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Monday, March 14, 2022
‘Rust’ Armorer: Alec Baldwin Pointed Gun ‘Against All Rules and Common Sense’
www.thewrap.com: “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed has pushed back against Alec Baldwin’s claims in legal filings that she told him to cock the gun that accidentally killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and instead accused Baldwin of violating gun safety protocols.
This article brings some serious claims to light and I am glad that Gutierrez-Reed is speaking out on the matter. I have written a few comments about this tragedy and I do my best to keep myself educated on the topic when new articles pop up, even if I decide not to write a comment on it. It saddens me that so many simple protocols were not followed and because of that, someone had to die. I am infuriated that Gutierrez-Reed was not even notified that she needed to inspect the firearm, that is the job she is getting paid to be there for. I agree, Bladwin should have never been pointing the gun at anyone, to begin with, it's just common sense. Reading about how exactly everything went wrong was very haunting, something could have been done and we wouldn’t have had such a tragic loss. Even though Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed are both named as defendants in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Hutchins’ family, I am glad that Gutierrez-Reed feels like she can speak out about the safety that comes with firearms in the entertainment industry.
With these new legal filings in the Rust shooting case, it now seems that there are two heavily conflicting stories. On one hand, Alec Baldwin claims that the armorer gave him permission to do the action that led to the death on scene under constant supervision, clearly putting the armorer at fault for not checking the gun and making sure Baldwin was properly handling the gun. However, the armorer heavily disputed that account in her legal filings, stating that she was never called on to set that morning to inspect the gun. She also states that there was constant pushback against both additional protocols and necessary safety training due to budgetary restraints and unwillingness from the producers to implement these things. Honestly, I don’t really know which side can be believed at this point in the investigation. While the armorer reportedly has a history of being less careful on other productions, I can easily see a money-hungry team of producers willing to sacrifice safety in the name of cutting costs. This death should have never happened, and it’ll be a while before we know who really was at fault here.
This is the saddest most pathetic defense I’ve ever heard, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed should be ashamed as an armorer, and pointing fingers at each other solves absolutely nothing. While I do agree that Alec Baldwin should have received more training on how to use the firearm within the film safely and properly, there is still absolutely no excuse as to why there were live bullets on set and specifically within the gun. That responsibility fully falls under the responsibility of the armorer. Oftentimes in the film there are 10s-100s of people in and around a film set. It’s absolutely ridiculous to say, that you can’t point a gun at someone because the reality is that actors are acting, and one of the many cameras may be positioned in an area that is in the line of sight of the gun. This is all perfectly fine, in my opinion except for the fact that there were literally live rounds onset and even rumors that people on set were using them for shooting practice is insane. In my opinion, all of the blame should fall on Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and anyone else involved in using live rounds and the gun. Live rounds have absolutely no place on set, and there is not a single gun on the market whether historic or modern that can’t be fitted with false rounds. Even historic muskets can be equipped with blanks. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed sole job on set is to check the safety of weapons on set before filming, and it’s idiotic to complain that she wasn’t specifically called for this specific scene. If guns are being used within your department you should without a doubt be there to supervise.
3 comments:
This article brings some serious claims to light and I am glad that Gutierrez-Reed is speaking out on the matter. I have written a few comments about this tragedy and I do my best to keep myself educated on the topic when new articles pop up, even if I decide not to write a comment on it. It saddens me that so many simple protocols were not followed and because of that, someone had to die. I am infuriated that Gutierrez-Reed was not even notified that she needed to inspect the firearm, that is the job she is getting paid to be there for. I agree, Bladwin should have never been pointing the gun at anyone, to begin with, it's just common sense. Reading about how exactly everything went wrong was very haunting, something could have been done and we wouldn’t have had such a tragic loss. Even though Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed are both named as defendants in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Hutchins’ family, I am glad that Gutierrez-Reed feels like she can speak out about the safety that comes with firearms in the entertainment industry.
With these new legal filings in the Rust shooting case, it now seems that there are two heavily conflicting stories. On one hand, Alec Baldwin claims that the armorer gave him permission to do the action that led to the death on scene under constant supervision, clearly putting the armorer at fault for not checking the gun and making sure Baldwin was properly handling the gun. However, the armorer heavily disputed that account in her legal filings, stating that she was never called on to set that morning to inspect the gun. She also states that there was constant pushback against both additional protocols and necessary safety training due to budgetary restraints and unwillingness from the producers to implement these things. Honestly, I don’t really know which side can be believed at this point in the investigation. While the armorer reportedly has a history of being less careful on other productions, I can easily see a money-hungry team of producers willing to sacrifice safety in the name of cutting costs. This death should have never happened, and it’ll be a while before we know who really was at fault here.
This is the saddest most pathetic defense I’ve ever heard, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed should be ashamed as an armorer, and pointing fingers at each other solves absolutely nothing. While I do agree that Alec Baldwin should have received more training on how to use the firearm within the film safely and properly, there is still absolutely no excuse as to why there were live bullets on set and specifically within the gun. That responsibility fully falls under the responsibility of the armorer. Oftentimes in the film there are 10s-100s of people in and around a film set. It’s absolutely ridiculous to say, that you can’t point a gun at someone because the reality is that actors are acting, and one of the many cameras may be positioned in an area that is in the line of sight of the gun. This is all perfectly fine, in my opinion except for the fact that there were literally live rounds onset and even rumors that people on set were using them for shooting practice is insane. In my opinion, all of the blame should fall on Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and anyone else involved in using live rounds and the gun. Live rounds have absolutely no place on set, and there is not a single gun on the market whether historic or modern that can’t be fitted with false rounds. Even historic muskets can be equipped with blanks. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed sole job on set is to check the safety of weapons on set before filming, and it’s idiotic to complain that she wasn’t specifically called for this specific scene. If guns are being used within your department you should without a doubt be there to supervise.
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