Friday, October 29, 2021
Alec Baldwin ‘Rust’ Shooting Update: More Live Bullets Found on Set
www.vice.com: Police have recovered three guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, both dummy and live, from the Rust movie set, according to a press conference Wednesday. Among the evidence collected was the Colt .45 revolver fired by actor Alec Baldwin that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and a projectile that injured director Joel Souza last week.
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It’s very concerning to me that there may have been much more live ammunition on the set of Rust. There is very little reason for there ever to be live ammunition on set, for the very unfortunate reason that we’ve seen the result of, the death of the film’s director of photography and the wounding of the director. We discussed the recent events in props class with Todd Kulik, and he informed me that there is technically no law against having live guns with live ammunition loaded in them on the set of any film, outside of regional regulations. The film industry has safety guidelines and regulations, but nothing strictly preventing dangerous situations from occurring. And while the “industry has had a record recently of being safe”, according to the sheriff currently investigating the shooting, records are very easily broken. It’s important to find out how that live ammunition came to be on set so that laws and regulations can be put in place to prevent violence like this from occurring in the future.
How? I heard that this happened but how in the world did someone get shot. It is crazy that there was LIVE ammunition on set and who was handling these fire arms. In the video it said that is was only possible live ammunition. How many shots were fired? I have so many questions and I can’t imagine what the family, friends, and loved ones of those involved are going through. I think that if any guns are going to be use on set they should have some indication on them that they are approved prop guns (they will never fire any projectile or deadly object) I am surprised there isn’t a standard for that. Was there not someone on set who was responsible for prop items like guns or weapons?? One of the crew members said that there were no safety meetings. Awful things happen when people don’t take the proper amount of time! We crew members are rushed or overworked they become a safety hazard for everyone on set. (Cough Cough, CMU stop overworking people?? Smaller note…) It’s awful that someone had to die for safety measures to be put in place. This happens all too often
It's infuriating to think that a historically problematic armorer continued to be put in charge of live weapons after other issues had occurred both on the set of Rust and on other projects. Someone shouldn't have to die for complaints against a person's ability and willingness to do their job properly is taken seriously. When your job is something as important as an armorer, when other people's safety is put in your hands, you have no right to be nonchalant about how you handle your WEAPONS. Everything about this article is upsetting and problematic. Why was there live ammo on set AT ALL? What purpose did that serve? Why were there not safety meetings? How did this get passed by? Why were two people will problematic history put in charge of a potentially, and in this case, actually, deadly firearm? As a worker in the entertainment industry, you shouldn't have to worry about if you're going to get shot today because other people don't care enough to do their job properly and safely.
I’ve been expecting more details about this incident ever since it happened, but this new batch of info is so damning in how many things really went wrong on set for this to happen. The biggest question of all: why were there live rounds on set? The guns used in movies are real, with the same mechanisms that can fire real bullets. When you have those weapons being aimed at people on set it should be the number one priority of an armorer to keep live ammunition off of set. It doesn’t help that there have been multiple stories of the armorer’s incompetence from previous film sets. I am just in shock at how this could be passed over. However, it seems as if the producers didn’t care to make sure all protocol was followed, especially with the walk off of 6 camera operators LITERALLY THAT DAY. It was definitely a bad omen.
Every time I read another article that comes out about this event, I get more and more disgusted. The negligence on that set is completely ridiculous and it cost a life and almost a second life. It sounds like so many corners were cut to save money, and I am sure the producers are regretting saving those few dollars. I wrote about this last week that I hoped this had nothing to do with people being overworked in film or the IATSE negotiations. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened. There was a non-union crew on this set and the crew had walked out due to safety concerns that were reported to the producers multiple times. This could have been avoided on so many accounts if the proper procedures were being followed. It’s still extremely difficult to tell who specifically is at fault for this, but I hope they get to the bottom of it soon.
Hearing about the newer developments and updates about the Rust shooting incident is honestly just making the situation more distressing. The discovery of 500 rounds of ammunition, which included live rounds, is incredibly concerning. There was no legitimate explanation even stated as to why live rounds were present on set to begin with; I cannot imagine any logical reason as to why they would be used for production. I also read another article earlier this week that said there were witnesses that claimed Alec Baldwin was told the the gun was cold before being handed it. That is still one of the parts of the situation that is most disturbing to me; how did that claim even come to be? How did people not check the gun? Why were there even live rounds in the gun? Was that an intentional choice or a careless mistake? I honestly don’t know which is worse.
Since I started working in the film industry, it is insane how much I’ve seen corners cut when it comes to safety. This is a huge wake up call to production companies that it can happen on any show. The negligence of the armory department cost someone their life. This is on the hands of so many people in that department, as well as the producing department for not hiring adequate crew members for this production. If there have been many complaints about an armorer, they should not be working in that department any longer. Just like this instant, a weapon, even a prop one, can end someone’s life before you even blink. The fact that most of their crew had already walked off, production should have halted immediately. From my own short experience in the industry so far, the prioritization of safety is so far below getting the day’s work done. I can only hope that future productions take the safety of their cast and crew seriously from this point.
The first question that I asked when I was first discussing death was what reason was there, because I certainly couldn’t think of one, for there to be any live ammunition on or near the set at all? I cannot fathom what reason there would be for it, you don’t need it for stunts or anything, it shouldn’t be there. I am now less surprised by this after hearing about the walk-offs of the crew for previous safety violations, which infuriates me from all this talk of the safety and care of the industry when nothing was done in response. Maybe this is also just my expectations, but I expected more guns, as in models or replicas to be used while shooting then the total of three that were found on set. The language of the article also made it sound a lot like there had to be heaving searching with words like recovered or found for those weapons and ammunition.
Why on Earth were there EVER live rounds on that set to begin with? Hearing how there was such a lack of concern for safety, overall outrage at the safety issues from the crew, and little care for serious activities from those in charge, I am not surprised that yet another irresponsible thing slipped into the mix. What was that armorer thinking? And why was the assistant director handling a weapon? Why were either of them allowed near weapons when they have had reports of failing to use them properly in the past? I feel horrible for the victims’ families, and for Alec Baldwin. The poor guy is probably devastated, especially given all his work towards gun control legislation. Actors put trust into their crew and safety instructors to protect them and educate them properly to ensure things are done the right way. This never should have happened. This whole incident makes me furious.
I have been following this news story since the tragedy occurred and I still will never understand how something like this could ever occur. It is also hard to pin the blame on any one person, because there were so many opportunities and safety procedures which could have prevented this from ever happening. The biggest question in my mind is why there were ever live rounds of ammunition on the set at all. Live rounds and blanks are easy to distinguish from one another, but there still shouldn’t have ever been a single live round on set. Murphy’s Law had it that just one live round (much less however many were present on the set of Rust) would find its way into the gun. The professional armorer on set should have checked every slot in the revolver, not just accepted that three blank rounds were good enough. Alec Baldwin should not have pointed the gun towards anyone, blank round or not. The assistant director should likely not have been hired to the production in the first place with the multitude of issues discussed in regards to his past. It is still unbelievably shocking that this accident ever happened. I will never be able to wrap my head around it.
I still just don't understand how the live rounds were there to begin with. It's such a breach of common sense and safety. The more I read about this story the more angry I get and at this point it really just doesn't even seem like it was "unlucky" so much as "the perfect intersection between stupidity and incompetence". This is why we have standards and this is why we should be taking health and safety seriously. Someone was killed while just performing their job duties and no matter what we do past this point, it won't be enough to offset the fact that this person is dead now and nothing can be done to bring her back. That armorer shouldn't be allowed this level of responsibility ever again because they clearly don't understand the dire seriousness having an actual firearm entails. And the fact that live rounds were loaded in it shows they didn't care that much in the first place.
I was really hoping that this was going to be a one in a million freak accident where everything that could go wrong did. I did not want the more reasonable and likely answer that we are getting, which is this is just untrained staff in a rushed unsafe working environment not knowing what they are doing. This is so ridiculous. What is the point of having internal systems for registering complaints if nothing every comes from it? Why are people allowed to continue to work in the industry if they have no regard for safety and are not trained to do their job correctly. In the case of the assistant director and whoever was responsible for the live ammunition, I fully expect charges to be filed because that is gross negligence. When it comes to the armorer, I am willing to be a bit more lenient because I genuinely believe she doesn’t know. However, you’re life and death situations and it frustrates me that she was willing to put herself in a situation where someone is now dead because she didn’t know how to do her job.
What I do not understand is how there is more ammunition found on the set. There had to be so many safety procedures and people that gun and those bullets had to get through in order to reach any scene. I find it weird to me how nobody said anything, expressed any concern, or even reported the gun to any organization or any one. I feel like this tragedy could really have been avoided if only there was someone who spoke up or expressed concern. And I have read some social media posts that have expressed that there were many concerns in part of the staff, but they were completely ignored. I feel like this tragedy really highlights a workers rights issue that Hollywood is facing currently. There are so many stopgaps in place in order to protect actor, but there backstage crew are given less concern when it comes to them being the one who is setting up all these safety procedures.
I completely agree with all of my fellow peers when they say that it is incredibly concerning that so much live ammunition was found on the set of Rust. I do not know much about this film but I have always made the assumption that Hollywood, no matter the scope of the movie, has plenty of money to pay production members enough to ensure the job is done correctly. There are a number of people on this team that failed at their job and someone has lost their life because of it. Growing up in an area where guns are incredibly common and occasionally treated as toys, I know first hand how dangerous they can be and the tragic reality of what happens when firearms are not treated with the care they demand. I hope that I never have to hear about a story like this again and Hollywood finally makes safety a priority instead of the bottom line.
The more that comes out about this, the more disturbing it seems. I had seen before that more live rounds were possibly on the set, and the complaints against the assistant director who handed Baldwin the gun. However, my previous understanding was that the armorer was just inexperienced and out of her depth, and possibly not being listened to. However, the confirmation of more live rounds on set and the revelation of previous incidents involving the armorer are disturbing. In addition to that, the crew walkout seemed to have been entirely about pay, and it still appears that that is the case, but the additional details that there had already been problems with accidental discharges of firearms on this set before the Baldwin incident only furthers the absolute negligence that is apparent. I'm not sure who should face charges, and I imagine we will see as the investigation continues, but someone needs to be held accountable.
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