Alec Baldwin Fatally Shoots Crew Member With Prop Firearm, Authorities Say

[ZiprHead]

Q has weighed in

 

[ZiprHead]

Two crew members tell CNN that Hannah Gutierrez, 24, who was the lead armorer on the set of "Rust," mishandled weapons on a previous film project.

Stu Brumbaugh, the key grip on "The Old Way," told CNN that Gutierrez handled guns on the set of that project in a reckless manner and that he urged the film's assistant director to fire her.

“There’s a universal way to handle weapons on set and immediately red flags went up when I worked with Hannah,” Brumbaugh said. “This is why I asked for her dismissal.”
“This is why people get injured because of rookie mistakes,” he said.

CNN has reached out to the film's production company and the assistant director on the film for comment. CNN has also reached out to Gutierrez.

Brumbaugh cited an incident in which Gutierrez fired a gun near the film's star Nicolas Cage without warning.

"Make an announcement! You just blew my f***ing eardrums out!" Cage screamed in response and then walked off set angrily, according to Brumbaugh.

“She was talking to the stunt coordinator, and she just fired off a round, it sounded [like she fired] at the ground, and that’s when Nick really laid into her. That’s when I said she needs to be let go, she’s the most inexperienced armorer I had ever worked with. I have no idea why she wasn’t let go.”

https://www.cnn.com/entertainment/live-news/rust-shooting-investigation-10-27-21/index.html

 

[jab]

If it was a live round, that makes more sense than what I pictured at first. Isn't this the way Brandon Lee died? You'd think this just couldn't happen again. There needs to be some good, inclusive rethinking of safety protocols.

There needs to be serious punishment for the person(s) who violated the present protocols.

 

[jab]

Shaping the narrative is underway. Some good info in this AP article. Looks like they are setting up Assistant Director Dave Halls to be the fall guy on this. Negative comments about him. Positive ones about Baldwin.
The article does make one think about all the dangerous stuff performed for the sake of making movies.
Here’s another that speaks to that:
Fatal and serious injuries.

Baldwin, I believe, was co-producer of the film--a more responsible position, one would think, than a mere actor in the film. I would say that he is if not criminally responsible, open to liability for damages.

 

[Toni]

Alec Baldwin shot and killed the cinematographer on his film set. He took a loaded gun in his hand, aimed it, and pulled the trigger. But he didn't have premeditation to kill the cinematographer, he was just incompetent.

Nitpick: I don't think he aimed. I think he was practicing the move he was going to make, not pointing it at any given location. The physical equivalent of an actor saying his lines even though there's nobody there to say them to.

It still does violate basic gun safety, though.

No, he was practicing and the film shot was to capture him firing, from the end of the barrel. His responsibility was not to check the weapon—it was to trust the prop master and all those whose jobs it was to ensure there were zero live rounds on set—and to deliver his line. He was supposed to ‘fire’ into the camera, but there was not supposed to be any ammo on set, much less inthe gun. I

 

[TSwizzle]

No, he was practicing and the film shot was to capture him firing, from the end of the barrel. His responsibility was not to check the weapon—it was to trust the prop master and all those whose jobs it was to ensure there were zero live rounds on set—and to deliver his line. He was supposed to ‘fire’ into the camera, but there was not supposed to be any ammo on set, much less inthe gun.

I wonder if the scene required Baldwin to hold the gun to his head and pull the trigger if he would have been as trusting of the prop master.

 

[Shadowy Man]

No, he was practicing and the film shot was to capture him firing, from the end of the barrel. His responsibility was not to check the weapon—it was to trust the prop master and all those whose jobs it was to ensure there were zero live rounds on set—and to deliver his line. He was supposed to ‘fire’ into the camera, but there was not supposed to be any ammo on set, much less inthe gun.

I wonder if the scene required Baldwin to hold the gun to his head and pull the trigger if he would have been as trusting of the prop master.

He probably would have, unfortunately. From what I have read it may take some expertise to look into a weapon of the type he was given and discern by eye the difference between a fake round and a live round. So he may not have been qualified to check.

What is most amazing is that these weapons would have had live rounds in them at any point. Was it just the yahoos who wanted to have fun target practicing with old style guns? Why were real bullets evem on the set at all?

 

[Metaphor]

No, he was practicing and the film shot was to capture him firing, from the end of the barrel. His responsibility was not to check the weapon—it was to trust the prop master and all those whose jobs it was to ensure there were zero live rounds on set—and to deliver his line. He was supposed to ‘fire’ into the camera, but there was not supposed to be any ammo on set, much less inthe gun.

I wonder if the scene required Baldwin to hold the gun to his head and pull the trigger if he would have been as trusting of the prop master.

He probably would have, unfortunately. From what I have read it may take some expertise to look into a weapon of the type he was given and discern by eye the difference between a fake round and a live round. So he may not have been qualified to check.

What is most amazing is that these weapons would have had live rounds in them at any point. Was it just the yahoos who wanted to have fun target practicing with old style guns? Why were real bullets evem on the set at all?

I think these are questions for the film armourer.

