Considering America’s gun culture, the prevalence of guns in everyday life in America, and America’s thriving film and television industry, it’s surprising that stories like this are not more common. On the New Mexico set of Rust, Alec Baldwin was handling what he thought was a prop gun loaded with blanks, and two people were shot before anyone realized that a dreadful mistake had happened. One woman is dead: Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer/DP of the film. Here’s more from Variety:
Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun while filming a scene in New Mexico on Thursday, causing the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. The incident occurred on the set of “Rust,” an independent feature that was filming at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, a popular production location south of Santa Fe.
Hutchins, 42, was transported by helicopter to University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, where she died. Souza, 48, was taken by ambulance to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe, where he received emergency treatment for his injuries, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office.
The Sheriff’s office said in a statement that Hutchins and Souza “were shot when a prop firearm was discharged by Alec Baldwin, 68, producer and actor.” The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that Baldwin was questioned by investigators, and was in tears.
No one was arrested in the incident, and no charges have been filed, the office said. Detectives were interviewing witnesses, and the incident remains under an “open and active” investigation, according to the Sheriff’s office. Baldwin’s reps did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hutchins’ death was confirmed by the Sheriff’s office and by the International Cinematographers Guild, Local 600.
“We received the devastating news this evening, that one of our members, Halyna Hutchins, the Director of Photography on a production called ‘Rust’ in New Mexico died from injuries sustained on the set,” said John Lindley, the president of the guild, and Rebecca Rhine, the executive director, in a statement. “The details are unclear at this moment, but we are working to learn more, and we support a full investigation into this tragic event. This is a terrible loss, and we mourn the passing of a member of our Guild’s family.”
Frances Fisher, one of the stars of the film, tweeted on Thursday night that Souza had told her that he is out of the hospital.
This is devastating for everyone involved, for Hutchins’ family, for Joel Souza and his family, and for Alec Baldwin. I would assume that the police are investigating because there are concerns – justifiable concerns – of criminal liability somewhere on set. Not for Alec – he likely picked up the gun, assured that it was a prop loaded with blanks. There could be criminal negligence with the prop master and their team, or even worse, someone might have “mixed up” the guns on purpose and handed Baldwin a gun with intent to do harm.
A local photographer with the Sante Fe New Mexican was on the set after the tragedy and he took photos of Baldwin looking absolutely gutted and emotional following the shooting:
Sheriff’s office: Star’s ‘prop firearm’ kills one, injures another https://t.co/wuFa9DMRBI
— Santa Fe New Mexican (@thenewmexican) October 22, 2021
Halyna had been posting photos and videos from the Rust set on Instagram. She seemed like a lovely woman who loved her job. Her poor family, my God. What a God-awful tragedy.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instagram.
Horrific for everyone involved.
There is no reason, even with a prop, for a gun to have anything in the chamber when filming.
This must now be made mandatory so no one else is killed or injured.
You’re correct and what you’re talking about it already the standard operating procedure on sets since the death of Brandon Lee in the 90s the EXACT same way as this. You don’t have live fire guns on set.
Somebody willingly was beyond reckless here big time and someone on production is likely going to jail for it.
Especially, after the Randall Miller sentence there’s precedence. Authorities are fed up with these “accidents” to get god damn make believe film shots.
Brandon Lee is the first person who came to mind.
This is awful. Her poor family. Poor Alec. I can’t imagine what he is going through. It wasn’t his fault, but he will partially blame himself. It’s human nature.
It is sad. Isn’t that how Brandon Lee was killed on the set of “The Crow,” with a ‘prop’ gun that magically contained live ammo?
IIRC, it had a fragment left from a previous use.
So, someone did not do their job. But it wasn’t an actual round and might have been missed on quick inspection.
Jon-Eric Hexum in the 80s: I’m pretty sure that was a normal blank. And that he simply was not aware a blank had any power. So he put it right up to his temple.
And I’m going to be the asshole who asks why TF he pointed the gun and pulled the trigger at her? That’s not a playful act, that’s open (or at least passive) hostility, even if it were a prop.
I think we don’t know what happened yet. It could have been a camera shot framed a specific way. I say wait to hear what happened first.
Exactly right NotSoSocialButterfly the first rule of handling fire arms is NEVER EVER point it at someone unless you intend to shoot them. Horribly reckless in so many ways.
It may have been set up from the point of view of the character being shot at. So the cinematographer and director were there looking at it.
I read elsewhere he fired it while filming a scene, towards the camera.
It was a requirement of the scene. He wasn’t just messing around with a prop gun for fun.
He was firing at the camera for a rehearsal scene. It is common practice that when, for example, two characters are in a gun fight to film each one separately and directly into the camera for close ups. This was what he was doing. He was not playing around and everyone was standing and performing where they were supposed to be. To try and lay any shame or blame on Alec is totally unfair and untrue.
I just want to pop in here and thank those who offered technical expertise as far as cinematography and scene direction goes. It makes the scenario clearer, so thanks to those who responded in that vein.
The shot in the film was of him pointing the gun at the camera behind which she was standing.
It feels like we are in another gilded age. The combination of a striking film crew and hiring scabs was lethal. We are seeing the pattern in industry after industry, high paid execs just want to make their bonuses and low paid crew are beyond stressed.
I feel so awful for her family, Joel Souza, and Alec and his family. What an awful experience and guilt he will have to live with for the rest of his life.
Guns require the ultimate respect, and even props and toys should be treated carefully. Just an awful tragedy.
Alec is also openly anti-gun in real life, so I’m sure this has been a devastating experience.
It really breaks my heart. This is an utter tragedy for everyone involved. A life tragically lost, a mourning family, and Alec will have this hanging over him literally forever, which I am sure will haunt him…I don’t know that I could ever recover.
This is really sad for everyone involved. It’s hard to see how the gun could have been loaded with blanks and hit two people, but I’m sure more details will be revealed with time.
It makes me really angry to see press pictures of Alec in the aftermath of this though. What must be going through his mind right now is unimaginable, and yet they needed to publish photo’s of him.
should not be any LIVE AMMO on a set…
Trumpers really HATE AB.
Serious investigation needed.
Something is wrong…
Oh my god I didn’t know that about Alec, that somehow makes this so much worse.
I am so right there with you, GraceB. These photos of Alec Baldwin are beyond cruel, and just heaping more damage on Halyna Hutchins’ family. This photographer should be the one who carries the lifelong damage, but no, it will be everyone else. At some point, human fragility should be recognized, and not published for public spectacle.
What a tragedy. I feel sorry for everyone impacted. I do wonder though how crap like this is still happening on sets in 2021 and what precautions need to be taken to make sets safer?
This is just horrific and I don’t understand why with prop guns and modern tech/special effects that they would have blanks in the chamber.
My condolences to Ms Hutchins family and wish Souza a speedy recovery.
I can’t imagine how Baldwin must be feeling – its a terrible terrible accident.
My sentiments exactly with all you said. It’s horrific and my thoughts and prayers to her family. As well as Baldwin – THAT will not rest easy on his shoulders. Horrific for all involved.
CGI probably costs more, looks worse, and doesn’t elicit the same reaction from actors than practicals. It should not have happened. There are supposed to be failsafes on set to prevent this—armorer or prop person checking chamber from last blank fired, actor taking gun from said person, performing scene, then giving it back to said person after the take so gun can be checked and reset. It’s very regimented. This being a “low budget” production and with IATSE workers overworked, who knows if any steps got skipped, or if this was just a complete, freak accident.
First of all, I am so sorry for this tragedy. This is so horrible and should not have happened.
Second of all, who the HELL would put LIVE AMMO in a PROP? Yes, CGI and other special/visual effects are costly, but the person who is in charge of these items/ materials SHOULD HAVE NEVER resorted to this method. That individual should have the knowledge of which materials are most to the least dangerous/lethal–and make the proper decision with production for the safety plus wellbeing of all persons involved (including the caterers and those in charge of maintenance).
Again, this should have never happened. Along with an extensive investigation, litigation will be in force regarding all of this.
@Phaedra7 One of my first thoughts is how this is something of an unintentional “gift” to the current impending strike. Proves the very point they’re trying to make about unsafe working conditions. I’m so sorry that Halyna had to be lost. 😢
In what world do you point any gun at someone else? Blanks do fire. Blanks can go off. Did he think this would be funny to point a gun at someone else and pull the trigger?
Alec should have been arrested at the very least. He picked up a gun that was not in his custody. Anything could have happened to it. And he fired it off at another person.
He was filming a scene when he fired the gun. Whoever put live ammo in the gun is responsible.
How do you know he wasn’t filming a scene? This seems to make a lot of assumptions, I’d wait and see what the facts are first.
Speculation on NY TImes story is that they we’re probably rehearsing the scene and that’s why director and cinematographer were there and up close. Gun doesn’t have live ammo, they use blanks. Just a tragedy.
And he shot the DP, who was presumably behind the camera, if this was an active scene. He didn’t shoot another actor on set, in which case there’s a degree of understanding that he would be pointing at another person.
On shoots, the director is ultimately responsible for the safety of the cast and crew. There’s a precedent in the Midnight Rider/Randall Miller case for the director being sent to prison for involuntary manslaughter and his producers and APs being sentenced to fines and probation when Sarah Jones was struck and killed by a train during a scene on a track on a bridge, I believe. Interesting in this case because Joel Souza, the director, was also shot in the accident.
Speaking of which, unless they were both somehow injured by blanks, somebody put live ammo in the prop gun and the police need to figure that ish out ASAP.
They might have been mapping out where he would shoot. They might have been checking to see how the prop gun would fire and look on camera. Who knows! This is a straight up accident. Have you ever watched a movie? People fire prop guns at each other all the time!
https://www.indiewire.com/2021/10/alec-baldwin-fires-gun-kills-cinematographer-wounds-director-on-rust-set-1234673555/
Idk exactly how this happened or who fcked up, but I hope it’s THAT person who gets punished, because Alec will be living with this hell forever and it was not his fault that someone else didn’t do their job correctly. IMO
There are lots of people who are *loving* this because of who Alec is and what his politics are, and it’s really gross. I am not perfect by ANY means, but if something like this happened to Scott Baio or William Shatner on a movie set, even though I think they’re Trump-loving morons, I really hope to think I would feel just as sorry for them, because NO ONE deserves to have to live with the guilt of something like this, which was purely accidental. There seems to be zero compassion for Alec from the right. (The exact same people who are the first to shout about not politicizing mass shootings.)
@Trina Apparently it WAS a live round. Holy sh*t!!!
“The local prop master’s union has said that the gun Baldwin fired contained “a live round,” according to an email viewed by IndieWire, though authorities have not confirmed. So far, no charges have been filed and an investigation remains ongoing.”
https://people.com/movies/gun-alec-baldwin-fired-on-rust-containing-live-round/
@ThatsNotOkay that’s nuts. I wonder if it was like the Brandon Lee incident where the blank and some shrapnel basically combined to make a real bullet, or if it genuinely was a real bullet. This is just so sad.
Hopefully this was just a horrible accident and it remains to be investigated (and adjudicated if necessary), BUT the words “criminal negligence” do come to mind. That young woman should not have had to lose her life! I am horrified at the level of incompetence all round not to check for safety. That is a basic precaution.
Alec Baldwin may be a Democrat, and anti-gun, but he is also a grotesque bully and has been for decades. Not everyone has to like him as a person or an actor just because he’s progressive in some ways.
@Tealily It’s worse than what people feared. Someone is definitely liable, and it looks like the producers, trying to scrimp and be dicks, totally f*cked up.
“There were two misfires on the prop gun on Saturday and one the previous week, the person said, adding “there was a serious lack of safety meetings on this set.”
“The safety of our cast and crew is the top priority of Rust Productions and everyone associated with the company, ” Rust Movie Productions LLC said in a statement. “Though we were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down. We will continue to cooperate with the Santa Fe authorities in their investigation and offer mental health services to the cast and crew during this tragic time.”
The shooting occurred about six hours after the union camera crew left.”
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-10-22/alec-baldwin-rust-camera-crew-walked-off-set
This is just so sad and tragic
agreed – this is all that needs to be said
My heart goes out to Ms. Hutchins loved ones and family members. I am incredibly sorry for their loss.
I do hope that Mr. Souza has a speedy recovery and has not had any lasting effects from this tragedy.
I feel so bad for everyone. It’s so tragic and heartbreaking.
Ditto – agree with all 3 of you.
What a tragic event. My heart breaks for everyone involved.
I am old enough to remember John erik hexum (sp?) dying – shooting himself with a prop gun in 1984.
I don’t understand how this still happens. Movies can add bang bang sounds in post production. Why aren’t the gun barrels blocked? Why are the guns functioning?
How real does it have to look? How many people have to die for movie violence?
This is the US so I guess there’s no casualty number big enough to call for change.
So unnecessary.
The deaths but also the shooter- having to carry that guilt. Horrifying.
Since in particular the death of Brandon Lee on the set of The Crow in 1993 (God, it’s been 28 years) there have been extremely stringent safety procedures for on set weapons. Well… there are supposed to be extremely stringent safety procedures for on set weapons. To say there needs to be a thorough investigation is an understatement. Such a horrific and unnecessary tragedy.
The just narrowly avoided strike of IATSE members shed some light onto what’s going on behind the scenes of movies and tv shows.
Crew members are severely overworked and when you’re working on the bare miminum of sleep (or often less!), tragic mistakes happen.
Rumors have it that due to the pandemic and terrible working conditions, not everyone on set was as qualified / experienced as they needed to be.
I hope there’sa thorough investigation of the circumstances and if it’s found that her tragic death could have been avoided by implementing humane working conditions, that this event may at least have a lasting impact on what goes on behind the scenes on Hollywood sets.
Also see Ruby Rose’s recent revelations about the working conditions and lack of safety on the Batwoman set.
I remember Hexum’s death from a prop gun. He didn’t believe you could harm yourself with a prop gun loaded with blanks, so he put the muzzle to his head and fired. But the blank still came out of the gun with enough force to kill him. So tragic. I agree there seems to be no reason to even have the blank in the prop gun. I’m not a gun person but couldn’t you just add the gun sound later with sound effects?
I remember Hexum’s death too. That freaked me out so much that both of my kids have heard me tell that story multiple times. And Brandon Lee too. This is just tragic. And what a loss of an amazing woman.
I immediately thought of Hexum and Lee as well. This is awful.
I Also remember this happening in the 80s to John Eric Hexum, and of course Brandon Lee. So tragic, they need to stop using those guns, props or otherwise.
This is so terribly tragic and my heart goes out to everyone involved. I can’t even imagine the pain everyone is feeling.
Just an all around tragedy, all the worse for how avoidable it was.
My husband is a lifelong gun owner and he is emphatic that you treat EVERY gun as if it’s loaded, all of the time. Even fake guns, even guns you think are unloaded.
What a terrible tragedy.
Agree that responsible and knowledgeable gun owners like your husband are not the problem in cases like this.
Everyone in my family are shooters. Every single one of us have taken professional training. Bad, dangerous habits are hard to break, and it is best to never develop them in the first place.
Guns aren’t toys. They should never be pointed at anything you don’t plan to destroy.
My husband and I were talking about this last night, and we both think that firearms training for actors using a weapon on film should be mandatory.
Since the actor will be the one using the gun, they should be trained to do so as safely as possible.
MCMMom, that is the saying that always sticks with me. Treat every gun like it is loaded no matter the scenario. There aren’t a lot of details here but just the basics we have got seem to hint at improper gun handling.
Condolences to Ms. Hutchins’s family. May she rest in peace and I hope Mr. Souza recovers fully.
Yeah, but in this situation, somebody didn’t do their job to ensure that the gun was safe (The Prop Master?). It wasn’t Alex just screwing around with a gun and not knowing the danger.
Yeah, that’s gun safety 101, something my dad taught all of us kids whenever he was cleaning his guns. But it doesn’t really pertain on a movie set, does it, when an actor has been assured that it’s a prop, one that should have blanks but no projectile and on which an actor is tasked with pointing and shooting at people that they have no intention of hurting.
I’m not sure why there’s an assumption that anyone in this situation was untrained? On the contrary they were likely highly and specifically trained. They would have to be. The insurance liability alone would be astronomical if they weren’t. They weren’t dilettantes at all. When will we realize that even in the best of circumstances they have risks.
When will we realize that even in the best of circumstances they have risks.
THIS EXACTLY. Humans, we are all humans and humans make mistakes. Unfortunately.
“Guns aren’t toys. They should never be pointed at anything you don’t plan to destroy.”
This is tragic, and, yes, in the best of circumstances risks are involved. We trust that people will do their jobs correctly, but, there must a backup to the backup. Suzanne Massie, asked Reagan, to commit to memory, “Trust, but verify” regarding nuclear disarmament. Actors, being the last persons, must be given gun safety classes on every set where there are fire arms involved. They are the literal last persons holding the gun, and thus, the last line of defence.
As an aside, my mum never gave my brothers, nor I, any toy guns – cap guns, water guns. The water guns were a bummer, because we couldn’t water fight. She even forbade us to form our hands in the shape of a gun to play – No Gunplay. We were forbidden to point and wag our index fingers at people when talking to them – No Fingerpointing. These lessons stuck.
Absolutely horrific. So sorry for everyone involved.
Absolutely terrible. My heart goes out to Halyna’s family as well as Alec. This is something he’ll have to bear for the rest of his life and it’s going to be a very, very heavy load on his conscience. Again, my heart goes out to everyone.
This is so horrible. It shouldn’t have happened. I’m so sorry for everyone. God, her poor family. I hope the director recovers fully. And i feel really bad for Baldwin. How do you live with something like that.
What a horrible situation and loss! I hope her family has the support they need and I hope Alec has the support he needs. It doesn’t matter that it wasn’t his fault, the weight of this will be crushing.
I can’t help but see a sad irony in the IATSE having just fought for a contract based largely on safety concerns. Yes I leave room for this might have been a freak accident…but sadly it is more likely someone dropped the ball, at a devastating cost.
This is so tragic. The poor woman and her family. So avoidable. My heart breaks for them in this horrible tragedy. And I can’t imagine what Alec is feeling right now. I really feel for him also. He must feel like he’s in a nightmare. He took someone’s life.
Something went terribly wrong with the prop department and/or stunt department, whoever was in charge of that prop. These films being shot in Texas sometimes run on a small and very tight budget and long hours. I remember an article talking about it and putting people at risk. I don’t know if this film had anything going on like that or not.
This was in New Mexico, not Texas. But it does sound like someone didn’t do their job. What a horrific tragedy.
Isn’t this the same thing that killed Brandon Lee in the set of The Crow? Such a terrible tragedy.
Yes, sounds like exactly the same thing. I really don’t understand why they cannot just use fake guns and add in special effects later to make them look and sound as if they really fired.
Similar but not the same.
Lee was killed because a fragment of the blank was left in the gun and when the next blank was fired it shot out the fragment, killing Lee.
This was an actual, live fire bullet.
They haven’t said this was an actual live bullet. Let’s not spread misinformation.
I’m praying for all involved. Tragic.
So
Sorry.
This is absolutely horrific. Also, the photographer that got those pictures of Alec-c’mon man/woman. Why would you do that? My God.
That photo reminds me of the saying about American news : if it bleeds, it leads.
I know, those are awful and I wish I hadn’t seen them.
@Lucy2 same. This is probably the worst moment of this man’s entire life; it’s bad enough that the story is public, but photos like this? It’s just cruel and invasive. It makes me feel the same way when a podcast plays a real 911 call…again, the worst moment of a person’s life, being used for entertainment. Alec can be a complete ass but imo he is blameless here, and his conflicting emotions must be hellish. At least give him some privacy.
@Lorelei, agreed. All I can say is that my heart breaks for them all. Alec can be an ass but no one deserves to be in his shoes. I was shocked the pic of him was released. The media has no humanity anymore. All they want is entertainment.
To accidently take a life is a burden I cannot imagine dealing with.
I HATE those pictures of Alec. (There’s another of him distraught in a parking lot.) He just killed someone! Someone just died! So much of our news and information culture is broken.
There was a huge discussion (turning into a debate and then hell broke loose) on FB in a local moms’ group. The subject was elementary aged kids watching Squid Games and how it is desensitizing them to violence and gore at a very young age. I have never watched it, but your statement reminded me of the many moms on the thread that were shocked young kids were allowed to watch. So much of our culture is broken.
@Seraphina- I had a similar conversation at work yesterday about the supposed remains found of Gabby Petito’s fiancée. Everyone was so excited like it was the latest episode of some true crime podcast.
A woman DIED! Probably MURDERED! Death isn’t entertainment.
@seraphina, elementary kids were watching SQUID GAME??! And the parents KNEW/argued it was OKAY??!!!!
Sorry I’m just… Screaming in my head. My 6.5 yo was finally allowed to watch the first Harry Potter film. The first one – rated like PG. He had nightmares for days about Voldemort being on the back of his head, like he was on Quirrell’s.
*I* am not desensitized enough to watch Squid Games. Thought the SNL skit was a hyperbolic parody until a friend said the details were true to the show. I’m all for the show’s message, just aghast that it was seen by kids. 😱
@Molly I just had to get off Twitter for the day because the smug cruelty directed at Alec by some people right now is unreal. Just some of the meanest, lowest comments I’ve ever seen. Someone tweeted for Twitter to “bring Trump back so we can see his tweets about Alec.”
I’m not even some huge fan of his but it was gross and I couldn’t even read anymore.
@Lurker 25, yes. It all started with one mom calling out parents who allow their elementary kids to watch the show. It went down hill quickly. Moms were defending the decision to allow their elementary aged children to watch. Saying it is their choice as a parent and no one will dictate to them about what they can and cannot do…….just crazy. From what I read it seems like something I would not watch. And my teens don’t want to watch it either.
Reminds me of my relative who allowed her 4 year old to watch American Dad. Sometimes you can’t fix stupid.
@Lorelei, that breaks my heart further that people will take a tragedy and use it to cause more mental anguish to someone who is suffering. I have no doubt he is. Compassion and empathy have left our society.
This is so sad, and the more I hear about it the sadder it is. What an unfortunate tragedy.
What an awful tragedy. Life will never be the same for everyone involved.
My deepest condolences to her family. Heartbreaking.
Oh god that’s so sad, for her and for Alec.
Some on Twitter are saying there were concerns about safety on the set and part of the camera crew had walked out the previous day. If so, this death this even more tragic and awful. I feel sad for her family and everyone involved in the production. Such devastating news.
Terrible and surely preventable if people in the props department had been following all safety protocols.
What a tragic mess – I feel so bad for her family. I’m sure Baldwin is devastated, but if there were safety problems on the set, then he, as producer, has to bear some responsibility. Sad all around.
I thought the same. If they were using non-union labor or allowed other hazardous conditions to exist, then the producers, including Baldwin, share the blame.
But I doubt anything criminal will come from it. I still remember John Landis violated child labor laws, and had children working long hours (along with the crew), even into the morning hours. He even hid the kids from the fire safety crew so they wouldn’t report his breaking the law. At 2:30 in the morning, when everyone was exhausted, Landis kept yelling at the helicopter pilot to fly lower, until the pyrotechnics knocked off the rotor. The helicopter decapitated the two children along with actor Vic Morrow. Landis wasn’t convicted of anything, and has never apologized. Because he’s famous.
It doesn’t sound like what Baldwin did is anywhere near what Landis did. In this case, it’s probably an accident more than recklessness.
That’s a lot of why IATSE was willing to strike – because they work insane hours in rough, often completely unsafe conditions.
Randall Miller springs to mind.
@MrsKrabapple I am forever haunted by the John Landis incident. It’s criminal that he wasn’t punished for that.
What. The. Fudge. I read somewhere about an accident where 3 people died but didn’t realize HOW they died!? No one was held accountable!? For children being decapitated because it was an accident. It’s negligent at BEST. I’m hearing (reading comments here) that it was a 19 yr in charge of the weapons and nonunion. I pray that whoever hired them is also held responsible. These movies make SO MUCH MONEY, I don’t understand how they underpay their crew. Or don’t give them a percentage of whatever is to come.
This is just awful. Cinematography is a real boy’s club with very few female DOPs. Halyna must have been a hugely determined and talented woman to succeed in the field. RIP
It’s also bewildering, frankly. There are strict protocols in place for weapons on set. No doubt there will be even more rules put in place after this, as there were after Brandon Lee’s death. Something went terribly wrong somehow for this to even occur. When such accidents happen it’s usually a cascading chain of errors; a perfect storm rather than one simple thing.
The only thing to add is that the word “prop” is short for property and means anything handled in a scene. So a “prop” gun might be made of rubber or it might be real with the firing pin removed or real but loaded with blanks. Lots of permutations. Someone said they could have been using vintage weapons on set also due to it being a Western.
Yes I agree about there being more regulations/protocols on set. Up until this day I believe if Brandon Lee would have lived he would have gotten Keanu’s career with a mix of Joaquin Phoenix; when I see the crow I can easily picture Brandon Lee as Neo and Joker.
For the undereducated: Prop guns are real guns that are used to fire blanks. Blanks are special cartridges that contain gunpowder but no ballistics. Meaning: They make a bang sound like a gun, have a muzzle explosion etc…but do not fire bullets or anything else. No movie set even has bullets to load into a prop gun in the first place. That said, they can be deadly. Misfire. Someone could have prepared the cartridge incorrectly . Shrapnel from the cartridge can in rare cases explode and cause damage or death. She was most likely shot because she was probably filming a scene where the gun is pointing at the camera when it was fired. The Director would have been standing behind her. Prayers for her family, for the family of the director, for Alec Baldwin and for the rest of the cast and crew. This must have been horriffic.
Possibly a misfire during a walk through or rehearsal? It’s harder for me to understand how this could have happened during an actual take as the director, especially, is usually firmly camped behind a monitor.
Exactly. It must have been through a rehearsal or something like that.
Do people usually actually shoot the gun during a walkthrough or rehearsal or when setting up the shot though? Why would they have him do that if he didn’t actually have to? I assume it’s loud and every time a gun is fired there’s a chance something could go wrong.
Thank you for the explanation. People read “prop guns” and assume it is a fake gun and seem confused by how this happened. Movie/TV sets won’t have live rounds but the blanks and shrapnel can do as much damage as a bullet. I’ve seen a lot of tweets asking why he was pointing it at someone. I am actually kind of surprised at how few people (at least on social media) understand how movies and TV shows are made. I assumed everyone had a little knowledge about camera angles, etc.
It doesn’t matter. People died. All guns should be treated as loaded at all times. Because guns are designed to do one thing.
It does matter though, at least the explanation for the uneducated. Alec fired the gun assuming the prop master or armourer did his/her job correctly. I agree all guns should be treated as loaded but the fact is, movie sets use guns to film. If anything, they need to resort to literal fake guns and use CGI for anything that looks too fake.
This was a movie set, not people sitting around playing with a gun. There was a person or people responsible for ensuring the gun was safe. Someone didn’t do their job.
I agree this was an accident, not Alec’s fault. But he shot an actual human being. She is the tragedy, not him.
Thank you for the explanation, so what actually killed her and then hit the director? The explosion? If there was no bullet, what came out to kill her? A projectile? I’m still a little confused on “blanks”. Thank you
@Unicornication: you very much for this explanation, because I don’t think I’m a stupid or uninformed person, but have totally assumed for my entire life that “prop” would mean “fake” in this context. I had no idea they used real guns on sets at all, and think it’s insane that they do because surely studios have the resources to produce ones that look real enough to an audience. And I had no idea what blanks were, so thank you so much for explaining it.
I feel so incredibly sorry for Alec. This was not his fault and he has to live with the guilt for the rest of his life. It was so avoidable; there was *no reason* an actors ever should have been handed a real gun. Jesus Christ.
@Willow: it DOES MATTER. Alec is a city-dwelling actor with zero experience handling firearms and has been pro-gun-control his entire life. There was no way he knew that he had been handed a real, loaded gun. That never should have happened.
He is totally justified in believing that he wouldn’t ever be given a real gun, let alone a loaded one imo. Someone else on that set fcked up and Alec is going to pay the price.
@Lorelei – Baldwin’s been making movies for 40 years. He’s had many action/adventure roles, he’s played cops, spies, mobsters and “fought” in the Civil War. Being pro-gun control doesn’t mean he hasn’t used guns in movies.
@Eurydice, no, I know, that was sort of my point. He’s had a long career and nothing like this has ever happened. It was a freak accident on this particular set and people are calling for Alec’s blood even though I don’t think he is at all at fault for this. The people in charge of props gave him a real, loaded gun (IndieWire confirmed it was loaded), and I just don’t think he bears the responsibility for that.
@Lorelei – I was responding to what you said about Alec being a city-dweller with no experience in handling guns. He’s had lots of experience handling guns in his 40 years of making films and TV. And he was handed a “live” gun, meaning a gun loaded with anything – blanks or bullets.
From the LA Times, this wasn’t a freak accident, it was an accident waiting to happen. There had already been 2 gun related problems in the days before, a complaint had been lodged by the crew. Union crew members had been fired and non-union brought in. All of this comes back to the producers and Alec is one of them.
This is what I was wondering. Why would you be pointing a gun at the cinematographer or director? But now I have an explanation for that. And then how do you shoot 2 people before realizing what happened? Especially if they’re standing next to each other or near each other? Wouldn’t you notice the first person going down? Did he fire twice? Did the same one bullet go through both of them at the same time? Was it a shotgun that has a wider damage radius so that one shot could harm two people standing next to each other? Was he shooting into the distance and the bullet shot her off set so he didn’t notice it in time before shooting again and getting the director?
And if they were actually blanks what is the chance that 2 in a row could cause damage like that? Or that even one could cause enough damage to kill one person and then harm another that is closeby? If they’re able to do that, then why on earth do they exist, why would anyone shoot them at other actors or into the camera, and why are the used on set? This just seems like a horrible tragedy and the mystery is compounded by the fact that he was able to shoot 2 people before he discovered what happened. That must be extra awful for him.
@AmyToo, exactly. If blanks also have the potential to cause an injury or fatality, why are they used on sets either?! It’s absolutely WILD that this has been allowed for so long.
Give actors a goddamn Nerf gun that has been outfitted to look real. An actor playing a role should not have to take courses on firearm safety as someone else suggested— they need to be assured that absolutely none of the guns on the set are real or capable of harming anyone.
I feel horrible for everyone involved. Why doesn’t Hollywood stop making movies with shooting and gun violence in them? There is no need for it.
What I mean by ‘it doesn’t matter’: it doesn’t matter that it was a prop gun, it doesn’t matter that it had blanks, it doesn’t matter that an actor was handed a gun he was told was safe. It doesn’t matter, because the second anyone picks up a gun, they need to believe they can kill someone with it, and then handle the gun so that does not happen. As soon as a gun is in your hands, don’t point it at anyone, unless you intend to kill them. If the movie industry is teaching actors differently, then that’s irresponsible and dangerous. What happened was horrible and tragic and preventable.
But that’s how they shoot scenes. That’s what the prop gun is for, for shooting at other people on set without killing them. Or for pointing at the camera to get that shot of someone pulling a gun on someone. Are you suggesting that they frame all of the scenes differently so that no actor ever has to aim a gun at another actor, crew, or camera and then they just edit it later to make it look like they were shooting at someone? Maybe that’s a good idea. I wonder about how they would shoot big cop show or mob scenes though where like everyone has a gun and they’re all shooting at each other, if you can only have on actor at a time on set with the prop gun and s/he’s always actually aiming into a wall of bullet proof pillows or something.
IATSE is saying that the props crew were not union which means they may not have the extensive experience a union crew would have. This is the main concern, unqualified people handling these things and horrific accidents happening because it wasn’t done correctly. Alec will not only have to live with the guilt of being the one who fired the gun, but he is also a producer and will likely have to answer for how this happened.
Horrific and my condolences to everyone involved.
Wondering if this was a setup.
Far more likely to be a screw up than a set up. Cutting corners in production, procedures not being followed exactly etc.
It’s an accident in the sense it wasn’t deliberate but … negligence is almost a sure bet.
Truly horrific.
This is how Brandon Lee died filming The Crow. Horrifying. In addition to those who were killed or injured, this must also be horribly traumatic for the person who unknowingly shot at them.
So I see elsewhere that Deadline had the story up before Baldwin had been identified. Below is the info they reported before anyone knew it was Baldwin. This is not good. To note, they seem to have updated their story to remove the info.
“We’re hearing from sources that a principal cast member during a rehearsal cocked a gun, not aware if 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 is interesting. If I were Alec I would not stop screaming. This is terrifying.
I cannot even imagine how Alec feels. Not only the guilt, but the anger and frustration and confusion about how the hell this even could have happened at all. It’s a living nightmare.
Apparently he kept saying “why was I handed a hot gun?” afterwards. I feel bad for Alec because he was the one handling the gun, and is now forever seen as Halyna’s killer, but it wasn’t his responsibility to ensure the weapon was safe. It’s not the actors job, so someone messed up and I hope they get to the bottom of how this even happened.
I’ve worked as a stunt woman in film and television for the last decade. After Brandon Lee, a number of safeguards to prevent an accident like this were put in place. Something went incredibly wrong on that set yesterday. The armorer should have cleared the gun before it was even handed to Alec. We rarely use blanks- they’re dangerous- and you can easily add muzzle flash in post, and most prop guns have been heavily modified for this exact reason. This is a heartbreaking tragedy. But it was also absolutely avoidable. My heart goes out to her family and friends, and the entire crew and cast, who must be devastated.
Thank you for that info. Your job sounds awesome, but also scary and dangerous. Stay safe!
Would it make more sense if they were using old timey guns? Are there as many heavily modified antique pistols? Is it harder to acquire one like that or harder to modify one like that? What about antique long guns? Are those harder to modify or is it more difficult/expensive to get one?
This is a BTS of JR Bourne on the notoriously low budget set of Teen Wolf. If they can afford to put all that in during post so could the Rust set. This whole thing was avoidable and tragic.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CPwXUSGBT7M/?utm_medium=copy_link
My heart goes out to all involved.
SN: when the variety story came up on my tl I panicked for a second bc I knew one of my faves was in the movie but the title didn’t mention who was shot. But I got it together and read the whole thing. My relief was sorry lived though bc it’s not only tragic that someone lost their life but bc how many women get to be the director of photography on a film set?
As I mentioned up thread, IATSE says that the props people were not union. If you don’t have experienced people doing these jobs you have potential for terrible accidents.
As I understand it – the AD cleared the gun and gave it to Alec Baldwin. During the 90s, I worked in Set Decorating and my first thought was – where is the weapons master?! Why was anyone other than the weapons master touching the gun, let alone clearing it? It wasn’t even a prop person (the property master had apparently shot himself in the foot with the same gun earlier) with the gun but the assistant director. That tells me a lot about how slip-shod this production is.
This is so devastating. I look forward to learning what happened to allow this needless death.
Everything I’ve read uses the phrase “WHILE filming a scene”, which makes me think he was shooting as planned, and something went wrong beforehand. But that’s just me. Glad the cops will get to the bottom of it.
I was reading about this last night, what a horrible, tragic thing to have happen. My heart goes out to Ms. Hutchins’s family, as well as Alec and all who were there. I can’t begin to imagine what they must be going through and how this will probably haunt them for the rest of their lives, especially Alec with the unbearable guilt he must be feeling over accidentally taking someone’s life. So incredibly heartbreaking.
” There could be criminal negligence with the prop master and their team, or even worse, someone might have “mixed up” the guns on purpose and handed Baldwin a gun with intent to do harm. ”
I wouldn’t put aside a looney trumpster not liking Baldwin making fun of DT on Saturday Night Live… Some people are just capable of anything…
That’s a really irresponsible take on a tragic accident. We could just as easily say it’s an anti-gun left-wing nut trying to prove a point. Stop hijaking tragedies please.
@Elizabeth ITA. There is absolutely no evidence that this was the case and all it takes is one Trump-loving nutjob to see it, latch onto it, and spread it all over the internet.
Can we not do this, please? This was a tragic accident; let’s not turn this into something political.
A loony Trumpster would just have shot him. Please don’t conspiracy theorize what was simply a very tragic accident.
Jaded- Actually, someone wanting to damage Alec Baldwin for political reasons (his Trump impersonations, public dislike of Trump, his gun control support) or other reasons might very well do this instead of killing him for maximum damage short term and long term. It’s not a wild possibility today and should be considered in an investigation.
In other words, investigators need to consider that if this was a deliberate act rather than a mistake, Baldwin might have been the true target rather than anybody else who was killed or injured. And of course just random killings happen every day here, where the killer just wants somebody to die or be injured and doesn’t even know or care who will be hit.
But all possibilities should be considered, and unfortunately today we have a significant fraction of the population being worked up into a lather by certain politicians – so much so that some of them were willing to go into the Capitol on Jan 6 with guns and zip ties and bulletproof vests and the intention of intimidating and killing some Members of Congress and the Vice President to reinstall as President the man who lost the election. A few minutes less before the chamber was breached and it might have been much worse than it was.
We live in a world where mass murders are frequent here in the USA, and nowhere seems safe from shooters. They come into places of worship, shopping malls, movie theaters, schools, or just start shooting on the street or roads. This is a world where Americans have openly on camera threatened to put a bullet through the head of the Speaker of the House and lynch a Vice President and the President at the time was fine with it, and there seem to be few legal consequences for the terrorists so far. Where police officers defending Congress were attacked, injured, and even killed by that President’s supporters. Where pipe bombs were sent to that President’s “enemies list” earlier in his term and he seemed unperturbed. Where people have been killed simply for chatting in a foreign language. Where that former President continues to sow hate and violence and fear wherever he can. Where law enforcement is infiltrated by white supremacists and so it’s hard to know who to trust.
Don’t underestimate the dangers today. I’m old as dirt and have never seen anything like this before on this scale. I hope this incident was an accident and tightening up protocols may help prevent a recurrence. But it could also be not an accident and much less preventable by protocols.
Let’s go a step further- all the other Baldwin brothers teamed up together to finally take Alec down a peg. No, wait, maybe the Spanish intelligence services switched out the gun in order to teach Hilaria a lesson about claiming Spanish nationality. No, wait, the only reason the projectiles hit anyone is because they were vaccinated against Covid and the vaccine magnetically attracted the fatal metal.
Seriously. A woman in the prime of her life is dead from a tragic but straightforward accident. Try to be respectful.
This line of thinking is exactly how conspiracy theories start.
Just awful!. I have no love for Alec Baldwin, but still feel terrible for him. And the poor families who lost a loved one while another is in serious condition. Very sad all around.
I saw this last night before going to bed. I hate to say my first thought just reading the headline (not reading any articles) was did Alex lose it in a fit of temper and shoot someone? I hate to even admit that but his aggressive personality and his temper are well-known, he’s had physical altercations before and I thought maybe he had one of his infamous fits of rage. I didn’t know him about being so anti gun, as someone else above mentioned.
But there was a picture of him last night I saw of him standing doubled over off to the side from the back with his hands on his knees, it was clear he was devastated and that this was a tragic mistake. He was just doing his job it seems. I didn’t know blanks could kill people, so something seems weird but I guess we’ll know with time what happened. I feel sorry for everyone involved and I doubt production of this movie will resume. I hope Alec and everyone else gets the emotional support they need (well I dunno about Alec’s wife being helpful, we all know how she is).
My mind didn’t go there, but I did think about how Baldwin is a producer of the film. That adds another layer of responsibility. Yeah, I hope everyone gets help.
My mind went there too given Alec’s history but it seems like zero witness reports indicate Alec did something wrong. I don’t feel bad for that being my first thought though. Alec is responsible for his own reputation.
@Eurydice, my mind didn’t go there, either. I’m not some Alec superfan or defender, but the times he’s been involved in incidents like this have been when paparazzi have been hounding him and his family, following them, getting much closer than they should be, shoving cameras literally into his face and purposely shouting anything they think will antagonize him in order to get a reaction.
This is absolutely nothing like that and everything I’ve read has stated it was an accident. I mean, there’s no way Alec Baldwin was pissed off about a filming delay or something and ended up murdering someone. He’s had an extremely long career so he must be used to issues on sets. He can be a pompous jerk, but I don’t think he’s insane.
I mean, there was also the time he left his daughter that voicemail calling her a pig etc., which of course isn’t physical violence (weren’t there allegations with Kim Basinger though?), but paints him as a hot head. My sympathy’s are 100% with Alec in this situation. This is so awful and I really don’t even see how it COULD be his fault. But let’s not act like he’s some kind of saint.
My mind went there immediately, you’re not alone. There are too many questions and with his violent temper and history…
Also, many people express regret after harming or wounding someone.
My heart breaks for the woman he killed, Halyna Hutchins and her family and friends. The director, stunt coordinator, armorer AND ESPECIALLY Alec Baldwin need to be investigated.
This is tragic. It’s Brandon Lee all over again.
It is but that was nearly 30 years ago. The fact that it hasn’t happened again in that time suggests that there were plenty of safety procedures in place. Something went very very wrong here.
What a tragedy all around. I feel so badly for her family. And I’m sure AB is just devastated.
Quick note…of course I went to Hilaria’s insta and she posted a screen shot of Alec via FaceTime last evening in her story and it was clear that it was after shooting because he looked like he was crying. Her comment on the photo was “look at that light”. Then she continued to post baby photos through out the evening. She really doesn’t know how to read the room does she? It’s not a good look
OMG.
She is all about her and her kids, who are just extensions of her in her mind, I’m sure. Any proximity to death or tragedy is testing for a marriage, and he is going to wish he had a partner who was more mature and less selfish.
absolute sociopath
I just went on her instagram, she posted that picture of him at like noon yesterday, before this shooting occurred. The last post of her kids was sometime in the afternoon so not sure that this is correct.
Seriously? What the fck is wrong with her??
Wow, that’s pretty cold. I wouldn’t be surprised if she makes a statement about this tragedy eventually on her instagram in her lingerie.
You must be seeing something I didn’t, because I checked her Instagram several times last night after reading that, just to see if she would post anything. I saw nothing new being posted. I checked Alex’s also. I checked Billy Baldwin’s twitter account also. He’s very active on his account. Nothing.
You must be seeing something I didn’t, because I checked her Instagram several times last night after reading about the shooting, just to see if she would or had posted anything about the shooting. I saw nothing new being posted after the shooting about anything at all, at least from what I could tell. I checked Alex’s also. I checked Billy Baldwin’s twitter account also. He’s very active on his account. Nothing.
See, I can’t stand Hilaria, but I do believe she really takes care of Alec. I hope I am right on that and that she’s really there for him. He’s going to need her emotionally.
What a narcissist.
What an appalling comment and timeline given this unspeakable tragedy.
You can tell by the timestamps on her Instagram Stories that there’s no truth to that. Those photos went up before all of this happened. I’m not eager to defend her, not at all, but this is beyond the pale and everyone should make sure to get their info right before spreading anything related to this story.
The cruelty of some people online is just beyond comprehension.
Thank you, I can’t stand her (or honestly Alec) but this was not true which I said above. There are many reasons to hate her, but everything she posted was from before this tragedy occurred.
Agreed. A lot of this same misinformation was making the rounds on Reddit and TikTok. I am noticing that the online following that formed in the wake of her catfishing scandal — moreso on other sites and social platforms — is becoming very conspiratorial and starting to misrepresent information to feed certain narratives about her. She is a morally bankrupt person, but nothing is gained by trying to counteract falsehoods by creating more of them.
I am not a fan of Hilaria’s at all but she did not post that after the shooting.
Also, the most important thing is whatever is people are commenting on today her son will be able to read forever. I don’t think it is fair to put any doubt in his mind about Alec until there is a complete investigation. It is a terrible tragedy but think about her son before commenting on anything Alec did in the past.
This is not true. Spreading this lie is obscene.
This is so tragic. Just so frustrating needless.
Thanks for including Halyna’s instagram posts, Kaiser. We can all appreciate her photography while catching a glimpse of her soul. Beautiful.
I am so sad for the victim’s family members, it’s just a brutal thing to wrap your mind around. And I don’t know how Baldwin can go on after this. It will ruin his life as well.
Terrible, senseless tragedy
This is horrible. Condolences to all the families. Alec Baldwin though, he’s really going to need some help . I don’t know how you come back from something like this.
He will need help and hopefully he will get it. Is he still a practicing Catholic? In times like this, faith really can be a solace to some people. It was for my husband’s family when they lost people, and for my mother (and me, to some degree). I just hope he gets help somewhere because this is beyond gutting for him. The guy might have a bad temper but that doesn’t make him a killer. This was a terrible accident.
This is so tragic for everyone involved. I feel for Halyna and her family, it’s just so unbelievably tragic. And I can’t begin to imagine how Alec must be feeling, he will have to live with this for the rest of his life. Apparently he kept saying afterwards “why was I handed a hot gun”. Obviously we don’t know the full story, but there must have been some serious negligence going on on that set.
Horrific and tragic.
My producer friend says it was likely an inexperienced armorer. If you pay prop department wages you won’t get the best people.
Someone above talked about the cascade of issues that create a tragedy and it really does start with money. Think of the crew member who died on the tracks because a train came and they were running and gunning.
It always starts with money.
Some moviemakers are so freaking full of themselves and take themselves and their work so seriously that things like this happen more frequently than they should.
Remember the time John Landis ended up killing Vic Morrow and two small children during that HORRIFIC airplane scene in one of his movies (a Twilight Zone one, I think?). There is evidence that they knew they were breaking laws, that Vic Morrow expressed concern about going through with the scene, and IIRC, the children’s parents weren’t fluent in English so didn’t necessarily understand the labor laws that were being broken? I don’t remember all of the details perfectly, but listened to a podcast episode about it and it was clear that the director absolutely knew he was wrong but wanted a “realistic” shot or whatever, so now three people are dead.
I understand the prop department having the lion’s share of responsibility for this but does the shooter hold any responsibility for this? I mean, if I was tasked with shooting a gun – I wouldn’t pass on the responsibility of knowing whether there were blanks or live rounds or follow the ridiculous instruction to POINT the gun at people. I would have to be able to confirm these safety checks myself and if that meant I put myself through gun training or refused to pull the trigger on the gun/point it at others, then so be it. I think actors are so used to everything be done for them and taking no responsibility for their actions.
Because the consequences of not knowing what your doing could be death, I think actors may need to hold some responsibility as well eventually. I find it all sorts of wrong that inexperienced gun handlers like Alec are allowed to pass off and designate others with the responsibility of the safety checks even though they ultimately pull the trigger. If the actor knows they also share responsibility, perhaps they’d refuse gun scenes all together and I’m all for Hollywood stopping the glorification of gun violence in film anyways.
I agree with you to an extent. I’ve never touched a gun in my life so I would definitely want to learn as much as possible before handling one. But at the same time I’m so anti gun that I couldn’t imagine ever becoming an expert and could see myself trusting the trained experts. Jensen Ackles did a panel last weekend. He talked about the armoror. In hindsight, she didn’t sound all that capable.
On another forum I read where we have some industry people posting, one of them is saying it was a non-union set and they are hearing the armorer was a 19-year-old. This is not good.
@Sid, I saw that too…really not good. Evidently they hired scabs, not knowing what would happen with the potential strike? Even so, I feel incredibly sorry for Alec because this must be such an atrocious thing to live through no matter what the circumstances are.
So awful. I feel so bad for everyone involved 🙁
There was a big article I read a year ago six months ago. I don’t remember. It was on the independent movie industry there in Texas, and that some production company down there had a stranglehold on most of the work. It was about how the crew worked extremely long hours, asked to do things unsafe, and how so many corners were cut to meet the tiny budgets. It was a pretty in-depth article.
So awful! I live near the location and a friend of mine had her kids on set a few days ago as extras. The local film community it tight knit here and this is devastating. Also why would real loaded guns be on set?! No workplace should have those around, especially film sets with kids and lots of people around.
I guess it’s America, in New Mexico. So many people have guns, so many people have concealed carry permits. So many people bring guns to work or just carry them around everywhere because they can. So I can see it happening, either picking up the wrong gun (though why would your gun just be lying around if you’re supposedly carrying it for protection? Maybe it was in someone’s dressing room and it somehow got picked up by props who assumed it was one of the prop guns?) or even having real bullets on set and accidentally loading those. But again, even if you were carrying a gun and bullets for protection or just bc you’re a “big strong American” and you can, why would you put your bullets down somewhere instead of always keeping them on you? It’s America so I don’t find it crazy that someone on that production, including security, probably had a real gun and it got mixed up.
I don’t own guns, but I was always taught to treat anything that looked realistic like a real gun by my parents and follow the basic safety protocols. The same should be done on movie sets with actors. What a shame and a waste, both for this young woman’s lost life and the people who will have to carry the guilt of the harm done.
Godness.. I feel sorry for everyone involved.. I’m sure there were more than a couple people responsible for the firearms and that’s who should be questioned and put in jail.
I feel so sorry for the family of the victim. I also feel very sorry for Alex Baldwin that this horrendous accident occurred. Prayers for all involved. Hope kindness and understanding prevails as this was obviously not a deliberate act.
@Lorelei- Because shooting an almost real gun is by far the cheapest, fastest option. CGI is much more expensive and Americans will know it’s fake. Sadly, we’ve seen it so much in modern television and movies that we know exactly what a gun is supposed to look like when it’s shot.
But who cares if some people can tell it’s not real? It’s a movie. We know they’re not really in the past, we know the food they eat and alcohol they drink isn’t really being consumed, we know the sex isn’t real. We accept other fake CGI things as part of the story even though we know they’re not real. So why is it so necessary to have real guns making real explosions?
Because if there’s anything Americans fetishize above all else, it’s Real Deal Guns. Accept no substitutes. Fakes are for p*ssies.
@Molly, I get that they want it to seem realistic, but with the technology we have by now, in 2021, I just feel like there is no need for real guns that actually shoot (anything) still being used on sets.
And some directors have made a pledge online today to never have real guns on set and only use FX going forward. Real guns/bullets are still orders of magnitude cheaper than digital, but it’s a good step.
Something very similar happened on the set of The Crow in 1993. I guess they didn’t bother doing anything so this wouldn’t happen again ? Very sad indeed.
A lot of precautions were put in place which is why we haven’t seen an incident like this in almost 30 years. But there are lots and lots of other accidents that happen on the set which we don’t hear about – there’s an Insta or blog out there where film people post about it.
Thanks for the info !
ME, the tweet below seems to provide a good likely explanation. This is incredibly sad and incredibly bad.
https://twitter.com/ShaunORourke5/status/1451584394855161873
This could be it. I know that there’s a budget level below which you can hire non-union – I think it’s $2 million for the Screen Actors Guild. Not sure how it affects the crew.
I keep seeing this sentiment online but the Brandon Lee tragedy was *thirty years* ago. Clearly quite a few fail safes were put in place afterwards. Something uniquely awful happened here.
This is tragic. This affects so many, the woman who died, her family, Alec Baldwin will never be the same, the director, the entire crew, the entire industry. Absolutely there needs to be a thorough investigation, and eventually much will be revealed, and all the conjecture and imaginings should be silenced. Every time this happens, an onset accident, especially if it involves a death, it resonates. This is why we talk about incidents that happened decades ago, because they are rare, and blow the lid off the fantasy world of show business. I agree with all that cannot believe this could happen, in this day and age, with so much experience, and so many more tools at filmmakers disposal that should eliminate the risk of something like this. We will see the turn of events that precipitated this incident, and it will be all the things probably: budget concerns, long hours, inexperienced people, lack of protocol, carelessness, you name it. Will the industry truly change? Will this accident be the last of its kind? I don’t know.
Unfortunately, Alec Baldwin has a storied Hollywood history of temper tantrums and volatile behavior. We will know more in the coming days… but I find it utterly suspect that out of the 1,000s and 1,000s of films completed since Brandon Lee’s, 1993 The Crow… Alec Baldwin is the first actor to accidentally kill someone with a prop gun. He’s been playing with fire for decades. Also, the release of outdoor photos showing Baldwin disheveled and hunched over scream P.R. fixers working hard for their money.
Temper tantrums are a far cry from deliberately shooting someone and your comment is completely unwarranted. Stringent safety measures are almost always in place to prevent this sort of thing happening on a regular basis, however as some commenters have stated who actually worked on this and other film shoots in Texas, they’re run on a shoe-string budget and they hire people who don’t necessarily have the training to ensure the guns are safe.
Furthermore, your comment that the photo of Baldwin hunched over and disheveled is a PR fix is really cruel. The photo is of him breaking down in hysterics after realizing what had happened. Can you imagine what he’s going through? He’ll never get over it.
As I said, we will find out more in the coming days. Can you imagine what the family of Halyna Hutchins is going through? I bet they won’t forget it either. BTW: Baldwin was a producer on the film. Producers provide funding for films. If this film (shot in Santa Fe, New Mexico, not Texas) was running on a shoe-string budget, they will follow the money. My comments are not unwarranted.
@Jaded, thank you. I’m too tired to reply to Mary’s batsh!t insane comment, but you said it all.
Someone posted this article on Twitter and I think it’s worth a read:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/09/18/the-sorrow-and-the-shame-of-the-accidental-killer
@Mary — of course I can imagine what her family is going through. Baldwin wasn’t in charge of the props people. It was THEIR job to make sure the gun was safety checked, not his. Your comments continue to be cruel and utterly fallacious and I hope they are deleted.
@Lorelei – thanks for the link, it’s a great article and one I hope @Mary reads to put this tragedy in perspective.
@Mary, your comments are unwarranted. To me it sounds like they were getting a shot and they might have been using a handheld camera and that’s why she was in the line of fire. You think that just because a star is a producer on a film that they’re the ones actually doing the grunt work of producing? Most times it’s just to get that credit and more of the profits. You don’t have to like Alec Baldwin, but you don’t have to be so GROSSLY unkind.
Baldwin speaks:
“There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours. I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred. I am in touch with with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”
@Mary that’s an extremely cynical point of view. It’s a tragic accident, probably caused by some degree of negligence on the part of the props team; to suggest that this was a deliberate act by the actor is appalling.
So, Mary, in your mind is this the first time he’s killed, or has he been murdering people for years without detection?
Coco, Nice sarcasm – you’re funny. No, I don’t think Baldwin’s a modern day Dexter. However, was I surprised when I heard that (of ALL people) Alec Baldwin accidentally shot 2 people and ultimately killed the DP on his latest film? Not really.
@Mary — just stop with this conspiracy theory nonsense that somehow Baldwin knew the gun was loaded or not safety checked properly and he went off script to shoot at two people he knew and respected. He may be a bloviating jerk at times but he’s not a murderer. Just stop.
No Mary, your comments are knee-jerk and completely unwarranted. It’s people like you who scare the shit out of me ever having to be judged by a jury. With the way you speculate and pre-judge, making wild accusations without anything to substantiate them, I wouldn’t want you anywhere near a jury pool.
@Mary, like you said, we’ll find out more in the coming days. I wouldn’t be so quick to throw the guilty (and it sounds like you think it was intentional) label at him. Let the investigation take its course. If you’re right in the end, you can pat yourself on the back. I’m saying that as someone who isn’t much of a fan of Alec or his wife. It is a sad, tragic situation. He will live his life carrying a guilty feeling and her family has suffered a very tragic loss. Alec looked pretty broken up. More than I’ve ever seen him in any acting situation.
Those mentioning Jon-Erik Hexum-with you. That was shocking back then. I had a mild crush on him from his Voyager days with Meeno Peluce (who is Soleil Moon Frye’s half brother) and was semi fascinated that JEH’s girlfriend was Elizabeth Daily from Valley Girl. Brandon Lee, another tragic story.
I’m with those saying there is a need to use technology/effects with guns in films.
Really horrific news. Someone in charge of the props screwed up in a truly awful way. I feel bad for everyone.
Not as badly as the guy who pointed the gun at two people and pulled the trigger.
Are you the same person as “Mary”? It appears so. This was part of a movie shoot, and the props people failed. He was only following the script. Stop trying to insinuate that it was somehow his fault.
Jaded, +1. What a cruel and ignorant thing to say, Marymary.
Just to add that just because Baldwin is a producer doesn’t necessarily mean he’s actually really involved in production. It’s often just a sort of courtesy title given to get lower budget movies some cache with funding and distribution. I don’t think he has a production company ala Reese Witherspoon or brad Pitt. Even in the case of the latter, his company wasn’t so involved that he got an Oscar when 12 Years A Slave won Best Picture.
Baldwin wrote the story along with the director, so I think he’s pretty involved.
Wow. This is so gut punchingly tragic. And just this morning I told my kids they wouldn’t be getting any nerf guns for Christmas and my 6 year old wanted to understand why and I didn’t even know how to begin to explain in an age appropriate way how terrible gun violence is and how it shouldn’t even be acted out in play.
You’re kind of taking it too far here.
Educating young children on the dangers of guns, and giving them the idea that toy guns are OK to be used in play, is not good and Kate isn’t taking it too far. The sooner you can get into kids’ minds that ANY kind of gun is bad — even if it’s a nerf gun — the better.
I totally agree with @Kate. Guns have one purpose — to kill. Nothing else. They are not toys and my kids are NOT allowed to play with them. Why? Because they have one purpose — to kill — and I don’t think that’s fun.
Whoa… Just got online. This is awful! I never thought I’d say this, but I feel sorry for Alec. And families and friends of course. I’m assuming Alec was pulling one of his trying-to-be-funny antics, and it spectacularly backfired. I can’t imagine being in his shoes and not needing therapy. Even his esposa bien viajada. Cyber comments will crucify them.
No, Baldwin was just following a script. There is no evidence whatsoever that he “plays around” with guns as a joke, either in this incident or ever. He also publicly supports gun control, making that even more unlikely.
Why would you assume that? I’m not a fan of his but he sounds devastated and will have to live with this.
Oh that was my point. This will tear him apart forever. And I only meant he enjoys jokes, quips, witticisms, pranks, etc. It’s what makes him Alec Baldwin. Honestly, he’s the only Baldwin I’ve ever liked. His funny side just took a stab to the heart. It’s absolutely awful.
This is such a horrible tragedy and made me think immediately of John Erik Hexum and Brandon Lee. I hope they find out what went wrong. Ms. Hutchins seemed like a lovely woman who obviously loved her job. So devastating for this woman’s family.
This is a horrible tragedy.
My condolences to her family and friends.
Can’t believe the number of people speculating that Alec is to blame, that he must have pointed at them to purposely shoot them, that he shouldn’t have pointed the gun at anyone, that he shouldn’t have been holding the gun, treat all guns as ‘real’ guns… Clearly you have no idea how filmmaking works and you should maybe listen to those who do know (upthread). We don’t know the full details yet, but, as others have said, there are many plausible explanations for how this tragedy occurred.
Tragic all around. And did anyone else read a story that the union props people walked off set and that there was live ammunition in the gun?
What a horrible tragedy. Some of the comments here are just as tragic.
Agreed, so many horrible comments and even jokes. Terrible..
We need to wait. Wait and see what the investigation uncovers before commenting in ways which will hurt those far more intimately involved than we are. I think unfounded speculations and wonderings in this instance are very harmful.
These comments are insane. Leave Alec alone. This was an accident, and yes it sounds like there were problems on the set but he was given faulty props without any prior knowledge of what was going to happen. Have a little compassion for all involved. I feel for everyone involved here. BUT Im sure everyone on that set went into it knowing that movie sets, especially westerns, come with inherent risks. You cant even rock climb at a gym without acknowledging death or serious injury might occur. Same thing here. There was a risk, albeit probably pretty low, but a risk all the same.
And no, Alec did not aim and shoot at two people. The daily fail says that Alec was rehearsing a scene, as is normal. Ms. Hutchins was in front of Alec, as she should have been as the cinematographer, and the director was standing behind Ms. Hutchins. The round hit her in the chest, traveled through her body and out to hit the director standing behind her. