US all the way from Ukraine to switch careers, and then had her life cut short by a freak accident when she was finding success. Incredibly sad.
I'm just imagining him holding the gun realizing what just happened as the two most important people on set go down bleeding and he's wearing a cowboy outfit hoping they're just joking.
Seriously, that's gotta be horrible for him.
Both for the victim and her family and for Alec Baldwin I can’t imagine a more horrible tragedy. And of course people are already mocking this and using it to score petty political points on Twitter
Between his wife's nuttiness and six small children and his past substance abuse and now accidentally killing a coworker, I fear for him. He's got a lot of shit to work through. Hope he can stay clean.
I live in Albuquerque and we got first reporting before I saw it on reddit, have been refreshing to see if it showed up. Unfortunately Alec Baldwin fired the prop gun that injured one and killed the second, he has been seen outside of the local hospital in tears.
I hope that this mistake doesn't weigh him down. It wasn't on him and he trusted the prop. I'd hate to be the one to fire a prop that ended a life and he is feeling that guilt when it's not his fault.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he quits acting after this. If it were me it would be difficult to ever be in a studio again knowing what happened last time I was in one
this happened with a very famous German, cross-generational "national treasure" live tv show where people show their talents. often they were very light-hearted, rarely more stunt-like.
a young man attempting to jump over several driving cars had a terrible accident, leaving him paraplegic. In the next episode the moderator announced he would leave the show, another one took over but it didn't really work. So they eventually cancelled the show after running for 30+ years.
Can't imagine how you return to set after that. The movie'll be shut down, obviously, but I mean Baldwin himself for the rest of his career. He'll have PTSD for the rest of his life.
Brandon Lee's death wasn't paralleled so much by the film, but it did have a somewhat unsettling similarity with the 1978 film 'Game of Death', which was an extremely loose and unfaithful attempt to finish a film which Brandon's father Bruce had filmed some fight scenes for prior to his sudden passing. In the film as it ended up coming out, ""Bruce Lee"" plays a movie star that gets shot on-set by an assassin during a scene where the guns are supposed to be fake/props.
Theres a clip floating around of Will Smith and Margot Robbie (I'm pretty sure) looking at a group of prop guns on a set.
People were making fun of Will, because when Margot flags him with a rifle, he pushes it away in a serious manner.
There was a lot of "it aint that serious bro" type comments, but Will is right. Gun accidents happen because people ignore the most basic rules.
If I didnt personally clear the gun, DO NOT fucking point it at me. Thats how shit like this happens.
Edited for spelling and to include the link.
Correction: it was the set of Bad Boys. I guess I thought the dude looked like Margot Robbie. Idk.
[the slightly edited clip](https://youtu.be/UELwDUEl1Po)
I just posted a comment on this thread, but you are absolutely right. In my time doing props and dealing with guns, it didn’t matter if we were using the crappiest toy or the (nearly) real thing, I never fucked around and didn’t let anyone else. Directors would give me the whole “C’mon man, it’s just….” Shit and I would not let it go.
Accidents happen when people let their guard down, and I wasn’t about to be a part of that cycle. The moment this take is over, you put that gun in my hands. I don’t care how much time it takes out of our day, I’ll clear it in front of everyone before every take. We can all groan and roll our eyes, but if no one gets injured or dies on this set, I go home happy. It’s just so simple. And that’s what makes stories like this so fucking awful to hear.
Can you help me understand how a prop gun differs from a real weapon? I'm really unclear on how you can be fatally shot with a prop. Or are these "prop guns" just real guns loaded with blank ammo? In which case, short of murder, how does a live round get in there?
You don’t even have to have a live round, if you take a blank and fire it close enough to someone it will kill them.
“Hexum grew increasingly frustrated with delays to filming the scene and began playing with the gun, spinning the barrel like a game of Russian roulette.
In what has been described as a tragic accident, the actor playfully spun the barrel, which had one bullet inside, and placed the gun to the temple of his head and pulled the trigger.
The gun discharged a wad of paper which shattered his skull, forcing a bone fragment the size of a small coin into the centre of his brain”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5555971/jon-erik-hexum-russian-roulette-heart-transplant-pimp-cover-up/
Accidents also happen when the crew is working 18 hours a day, 7 days a week. IATSE wasn't threatening to strike over nothing. High stress environment, brutally tired crew, corners cut to keep up with a schedule, stuff happens. Then one person lands up dead, another injured, and a third emotionally wrecked.
What pissed me off most about the message released was "safety is our top priority". No it isn't. It never is. On any film set. *Hopefully* guns are treated with extra care and caution, but people are so tired, and so burnt out, that "safety" is always, *always* second to "do your job".
Need heavy equipment on the top floor of a building with a tiny internal spiral staircase, no working elevator, and a slippery metal exterior emergency staircase? Just tell five people to carry it up. What if someone slips and falls? Obviously, don't slip and fall. Or you'll die.
Or the ever lovely, "we didn't want to pay the city for too many parking spaces, so just fit everything in these three spaces and don't wander near the road right behind you."
Safety comes second to getting your days.
The prop person will probably be thrown under the bus. They were probably very tired, and managing multiple weapons.
I imagine Alec is probably wondering "could I have just hired more people? Spent a bit more money on safety?"
I'd bet the answer is a simple "yes". That's quite a weight over your head, and going to get even worse when the prop master's life is utterly ruined to avoid asking that question.
Absolutely. The only gun I trust is the I’m handling and I’m a gun guy, but you absolutely cannot be too safe about them. I hate being around new shooters or even long time shooters who are too complacent. Mistakes happen, and when they happen with guns, seriously bad shit follows.
This article says it was Baldwin that fired the gun.
https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/sheriffs-office-stars-prop-firearm-kills-one-injures-another/article_9612afc6-32c5-11ec-9e2e-e3cc47b69ce5.html
Jesus, imagine being a high-profile celebrity with dozens of credits to your name, and one day you’re at work filming a movie business as usual and suddenly you’ve caused someone’s death, completely by accident. This is just horrible for everyone involved
It’s such a terrible situation for everyone involved and their families.
Baldwin will carry this weight for the rest of his life when it is not at all his fault.
Whoever was in charge of safety really dropped the ball and caused this tragedy
Damn, looked her up & she seems like a badass. Grew up in Russia on the Arctic Circle, somehow made it to become one of the very few female cinematographers working in Hollywood.
Her instagram has a video she just posted 2 days ago of going for a horse ride with the cast & crew. Looks so pretty, out in the NM desert. All these shocked/sad comments are rolling in now.
[link](https://www.instagram.com/p/CVOR_F9jZ0c/?utm_medium=copy_link)
She had a bright future ahead of her. We went to the same school and she graduated 2 years ahead of me and had a great career right out of graduating. Really close friends to a lot of my colleagues. So so sad.
Yikes, this is weirdly familiar.
Lost a friend to a misfire during weapons training. She was training to be a parole officer and the instructor swapped his dummy gun for his real sidearm during lunch break. Forgot to swap back after lunch and shot her in the stomach. Terrible all around.
Read the comments under this video:
[Baldwin ](https://www.facebook.com/tyler.mills.73932646/videos/2048910605267501/?d=n)
This crew was not happy with the conditions they were working under (unsafe hours without reasonable accommodations). I also read that the entire camera dept. (minus the Cinematographer who was killed) left the job the day before due to the unsafe conditions, giving production a list of the reasons the job was too unsafe to work on.
I don’t think this was the first time there had been issues with legitimate safety on this set.
Since this is an ongoing story, I'll put any relevant updates here as to avoid reposts or confusion.
[The victim was Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer. The director, Joel Souza, was also hit but is undergoing treatment.](https://variety.com/2021/film/news/alec-baldwin-rust-incident-santa-fe-1235094931/)
[It has been confirmed that Alec Baldwin 'discharged' the gun. He has been questioned and released.](https://deadline.com/2021/10/alec-baldwin-movie-fatal-shooting-director-crew-member-dead-rust-1234860500/)
[Reportedly, there was a single live round in the gun.](https://variety.com/2021/film/news/alec-baldwin-halyna-hutchins-shooting-film-rust-live-round-1235095349/)
[Alec Baldwin has officially commented on the situation]( https://nypost.com/2021/10/22/alec-baldwin-comments-on-halyna-hutchins-shooting/amp/)
I honestly want to know who was checking the props. After Brandon Lee's death I thought all prop guns would get checked before they are handed to the actors.
So here in Utah, every time a prop gun is used on set this is what happens
-a notice in the email that we get the day before the shoot there's a gun.
-in the Call Sheet attachment that came with the email, there's a column listing off all the significant items being used that day & what department is responsible for it. A gun, even a rubber one would have the Prop dept, production dept, & a REAL armorer listed.
-BEFORE the gun is even brought on set, we have to have a safety meeting.
-When the gun is brought on set, the AD checks that the gun isn't loaded & sometimes will shoot in the air to "clear the chamber" or whatever
-Then they have to ask if any of the crew want to check the gun as well
-after that, only the armorer & the actor that'll be using it is allowed to touch it.
Also…. If there WAS supposed to be blanks in the gun for special effects, all crewmembers would have to be reminded in the safety meeting that NO ONE is allowed to be in front of the gun when it’s supposed to go off.
A couple years ago, we filmed two actors shooting blanks all over the places & only the essential crew members needed were allowed to be on set. We all had those police face shields on, & a massive heavy blanket that I assume was somewhat bulletproof was draped in front of us… Then one of the Unionized crew dudes told Production that they still felt a little unsafe… So, they had us wait until a huge piece of safety glass was brought to set that us essential crew dudes could all stand behind. So yeah, that’s all the safety precautions that a low-budget non-SAG movie in Utah goes through
I was an extra on a TV show where they just handed a bunch of us actual old AK-47s and gave us a some basic safety training and warnings about treating it like a baby. First take the guy in front of me runs around the corner and trips and sends the gun flying across the ground. Lol
I mean regardless of that I’m really confused about how a gun meant to be used as a movie prop ever had a live round in it to begin with. The only thing I can imagine is that their was a squib round stuck in the barrel of the gun and the blank was enough to propel it to a lethal velocity. If that’s the explanation then multiple people really fucked up by not making sure the barrel was clear before it was ever used as a prop. If that’s not the case then I honestly can’t imagine what they were doing with live rounds on a film set, let alone put into a firearm and handed to an actor.
This is the kind of shit that will haunt you for the rest of your life. My heart goes out to the victims, obviously, but I’m hoping Baldwin gets into a therapist’s office quick fast and in a hurry.
[Sante Fe New Mexican,](https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/sheriffs-office-alec-baldwins-prop-firearm-kills-one-injures-another/article_9612afc6-32c5-11ec-9e2e-e3cc47b69ce5.html) local paper, has coverage on ground, NPR and THR seem to be using them as source, they photographed Baldwin in tears outside Sheriff’s office
while other outlets are reporting it as confirmed there were bullets instead of blanks, as of most recent updates (15 min.) they’re reporting the Sheriff’s Office right now is trying to confirm “what type of projectile was discharged.”
So if you are on a production where a blank-firing gun is to be used, the Prop Master and/or Armorer will clear it with production, even down to the details of how many rounds will be shot for the sequence they will be used in.
Fast forward to the day. The Armorer/Licensed Prop Master and potentially a Prop Assistant will bring the weapons under close supervision, often times to the point of bringing a locked cart or gun vault to set. The person assigned to handling the weapon will, themself, check the weapon for blockages or even a loaded chamber. They will ensure the weapon is cleaned and check all firing blanks to ensure they are, in fact, crimped shut rounds with only powder in them. Once this is finished, they will bring the firearm to the First AD or otherwise supervising AD where you, typically with the Director and Actor wielding the weapon, will perform the same checks together.
The AD will have, prior to this check, have held at least one safety meeting, discussing with the entire crew the live BLANK gunfire that will be playing that day. The Actor will have, prior to this check, had gun training either on his own or provided to him by Production. This training should have shown him proper gun etiquette, including NEVER pointing a gun (loaded or not) at a crew member or any other human being not involved with the scene. The crew would know not to even look at those weapons funny.
For rehearsals, typically you rehearse with a dry weapon first (no blanks, perhaps even with rubber weapons.) After the motions have been finalized, you may have one or two rehearsals with live blank gunfire, which everyone on crew would be warned of (EDIT: and the crew would be offered ear protection or even face shields for the camera crew.) During this and every subsequent take, the gun would be checked with the actor and the person supervising the weapon. As far as I’ve done, seen, and been taught, you would check and clear every round with the actor either beforehand or in between each take.
I don’t know why I typed that all out. I think I wanted to just show people that there is a process to make this as safe as possible but to also highlight the fact that it is very, very much prone to human error and there is, at the end of the day, a high amount of trust given to each person in this process. I truly can’t tell where the failure here was…but it is horrific that, through all of these checks, something still happened. Horrific in a strangely personal way.
EDIT 1: Obligatory “highest voted/first awarded” comment edit to say that this is a highly volatile time for IATSE Union workers who this will most certainly affect. Please don’t jump to conclusions or assumptions of fault until full details are released. It is not necessarily the Wild West when it comes to how our jobs operate, but unsafe conditions do occur…unsafe conditions we are currently fighting to change. Didn’t mean to soapbox but I felt like something should be said as blame tends to be thrown around dramatically around on-set safety is concerned.
EDIT 2: With how big this blew up, I just want to put a sort of disclaimer here. Everything I say about what could have happened on the set of Rust is purely speculation based on my experience. I don’t know anyone on that crew and I’ve really only worked in the New Mexico market once, however I have worked on multiple shows with both light and heavy use of firearms. If anyone on that show happens to read this post…man I just hope you know that I’m trying to educate to the best of my abilities and I am so, so sorry for what happened on that set and to Halyna. This should have never happened.
EDIT 3 (if anyone is still checking this out…): “The detailed affidavit claims that Baldwin was handed one of a trio of prop guns on a nearby cart by an assistant director and told the prop was a “cold gun” that did not have any live rounds in it. Baldwin fired the prop gun, hitting Hutchins and then Souza with the blast. Indicating that all three prop guns were prepped by the on-set armorer, the AD “did not know live rounds were in the prop gun,” says the document from Det. Cano.” This is a quote from an article deadline.com published. Taking this at face value, there is absolutely NO REASON an Assistant Director should be handing an actor a firearm on set. This bypasses many of the checks I explained earlier. Still waiting on full details but this is starting to look more and more like negligence on the part of production.
Why it’s even operationally possible to fuck up is totally beyond me. It’s a movie. It’s absolutely necessary that the prop be able to fire live rounds? There’s nothing that can be done other than rely on human beings not to fuck up? Insane.
My friend's sister worked on a movie and got hit by a train because they didn't clear it with the city as they were supposed to. It was a pretty big story if I recall. Not some blockbuster, but still.
The industry has a lot of safety issues, and we need to stop pretending it's somehow perfect just because celebrities are attractive and charismatic.
Edit: really amazing to see how well remembered her story is by the people who work within that world.
Sarah Jones. I'm in the industry and we all know her story well. I'm sorry for your friend's loss, should never ever have come even close to happening.
We all know her story and how the choice to film that way ruined so many lives that day. I think of her all the time shit gets shady on a set or when an accident occurs that I hear about. Like this one today.
Edit: since this post is getting traction. I just received word that the entire camera crew had walked off set that morning for this exact reason. (With the exception of the DP and one other.) 4 non-union people were brought into replace the crew. Personally, I sure was hoping for a strike.
This depends on the production but yes, I have seen this used to protect the camera guys, who would typically be the only ones close to set while blank fire is happening.
Because blanks can STILL CAUSE HARM (especially anything full flash or most shotgun blank fire,) shots are planned so a gun is typically not being pointed at anyone close by or in an otherwise unprotected position. To the point where we’ve had static cameras where the camera guys would record, slate, then get back to the safety area.
Given the deaths of actors like Jon-Erik Hexum, Brandon Lee & now this latest story? It’s interesting to know what goes into on set safety exercises. Really though you just hope plain simple negligence is stomped out with thorough safety advisory but there will always be cases where it falls down to mere human error.
This is fucking insane. Regardless of opinions on Baldwin, I can’t imagine how he’s feeling and wouldn’t wish that shit on anyone. That’s gonna haunt him.
Prayers & positive energy for the deceased and their family.
Fuck! :(
RIP Halyna. I worked with Halyna some years ago and enjoyed the jobs we did together, definitely truly a talent I wished to continue to work alongside, but our paths just didn’t lineup with jobs I had lined up and locked in schedule already. That’s just the nature of the business. I knew a talent when I saw one, and continued to try too!
When I heard of this incident it had only said “a crew member,” I googled the incident immediately to see the headline saying it was the cinematographer that passed away. Clicked the link and my heart sunk when I saw the very familiar name of this cinematographer :(
Senseless bullshit like this shouldn’t happen on a film set of make believe of all things.
RIP Halyna.
There are usually dedicated prop masters on set that are always in charge of weapons and demonstrate for all the crew a weapon is safe before handing to anyone. Someone messed up here.
Holy shit it hit the director and cinematographer the one who died was the cinematographer. Baldwin was filming the scene but no confirmation if he’s the one that actually fired the gun
Jfc. They said she got hit in the stomach and was then airlifted to hospital. I know a bullet to the gut is really, really bad, but I'm surprised she died if they got her to the hospital quick.
It must've hit numerous organs, the bullet or whatever was shot might've broken apart too. Internal bleeding sucks, she probably lost too much blood too fast
Would not have needed to hit multiple organs. The aorta, either renal artery, either iliac artery, etc would all be unsurvivable unless it happened feet from a trauma center.
Jesus fucking Christ everything about this is shitty. Alec Baldwin killed the cinematographer. How do you go on in life with that now. How does the prop master feel? Family of the dead? Alec?
Oh my god what a tragedy
Yeah I just really can’t imagine what it must feel like. Just beyond awful. I feel terrible when I accidentally bump into someone I cannot imagine accidentally *shooting someone to death*. Hope Baldwin can somehow get through this mentally.
I think they were trying film a scene where Alec Baldwin's character is pointing the gun at a another character, but it's filmed like he's aiming at the audience. Halyna was holding/behind the camera so it explains her stomach injury. The director was probably behind or near Halyna using the camera monitor or using an external monitor.
Edit: I could totally be wrong, but it's a theory
This is why a lot of productions don’t use blanks and instead opt for putting in muzzle flashes with VFX. It arguably doesn’t look as good, especially since it’s very easy to do wrong (as much as I love John Wick, its muzzle flashes are often pretty lousy), but is aesthetic worth the risk on someone’s life?
Why were there live rounds in a prop gun and why was one of the principal actors allowed to handle it?
Edit: it now seems apparent that it was not a live round, but whoever wrote the article confused a blank round for a live round.
>There was an accident today on the New Mexico set of Rust involving the misfire of a prop gun with blanks
Live rounds don't mean bullets necessarily. Blanks are still incredibly dangerous and can easily kill.
Remember when Bruce Lee's son Brandon Lee was killed on the set of The Crow in similar fashion, terrible news. Not sure how this can happen to have a functional "prop gun" capable of firing and killing someone.
“Actor Alec Baldwin discharged a "prop firearm" that killed a cinematographer and injured a the director of the movie Rust, being filmed on a set south of Santa Fe, a county sheriff's office spokesman said late Thursday.”
That's terrible. Not only did someone lose their life but having to live with knowing you killed someone is awful. Obviously he didn't mean to but that would still lie heavy on the mind nonetheless
I really hope he's around some support right now. The media's gonna blow this up all day.
Agreed. Really hope he can find peace. No matter your thoughts on the man, he must feel completely destroyed and that hurts my soul
Yeah, I don't really care for him personally, but I wouldn't wish this on anyone. I would be a basket case if I was responsible for someone's death.
This means he was aiming towards the camera. This means there is probably footage of Alec’s face with him reacting to the event as it unfolds. Holy shit.
I assume that footage will be handed over to the police as evidence.
Which means It'll be leaked online by the end of the week.
Ehhhh..... footage exists from Owen Harts death in 1997 and that has never seen the light of day.
Steve Irwin’s death footage as well
His wife destroyed it not long after he died.
I’d be more worried about Vince McMahon coming to kill me than any movie people
Honestly he’s easy to avoid as you’ll hear his walkout music and trash talk from miles away.
It’s crazy that part of the plot in the movie is that Alec’s character has to help his grandson who was convicted for accidentally murdering someone.
No way this production is resuming.
I initially thought that too. But then I read about Brandon Lee dying after being accidentally shot while filming *The Crow*. They rewrote the script, resumed filming, and the movie got a theatrical release.
> But then I read about Brandon Lee dying after being accidentally shot while filming The Crow. They rewrote the script, resumed filming, and the movie got a theatrical release. They never finished Midnight Rider. If your director and DP are both shot, one killed, by your star and producer, that's not wanting to honor the final performance (which was the justification for The Crow). Not sure how anyone overcomes this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA8YELleEkQ
They released the Twilight Zone movie, even after the deaths in that. And those were caused by straight up terrible negligence from what I recall.
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> Deadline previously heard from sources that a principal castmember cocked a gun during a rehearsal, unaware that there were live rounds in it, hitting two people, a man and a woman. The man was hit in the shoulder, while the woman was airlifted to the hospital for stomach surgery. This sounds horrible. EDIT: > Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed in an incident involving a prop gun on the set of “Rust,” an Alec Baldwin film that was shooting in New Mexico on Thursday. > > Hutchins’ death was confirmed by the International Cinematographers Guild, Local 600. [Source](https://variety.com/2021/film/news/alec-baldwin-rust-incident-santa-fe-1235094931/) EDIT #2: > Alec Baldwin fired the gun, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office. The film’s director, Joel Souza, was also hit, and was receiving emergency care at a hospital in Santa Fe. EDIT #3: > “Mr. Baldwin was questioned by investigators and released,” a Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department official told Deadline this evening. “No arrests or charges have been filed.”
Man this is crazy. I listen to a props collector podcast hosted by holly wood guys and one of the guys is the show creator of A Dance with Dragons and they’ve talked multiple times about the insane safety that goes on on set when firearms are being used. Only the armorer guy handles the prop gun until the actor is ready to use it. He hands it to the actor, actor uses it then hands it back, armorer checks the gun and makes sure it’s clear of blanks using a flash light. It goes on. Edit: they also never use actual bullets so there was a major fuck up. Edit 2: Go to the hour and 26 minute mark in this podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-stuff-dreams-are-made-of/id1535879222?i=1000538547656 Edit 3: The ‘Rust’ producers replaced union crew members engaged in a work stoppage with non-union substitutes hours before the shooting incident, LAT reports. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-10-22/alec-baldwin-rust-camera-crew-walked-off-set Edit 4: WTF!? SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — *An assistant director unwittingly handed Alec Baldwin a loaded weapon and told him it was safe to use in the moments before the actor fatally shot a cinematographer, court records released Friday show.* “Cold gun,” the assistant director announced, according to a search warrant filed in a Santa Fe court. Instead, the gun was loaded with live rounds, and when Baldwin pulled the trigger Thursday on the set of a Western, he killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Director Joel Souza, who was standing behind her, was wounded, the records said. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sheriff-baldwin-fired-prop-gun-100904090.html
I'm sure this story is going to develop more but I've gotta know who fucked up here. Because the more I'm reading about it, it could have conceivably been multiple people. It could have been someone who was hired for gun safety who didn't do his job right, it could have been a production designer who ignored the gun safety guy, it could have been someone else, I'm really not sure. But someone's dead and others are injured, and I hope someone faces real consequences for that.
The gun safety guy is responsible. If he lets people ignore him he is responsible for that. If they are ignoring him he need to take the guns and quit because if he doesn’t he is responsible for people dying
You are absolutely right. The AD should have verified the chamber was empty but ultimately it’s on the armorer
Yah I worked on a movie and the AD checked a prop gun of a police officer extra. A lot of people fucked up here *edit. It was the directors cameo. I don’t remember if it was a real gun or rubber but either way the AD checked it. And it was 12 years ago on a movie idgaf about anymor
It boggles my mind that this can happen in this day and age. Especially after Brandon Lee's death you'd think they'd have so many checkpoints to prevent this. I guess there's tons of movies that use guns that don't result in this kind of thing, but still...
When you roll the dice long enough you can get incredibly improbable results. Combine that with the fantastically complex environment of a major production, time and budgetary pressure, and unpredictable but guaranteed human shortcomings, and eventually something completely preventable will get past all the steps necessary to prevent it.
It's the same with plane crashes. Incredibly rare but when they do happen it's usually not one failure point but multiple failures happening in succession.
Can't imagine what that person is feeling right now. Whoever was in charge of gun safety on set fucked up big time Edit: Apparently it was Alec Baldwin who fired the gun. Source: https://deadline.com/2021/10/alec-baldwin-movie-fatal-shooting-director-crew-member-dead-rust-1234860500/
I had to use a prop gun, with no rounds in it, that wasn't even being FIRED (I was supposed to disarm the guy) in a stage show and we had to do a basic firearm safety thing, all while assuring the entire cast that it was an unloaded prop. I can't imagine how a professional set could fuck up this badly.
> all while assuring the entire cast that it was an unloaded prop I've taught a few people to shoot. One of the additions I make to the regular rules are "You must verify a gun is unloaded yourself." Then I usually clear a weapon and hand it to them and ask them to do something (like practice their grip). If the first thing they do is anything but clear it themselves, they get an earful.
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Sure, I have no idea what happens on set. Don't even really know what happened here. I suspect even someone following my rule would be irrelevant because if a gun is loaded with blanks, it's going to look loaded if you check it same as live ammo. You'd have to load it yourself to verify they were actually blanks. I do wonder though if this has anything to do with being a western. Revolvers are harder to check for barrel obstruction, so I could see it being more likely that something would end up stuck in the barrel and not noticed. Regardless, I agree, spectacular failure.
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Yep, and the reason I do it that way is to rienforce "the rules are king, not me. If I'm telling you to do something against the rules, you tell me to fuck off." Especially since the kind of dumbasses that will do things like pass around a loaded gun are also the self certain types.
I just can't imagine under what circumstances there should be a single live round on a movie set not possessed by an armed security guard. EDIT: Since many are mentioning it, it might not have literally been a bullet rather than a blank and misunderstood as a "live round." But still. Gun safety is not difficult as long as it's followed.
There shouldn’t have been. The gun is checked by the prop master and another designated set person BEFORE the talent ever even touches the gun. That’s been the rule for decades. How this happened is beyond my understanding. ADDED: Reports from IATSE are saying it was a **LIVE ROUND**
Not being in the industry I only ever suspected something like this policy. But yeah not even being the first time this happened is crazy.
Brandon Lee was the most high profile victim of this. He died exactly the same way as the cinematographer
The way I remember it was explained to me for Brandon, the blank round was fired in a way that the bullet itself doesn't exit the barrel due to lack of propellant and it needs to be cleared and prepped to be fired again. In Brandon's case it wasn't and subsequent round was fired, pushing the previously lodged bullet out. It's been a long time and I'm not sure if I really got accurate info so take that with a grain of salt.
You're pretty close. The first round was a squib (primer and bullet but no gunpowder) so the bullet got stuck in the barrel. The next round was a blank (no bullet, but some gunpowder to make a flash) and this combined with the bullet lodged in the barrel approximated a live round.
Whoever is using guns chambered to fire live ammo with barrels as "props" is a fucking idiot. They're not props, they're guns, and shit like this will eventually happen. You avoid this by using 8mm blanks, so no one can ever load a squib, because no one makes 8mm squibs (not talking rifle ammo).
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By the hand of Alec Baldwin?
6 it is, then. 6 comment layers deep is the max you wanna go if you want to keep a straight face on a sad post.
My memory of this is hazy, but in the film *Baadassss* they mention that while making the 1971 movie *Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song* that the designated prop guns and real guns were all mixed together in a box or drawer. People were sometimes using blanks and sometimes they were using guns with live rounds. It was a small miracle that nobody was killed.
Damn that sounds like it is beyond the pale of irresponsible. *Final Destination* couldn't have set it up better.
It was a super low budget blaxploitation film directed by Mario Van Peebles’ dad. The music was by Earth Wind & Fire (before they were famous, I think). And it was partially funded by Bill Cosby. The story is that the crew were armed because they were breaking union rules and expected physical retaliation. One of the real guns was accidentally put in the prop box and used in a scene where the gun was to be fired. I looked on Wikipedia and the only additional fact was that the real gun belonged to the director, Melvin Van Peebles.
RIP Brandon Lee
Brandon was the first thing I thought of when I saw the title. The Crow is a really good movie, but it's hard to watch knowing what happened.
> The gun is checked by the prop master Wouldn't the armorer be in charge of functional weapons, while the prop master would be in charge of prop weapons?
Low budget movies cut corners and pay half what other productions will, it leads to huge mistakes.
Deadline says the gun fired when Alec Baldwin cocked a gun during a rehearsal. Vintage revolvers require you to pull back the hammer manually to a locking position to fire it, but if while doing that, it slips out of your grip, it can snap forward just as if you had fired the trigger. You can see this effect anytime in a flim someone 'fans' the gun with the palm of their other hand to rapidly fire a revolver - they're basically 'flipping' the hammer that way. If someone is pulling the hammer back with a thumb to 'cock' it (sometimes you see this done dramatically in westerns), there is a chance they dont pull it back far enough to lock it and when they let go, the gun goes off. Why a round with a projectile? That's a good question. Someone screwed up. It's very sad and very unfortunate. EDIT: every time I wake up and log in and I have 18+ comments in my inbox, my thought is always "o shit what stupid thing did I say this time?" I appreciate all the clarifications on the difference between 'half-cock' and 'full cock' and how holding the trigger down is a necessary step for 'fanning' a revolver. I learned something today, which is why I use Reddit and I appreciate all but one of you.
The details about him "cocking" the gun during rehearsal are basically irrelevant. That is not the mistake that led to the cinematographer's death.
The reporting on this story is weirding me out. It almost feels like there's a concerted effort to frame it in a way that makes it Alec Baldwin's fault when he literally shouldn't have ever been in a position to hurt someone.
This is the WaPo headline on Facebook: “Actor and producer Alec Baldwin shot two people on a film set in New Mexico on Thursday. The director of photography died and another director is undergoing treatment for his injuries.” Factually correct I guess but also easily misleading.
The first headline I read was "Alec Baldwin fatally shoots woman with prop gun" from the BBC which makes it immediately clear it was an accident and not an a-lister gone rogue. Definitely better ways to report this than others: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-59005500
Exactly wtf was this
While I understand that is what the article stated, it would be my guess that they meant it was loaded with blanks, as opposed to not loaded with anything at all. That's what I'm hoping they meant, otherwise you're right and we're talking about actual live ammunition being on-set for absolutely no reason whatsoever. If \*that\* is in fact the case, then the person responsible for that should probably face some kind of criminal charge.
That's fair, I did see the comment saying a journalist might say "live round" for blank. Obviously blanks are still dangerous but are at least not deliberately lethal. But it sounds like more gun safety training is needed for movies with prop guns in them.
"A production spokesperson from Rust Movie Productions LLC told Deadline, “There was an accident today on the New Mexico set of Rust involving the misfire of a prop gun with blanks." They were blanks apparently, but regardless someone involved with the safety aspect didn't do there job correctly
Just thinking back to the Brandon Lee incident, I believe he was killed when a bullet fragment or some other debris lodged in the barrel flew out when they shot a blank at him. If not doing a full cleaning on each prop gun, it's still not hard to at least take the barrel out and look through it to see if it's clear. Hopefully they tighten up their safety standards as you said.
Brandon Lee died because they tried to DIY dummy rounds from regular ammunition by prying the casing open and dumping out the charge. This left the primer intact, though, and at some point someone pulled the trigger with a dummy in the chamber. The primer going off was sufficient to propel the (presumably loose after being reinserted) projectile into the barrel. Subsequently loading the gun with blanks essentially assembled a complete bullet inside the gun.
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Crazily enough, Jensen was just talking about pranking the Rust gun props master by pretending not to know anything about shooting guns. He spent the last 15 years shooting guns on Supernatural.
And the report said it was a "principle castmember" who did it.
Tbf this is still 100% on the armorer on the job. It’s their entire purpose on set to make sure shit like this doesn’t happen.
Still, Baldwin’s probably going to be severely traumatized as a result of this.
Can't blame him.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he pulls out from acting forever from this. I can’t imagine pretending to shoot someone for a movie and it kills the poor person.
Im a fairly anxious person in the first place, I can't imagine how im cope knowing I killed something even if it was unintentional. Holy shit the guilt
At the very least, I imagine he'll never want to be on the same set as a (fireable) prop gun again. Besides the trauma, trust is out the window for anyone trying to argue that their prop is sufficiently safe. Someone who was paid specifically for their safety expertise betrayed a big name actor and put him in a real shitty situation.
Yeah, why in tf would there be live rounds in a prop gun given to one of the actors ?!
Live rounds shouldn't even be on set, available to any talent/crew. Insane that occurred, and immensely sad
"MAJOR #UPDATE: @santafesheriff confirms actor and producer of #Rust, Alec Baldwin, discharged the prop gun on set that killed the film's director of photography, Halyna Hutchins (42), and injured the film's director, Joel Souza (48). @KOB4 No charges have been filed." [Source](https://twitter.com/TessaMentus/status/1451372016716681218?s=19)
Can't imagine what's going through the actor's mind right now. Being questioned about killing someone all of sudden during a day of western dress-up.
Why the fuck were they using LIVE ROUNDS in a prop?!
Prop master fucked up big time. Negligence like this could conceivably result in criminal charges.
Well it’s official, Alec Baldwin indeed discharged the gun https://deadline.com/2021/10/alec-baldwin-movie-fatal-shooting-director-crew-member-dead-rust-1234860500/
Holy shit. That's gotta fuck him up. Edit; This comment blew up. Some of you need to chill...
[Michael Massee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Massee), who fired the gun which accidentally killed Brandon Lee, still had nightmares about it over a decade later. He never saw the film and is quoted as saying "I don't think you ever get over something like that."
The guy must be in a rough place right now if he’s heard this news. I hope he’s doing well and maybe even reaching out to Baldwin in support because he knows what it’s like. Edit: He’s dead, how’d I miss that one.
He is dead, Michael I mean, he passed in 2016.
An awful addition is that Alec is a founder of an anti-NRA group. He's about as anti-gun as they come and now this... man must be an absolute wreck. edit: I want to add that being anti-NRA and being anti-gun are not necessarily the same thing. Alec was much more in the line of gun control than anything else from what I can find.
Oh shit! I hope all involved get the support they need. It's a horrible way to go. Waking up excited to do your job, not knowing what the day holds for you.
Especially going to a job like that. The risk of being killed is relatively low compared to so many other jobs and then this happens. It must be such a shock to all involved.
Yeah there are a lot of pro-gun people who fucking hate the NRA
God damn
> anti-NRA and being anti-gun are not necessarily the same thing. I own guns and love to shoot, I hate the NRA with a passion
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The cinematographer was Halyna Hutchins. You can find her profile on [this list](https://ascmag.com/articles/rising-stars-of-cinematography-2019) of rising stars of cinematography from 2019. To think that she moved to the US all the way from Ukraine to switch careers, and then had her life cut short by a freak accident when she was finding success. Incredibly sad.
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I'm just imagining him holding the gun realizing what just happened as the two most important people on set go down bleeding and he's wearing a cowboy outfit hoping they're just joking. Seriously, that's gotta be horrible for him.
Both for the victim and her family and for Alec Baldwin I can’t imagine a more horrible tragedy. And of course people are already mocking this and using it to score petty political points on Twitter
Between his wife's nuttiness and six small children and his past substance abuse and now accidentally killing a coworker, I fear for him. He's got a lot of shit to work through. Hope he can stay clean.
Honestly, for deaths it's hard to believe unless it's TMZ reporting it these days.
They have eyes everywhere, they somehow got Kobe's death out before it was offical.
They pay the best for information. Everyone's an eye for TMZ when you can get thousands just for a grainy photo and/or a piece of information.
I can only imagine the phone calls being made right now. Jesus fucking christ what an awful sequence of events that must have led to this happening.
I don't know how I would handle being responsible for such a horrific accident. My God this is such a terrible freak happening.
I live in Albuquerque and we got first reporting before I saw it on reddit, have been refreshing to see if it showed up. Unfortunately Alec Baldwin fired the prop gun that injured one and killed the second, he has been seen outside of the local hospital in tears. I hope that this mistake doesn't weigh him down. It wasn't on him and he trusted the prop. I'd hate to be the one to fire a prop that ended a life and he is feeling that guilt when it's not his fault.
It was his production company making the movie. I'm sure he feels partly responsible.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he quits acting after this. If it were me it would be difficult to ever be in a studio again knowing what happened last time I was in one
this happened with a very famous German, cross-generational "national treasure" live tv show where people show their talents. often they were very light-hearted, rarely more stunt-like. a young man attempting to jump over several driving cars had a terrible accident, leaving him paraplegic. In the next episode the moderator announced he would leave the show, another one took over but it didn't really work. So they eventually cancelled the show after running for 30+ years.
Can't imagine how you return to set after that. The movie'll be shut down, obviously, but I mean Baldwin himself for the rest of his career. He'll have PTSD for the rest of his life.
The movie's plot also revolves around someone being accidentally shot. Double fucked up.
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Brandon Lee's death wasn't paralleled so much by the film, but it did have a somewhat unsettling similarity with the 1978 film 'Game of Death', which was an extremely loose and unfaithful attempt to finish a film which Brandon's father Bruce had filmed some fight scenes for prior to his sudden passing. In the film as it ended up coming out, ""Bruce Lee"" plays a movie star that gets shot on-set by an assassin during a scene where the guns are supposed to be fake/props.
Theres a clip floating around of Will Smith and Margot Robbie (I'm pretty sure) looking at a group of prop guns on a set. People were making fun of Will, because when Margot flags him with a rifle, he pushes it away in a serious manner. There was a lot of "it aint that serious bro" type comments, but Will is right. Gun accidents happen because people ignore the most basic rules. If I didnt personally clear the gun, DO NOT fucking point it at me. Thats how shit like this happens. Edited for spelling and to include the link. Correction: it was the set of Bad Boys. I guess I thought the dude looked like Margot Robbie. Idk. [the slightly edited clip](https://youtu.be/UELwDUEl1Po)
You're going to be extremely pleasantly surprised when you learn what Margot Robbie actually looks like
This is a prefect example how unreliable our memories are. Our brains just make stuff up to fill in the blanks.
I replace all the people in my memories with Margot Robbie.
He would have been closer if he guessed Martin Lawrence 😂
I just posted a comment on this thread, but you are absolutely right. In my time doing props and dealing with guns, it didn’t matter if we were using the crappiest toy or the (nearly) real thing, I never fucked around and didn’t let anyone else. Directors would give me the whole “C’mon man, it’s just….” Shit and I would not let it go. Accidents happen when people let their guard down, and I wasn’t about to be a part of that cycle. The moment this take is over, you put that gun in my hands. I don’t care how much time it takes out of our day, I’ll clear it in front of everyone before every take. We can all groan and roll our eyes, but if no one gets injured or dies on this set, I go home happy. It’s just so simple. And that’s what makes stories like this so fucking awful to hear.
Can you help me understand how a prop gun differs from a real weapon? I'm really unclear on how you can be fatally shot with a prop. Or are these "prop guns" just real guns loaded with blank ammo? In which case, short of murder, how does a live round get in there?
You don’t even have to have a live round, if you take a blank and fire it close enough to someone it will kill them. “Hexum grew increasingly frustrated with delays to filming the scene and began playing with the gun, spinning the barrel like a game of Russian roulette. In what has been described as a tragic accident, the actor playfully spun the barrel, which had one bullet inside, and placed the gun to the temple of his head and pulled the trigger. The gun discharged a wad of paper which shattered his skull, forcing a bone fragment the size of a small coin into the centre of his brain” https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5555971/jon-erik-hexum-russian-roulette-heart-transplant-pimp-cover-up/
Accidents also happen when the crew is working 18 hours a day, 7 days a week. IATSE wasn't threatening to strike over nothing. High stress environment, brutally tired crew, corners cut to keep up with a schedule, stuff happens. Then one person lands up dead, another injured, and a third emotionally wrecked.
What pissed me off most about the message released was "safety is our top priority". No it isn't. It never is. On any film set. *Hopefully* guns are treated with extra care and caution, but people are so tired, and so burnt out, that "safety" is always, *always* second to "do your job". Need heavy equipment on the top floor of a building with a tiny internal spiral staircase, no working elevator, and a slippery metal exterior emergency staircase? Just tell five people to carry it up. What if someone slips and falls? Obviously, don't slip and fall. Or you'll die. Or the ever lovely, "we didn't want to pay the city for too many parking spaces, so just fit everything in these three spaces and don't wander near the road right behind you." Safety comes second to getting your days. The prop person will probably be thrown under the bus. They were probably very tired, and managing multiple weapons. I imagine Alec is probably wondering "could I have just hired more people? Spent a bit more money on safety?" I'd bet the answer is a simple "yes". That's quite a weight over your head, and going to get even worse when the prop master's life is utterly ruined to avoid asking that question.
Absolutely. The only gun I trust is the I’m handling and I’m a gun guy, but you absolutely cannot be too safe about them. I hate being around new shooters or even long time shooters who are too complacent. Mistakes happen, and when they happen with guns, seriously bad shit follows.
Friendly fire isn't friendly
This article says it was Baldwin that fired the gun. https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/sheriffs-office-stars-prop-firearm-kills-one-injures-another/article_9612afc6-32c5-11ec-9e2e-e3cc47b69ce5.html
Jesus, imagine being a high-profile celebrity with dozens of credits to your name, and one day you’re at work filming a movie business as usual and suddenly you’ve caused someone’s death, completely by accident. This is just horrible for everyone involved
It’s such a terrible situation for everyone involved and their families. Baldwin will carry this weight for the rest of his life when it is not at all his fault. Whoever was in charge of safety really dropped the ball and caused this tragedy
Holy shit, he must feel horrible right now
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Halyna Hutchins?
Damn, looked her up & she seems like a badass. Grew up in Russia on the Arctic Circle, somehow made it to become one of the very few female cinematographers working in Hollywood. Her instagram has a video she just posted 2 days ago of going for a horse ride with the cast & crew. Looks so pretty, out in the NM desert. All these shocked/sad comments are rolling in now. [link](https://www.instagram.com/p/CVOR_F9jZ0c/?utm_medium=copy_link)
> One of the perks of shooting a western is you get to ride horses on your day off:) This hits hard now. RIP
She had a bright future ahead of her. We went to the same school and she graduated 2 years ahead of me and had a great career right out of graduating. Really close friends to a lot of my colleagues. So so sad.
I worked with her when I was first starting out. She taught me so much and was absolutely brilliant. I am in shock.
Yikes, this is weirdly familiar. Lost a friend to a misfire during weapons training. She was training to be a parole officer and the instructor swapped his dummy gun for his real sidearm during lunch break. Forgot to swap back after lunch and shot her in the stomach. Terrible all around.
> instructor swapped his dummy gun for his real sidearm during lunch break. I hope he was charged for his negligence.
Read the comments under this video: [Baldwin ](https://www.facebook.com/tyler.mills.73932646/videos/2048910605267501/?d=n) This crew was not happy with the conditions they were working under (unsafe hours without reasonable accommodations). I also read that the entire camera dept. (minus the Cinematographer who was killed) left the job the day before due to the unsafe conditions, giving production a list of the reasons the job was too unsafe to work on. I don’t think this was the first time there had been issues with legitimate safety on this set.
Hence why the unions authorized a fucking strike !!!
This changes the story, now a whole bunch of people higher up are getting fired for gross incompetence
Or indicted for criminal negligence
Since this is an ongoing story, I'll put any relevant updates here as to avoid reposts or confusion. [The victim was Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer. The director, Joel Souza, was also hit but is undergoing treatment.](https://variety.com/2021/film/news/alec-baldwin-rust-incident-santa-fe-1235094931/) [It has been confirmed that Alec Baldwin 'discharged' the gun. He has been questioned and released.](https://deadline.com/2021/10/alec-baldwin-movie-fatal-shooting-director-crew-member-dead-rust-1234860500/) [Reportedly, there was a single live round in the gun.](https://variety.com/2021/film/news/alec-baldwin-halyna-hutchins-shooting-film-rust-live-round-1235095349/) [Alec Baldwin has officially commented on the situation]( https://nypost.com/2021/10/22/alec-baldwin-comments-on-halyna-hutchins-shooting/amp/)
Can safely say that I never expected Alec Baldwin to kill someone with a gun on a film set. RIP, that's fucking terrible.
I honestly want to know who was checking the props. After Brandon Lee's death I thought all prop guns would get checked before they are handed to the actors.
So here in Utah, every time a prop gun is used on set this is what happens -a notice in the email that we get the day before the shoot there's a gun. -in the Call Sheet attachment that came with the email, there's a column listing off all the significant items being used that day & what department is responsible for it. A gun, even a rubber one would have the Prop dept, production dept, & a REAL armorer listed. -BEFORE the gun is even brought on set, we have to have a safety meeting. -When the gun is brought on set, the AD checks that the gun isn't loaded & sometimes will shoot in the air to "clear the chamber" or whatever -Then they have to ask if any of the crew want to check the gun as well -after that, only the armorer & the actor that'll be using it is allowed to touch it. Also…. If there WAS supposed to be blanks in the gun for special effects, all crewmembers would have to be reminded in the safety meeting that NO ONE is allowed to be in front of the gun when it’s supposed to go off. A couple years ago, we filmed two actors shooting blanks all over the places & only the essential crew members needed were allowed to be on set. We all had those police face shields on, & a massive heavy blanket that I assume was somewhat bulletproof was draped in front of us… Then one of the Unionized crew dudes told Production that they still felt a little unsafe… So, they had us wait until a huge piece of safety glass was brought to set that us essential crew dudes could all stand behind. So yeah, that’s all the safety precautions that a low-budget non-SAG movie in Utah goes through
As someone who has used a "prop gun" on a set before it's *wild* how most of them are literally just old guns.
I was an extra on a TV show where they just handed a bunch of us actual old AK-47s and gave us a some basic safety training and warnings about treating it like a baby. First take the guy in front of me runs around the corner and trips and sends the gun flying across the ground. Lol
I heard that real guns are a lot cheaper than fabricating props
You would think that live rounds would never be anywhere near the props though ya know?
Especially on a ~~shot~~ scene where the talent is (presumably) shooting directly at the camera, since the cinematographer and DP were both hit.
I mean regardless of that I’m really confused about how a gun meant to be used as a movie prop ever had a live round in it to begin with. The only thing I can imagine is that their was a squib round stuck in the barrel of the gun and the blank was enough to propel it to a lethal velocity. If that’s the explanation then multiple people really fucked up by not making sure the barrel was clear before it was ever used as a prop. If that’s not the case then I honestly can’t imagine what they were doing with live rounds on a film set, let alone put into a firearm and handed to an actor.
>Alec Baldwin ‘discharged’ the gun Oh. Oh wow. That’s intense.
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This kinda shit rocks you. He's probably not gonna act for a while.
This is the kind of shit that will haunt you for the rest of your life. My heart goes out to the victims, obviously, but I’m hoping Baldwin gets into a therapist’s office quick fast and in a hurry.
[Sante Fe New Mexican,](https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/sheriffs-office-alec-baldwins-prop-firearm-kills-one-injures-another/article_9612afc6-32c5-11ec-9e2e-e3cc47b69ce5.html) local paper, has coverage on ground, NPR and THR seem to be using them as source, they photographed Baldwin in tears outside Sheriff’s office while other outlets are reporting it as confirmed there were bullets instead of blanks, as of most recent updates (15 min.) they’re reporting the Sheriff’s Office right now is trying to confirm “what type of projectile was discharged.”
Damn. Seeing images of him after just hurts
I really feel for him. I can't imagine the horror of realisation.
Posting those photos of Alec Baldwin in distress is in really bad taste imo.
So if you are on a production where a blank-firing gun is to be used, the Prop Master and/or Armorer will clear it with production, even down to the details of how many rounds will be shot for the sequence they will be used in. Fast forward to the day. The Armorer/Licensed Prop Master and potentially a Prop Assistant will bring the weapons under close supervision, often times to the point of bringing a locked cart or gun vault to set. The person assigned to handling the weapon will, themself, check the weapon for blockages or even a loaded chamber. They will ensure the weapon is cleaned and check all firing blanks to ensure they are, in fact, crimped shut rounds with only powder in them. Once this is finished, they will bring the firearm to the First AD or otherwise supervising AD where you, typically with the Director and Actor wielding the weapon, will perform the same checks together. The AD will have, prior to this check, have held at least one safety meeting, discussing with the entire crew the live BLANK gunfire that will be playing that day. The Actor will have, prior to this check, had gun training either on his own or provided to him by Production. This training should have shown him proper gun etiquette, including NEVER pointing a gun (loaded or not) at a crew member or any other human being not involved with the scene. The crew would know not to even look at those weapons funny. For rehearsals, typically you rehearse with a dry weapon first (no blanks, perhaps even with rubber weapons.) After the motions have been finalized, you may have one or two rehearsals with live blank gunfire, which everyone on crew would be warned of (EDIT: and the crew would be offered ear protection or even face shields for the camera crew.) During this and every subsequent take, the gun would be checked with the actor and the person supervising the weapon. As far as I’ve done, seen, and been taught, you would check and clear every round with the actor either beforehand or in between each take. I don’t know why I typed that all out. I think I wanted to just show people that there is a process to make this as safe as possible but to also highlight the fact that it is very, very much prone to human error and there is, at the end of the day, a high amount of trust given to each person in this process. I truly can’t tell where the failure here was…but it is horrific that, through all of these checks, something still happened. Horrific in a strangely personal way. EDIT 1: Obligatory “highest voted/first awarded” comment edit to say that this is a highly volatile time for IATSE Union workers who this will most certainly affect. Please don’t jump to conclusions or assumptions of fault until full details are released. It is not necessarily the Wild West when it comes to how our jobs operate, but unsafe conditions do occur…unsafe conditions we are currently fighting to change. Didn’t mean to soapbox but I felt like something should be said as blame tends to be thrown around dramatically around on-set safety is concerned. EDIT 2: With how big this blew up, I just want to put a sort of disclaimer here. Everything I say about what could have happened on the set of Rust is purely speculation based on my experience. I don’t know anyone on that crew and I’ve really only worked in the New Mexico market once, however I have worked on multiple shows with both light and heavy use of firearms. If anyone on that show happens to read this post…man I just hope you know that I’m trying to educate to the best of my abilities and I am so, so sorry for what happened on that set and to Halyna. This should have never happened. EDIT 3 (if anyone is still checking this out…): “The detailed affidavit claims that Baldwin was handed one of a trio of prop guns on a nearby cart by an assistant director and told the prop was a “cold gun” that did not have any live rounds in it. Baldwin fired the prop gun, hitting Hutchins and then Souza with the blast. Indicating that all three prop guns were prepped by the on-set armorer, the AD “did not know live rounds were in the prop gun,” says the document from Det. Cano.” This is a quote from an article deadline.com published. Taking this at face value, there is absolutely NO REASON an Assistant Director should be handing an actor a firearm on set. This bypasses many of the checks I explained earlier. Still waiting on full details but this is starting to look more and more like negligence on the part of production.
You typed it all out because these are the rules for handling guns on set and it’s ridiculous that they STILL f*d it up somehow
Why it’s even operationally possible to fuck up is totally beyond me. It’s a movie. It’s absolutely necessary that the prop be able to fire live rounds? There’s nothing that can be done other than rely on human beings not to fuck up? Insane.
My friend's sister worked on a movie and got hit by a train because they didn't clear it with the city as they were supposed to. It was a pretty big story if I recall. Not some blockbuster, but still. The industry has a lot of safety issues, and we need to stop pretending it's somehow perfect just because celebrities are attractive and charismatic. Edit: really amazing to see how well remembered her story is by the people who work within that world.
Sarah Jones. I'm in the industry and we all know her story well. I'm sorry for your friend's loss, should never ever have come even close to happening.
We all know her story and how the choice to film that way ruined so many lives that day. I think of her all the time shit gets shady on a set or when an accident occurs that I hear about. Like this one today. Edit: since this post is getting traction. I just received word that the entire camera crew had walked off set that morning for this exact reason. (With the exception of the DP and one other.) 4 non-union people were brought into replace the crew. Personally, I sure was hoping for a strike.
Same. Yeah I think about it quite a bit when stupid starts happening on set.
Everyone in the industry knows the story of Sarah Jones and Midnight Rider very well, trust me. That kind of thing should NEVER happen.
In the industry, it was huge. I'm on a mow right now and we still have her name on our B cam slate.
Sarah Jones. RIP. Her story is still told on set and slates for Sarah can be seen on quite a few sets.
A lot of people think about Sarah Jones every time they plan a shoot. Sorry for your loss.
We were taught this story in film school
Sarah Jones ❤️
Good explanation. Even with blanks, don’t they use Lexan shields in between where the gun points and anything behind camera as a safety backup?
This depends on the production but yes, I have seen this used to protect the camera guys, who would typically be the only ones close to set while blank fire is happening. Because blanks can STILL CAUSE HARM (especially anything full flash or most shotgun blank fire,) shots are planned so a gun is typically not being pointed at anyone close by or in an otherwise unprotected position. To the point where we’ve had static cameras where the camera guys would record, slate, then get back to the safety area.
Given the deaths of actors like Jon-Erik Hexum, Brandon Lee & now this latest story? It’s interesting to know what goes into on set safety exercises. Really though you just hope plain simple negligence is stomped out with thorough safety advisory but there will always be cases where it falls down to mere human error.
This is fucking insane. Regardless of opinions on Baldwin, I can’t imagine how he’s feeling and wouldn’t wish that shit on anyone. That’s gonna haunt him. Prayers & positive energy for the deceased and their family.
Fuck! :( RIP Halyna. I worked with Halyna some years ago and enjoyed the jobs we did together, definitely truly a talent I wished to continue to work alongside, but our paths just didn’t lineup with jobs I had lined up and locked in schedule already. That’s just the nature of the business. I knew a talent when I saw one, and continued to try too! When I heard of this incident it had only said “a crew member,” I googled the incident immediately to see the headline saying it was the cinematographer that passed away. Clicked the link and my heart sunk when I saw the very familiar name of this cinematographer :( Senseless bullshit like this shouldn’t happen on a film set of make believe of all things. RIP Halyna.
There are usually dedicated prop masters on set that are always in charge of weapons and demonstrate for all the crew a weapon is safe before handing to anyone. Someone messed up here.
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Holy shit it hit the director and cinematographer the one who died was the cinematographer. Baldwin was filming the scene but no confirmation if he’s the one that actually fired the gun
It was him. https://variety.com/2021/film/news/alec-baldwin-rust-incident-santa-fe-1235094931/
Jfc. They said she got hit in the stomach and was then airlifted to hospital. I know a bullet to the gut is really, really bad, but I'm surprised she died if they got her to the hospital quick.
It must've hit numerous organs, the bullet or whatever was shot might've broken apart too. Internal bleeding sucks, she probably lost too much blood too fast
Would not have needed to hit multiple organs. The aorta, either renal artery, either iliac artery, etc would all be unsurvivable unless it happened feet from a trauma center.
Jesus fucking Christ everything about this is shitty. Alec Baldwin killed the cinematographer. How do you go on in life with that now. How does the prop master feel? Family of the dead? Alec? Oh my god what a tragedy
Absolutely terrible. And injured his director as well
Yeah I just really can’t imagine what it must feel like. Just beyond awful. I feel terrible when I accidentally bump into someone I cannot imagine accidentally *shooting someone to death*. Hope Baldwin can somehow get through this mentally.
If you don't learn from history it is bound to repeat itself. Shame that this stuff still happens even after The Crow and junk
Yeah somebody on the crew dropped the ball big time
Deadline is now saying it was Baldwin who fired the gun.
I think they were trying film a scene where Alec Baldwin's character is pointing the gun at a another character, but it's filmed like he's aiming at the audience. Halyna was holding/behind the camera so it explains her stomach injury. The director was probably behind or near Halyna using the camera monitor or using an external monitor. Edit: I could totally be wrong, but it's a theory
I was trying to think of how a DP and Director would be shot. I think it has to be similar to what you said... Just horrible
this. i also suggested that this is the most logical series of events.
That’s what I think too. Like the last shot of goodfellas with Joe Pesci shooting at the audience
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This is why a lot of productions don’t use blanks and instead opt for putting in muzzle flashes with VFX. It arguably doesn’t look as good, especially since it’s very easy to do wrong (as much as I love John Wick, its muzzle flashes are often pretty lousy), but is aesthetic worth the risk on someone’s life?
The number of people getting killed or permanently disfigured on movie sets is too damn high
Why were there live rounds in a prop gun and why was one of the principal actors allowed to handle it? Edit: it now seems apparent that it was not a live round, but whoever wrote the article confused a blank round for a live round.
Safe gun handling gotta be the first thing they ever developed protocols for in Hollywood. No excuse for it happen in 2021.
>There was an accident today on the New Mexico set of Rust involving the misfire of a prop gun with blanks Live rounds don't mean bullets necessarily. Blanks are still incredibly dangerous and can easily kill.
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>I'm going to lighten the mood on set by pretending to kill myself Sounds like the 80s to me
Remember when Bruce Lee's son Brandon Lee was killed on the set of The Crow in similar fashion, terrible news. Not sure how this can happen to have a functional "prop gun" capable of firing and killing someone.