 

[Shadowy Man]

No, he was practicing and the film shot was to capture him firing, from the end of the barrel. His responsibility was not to check the weapon—it was to trust the prop master and all those whose jobs it was to ensure there were zero live rounds on set—and to deliver his line. He was supposed to ‘fire’ into the camera, but there was not supposed to be any ammo on set, much less inthe gun.

I wonder if the scene required Baldwin to hold the gun to his head and pull the trigger if he would have been as trusting of the prop master.

He probably would have, unfortunately. From what I have read it may take some expertise to look into a weapon of the type he was given and discern by eye the difference between a fake round and a live round. So he may not have been qualified to check.

What is most amazing is that these weapons would have had live rounds in them at any point. Was it just the yahoos who wanted to have fun target practicing with old style guns? Why were real bullets evem on the set at all?

I think these are questions for the film armourer.

Indeed. It sounds like from what little I have heard that the production was a mess. If Baldwin has any culpability it is more likely as a producer than as the shooter.

 

[Metaphor]

No, he was practicing and the film shot was to capture him firing, from the end of the barrel. His responsibility was not to check the weapon—it was to trust the prop master and all those whose jobs it was to ensure there were zero live rounds on set—and to deliver his line. He was supposed to ‘fire’ into the camera, but there was not supposed to be any ammo on set, much less inthe gun.

I wonder if the scene required Baldwin to hold the gun to his head and pull the trigger if he would have been as trusting of the prop master.

He probably would have, unfortunately. From what I have read it may take some expertise to look into a weapon of the type he was given and discern by eye the difference between a fake round and a live round. So he may not have been qualified to check.

What is most amazing is that these weapons would have had live rounds in them at any point. Was it just the yahoos who wanted to have fun target practicing with old style guns? Why were real bullets evem on the set at all?

I think these are questions for the film armourer.

Indeed. It sounds like from what little I have heard that the production was a mess. If Baldwin has any culpability it is more likely as a producer than as the shooter.

It looks like the head armourer was 24 and has gone into digital hiding;

Shock claim about Baldwin armourer

The armorer who handled the “loaded gun” before the fatal shooting on Alec Baldwin’s set has shut down her social media accounts.

www.news.com.au

 

[Toni]

It’s perhaps worth mentioning that there was a strike in progress and the crew responsible for the weapons were scabs.

 

[ZiprHead]

Alec Baldwin to be charged with manslaughter in set shooting

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Actor Alec Baldwin and a weapons specialist will be charged with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a New Mexico movie set, prosecutors announced Thursday, citing a “criminal disregard for safety.”

apnews.com

 

[blastula]

Charges dropped.

'Rust' prosecutors drop charges against Alec Baldwin after questions over gun misfire

New Mexico prosecutors have dropped criminal charges against Alec Baldwin in the fatal 'Rust' shooting, two people familiar with the matter say.

www.latimes.com

 

[Elixir]

 

[blastula]

The armorer was convicted of manslaughter, for being responsible for the live rounds.

Alec Baldwin was indicted again in January and he goes on trial in July for manslaughter.

‘Rust’ Armorer Guilty Of Involuntary Manslaughter In Fatal Shooting Of Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins; Defendant Not Guilty Of Evidence Tampering, Jury Says

Taken into custody today Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will be sentenced as early as next month, the judge said Wednesday

deadline.com

 

[DBT]

After reading the thread and news reports and thinking about it can someone answer the question - what possible reason is there for a prop gun to ever have a live round?

There is no reason. An armorer is hired to ensure gun safety, but in this instance they failed at their job and their duty of care.

 

[TSwizzle]

This looks ominous for Baldwin.

 

[Politesse]

Aye. It was always ominous for Baldwin.

 

[thebeave]

After reading the thread and news reports and thinking about it can someone answer the question - what possible reason is there for a prop gun to ever have a live round?

There is no reason. An armorer is hired to ensure gun safety, but in this instance they failed at their job and their duty of care.

Was there ever a definitive answer on how the live bullets ended up in the gun? One article I read a while back claimed the company that supplied the blank rounds to the film accidentally included some live rounds in with the mix, but I find that hard to believe. Regardless, the armorer didn't do her job (which honestly doesn't sound all that difficult). Its disgraceful, and she got only a 3 year sentence. Drunk drivers who kill usually get a harsher sentence, so it seems she should have got at least double or triple (or more) than what she ended up getting.

As much as I don't care for Alec Baldwin, from what I've read, he shouldn't be held responsible except, perhaps, from a legal perspective as the executive producer ("the buck stops here"). Yes, he couldv'e/shouldv'e checked the gun himself, but at some point don't you have to rely on the production team to guarantee safety? Is an actor supposed to check to make sure the brakes on a car he drives in a film are in tip top shape every time he gets in, even if the film's mechanic's just checked them himself?

 

[Harry Bosch]

After reading the thread and news reports and thinking about it can someone answer the question - what possible reason is there for a prop gun to ever have a live round?

?? Totally agree. What possible reason is there for a pop gun to ever have a live round within 10 miles of it on a movie set? Very odd.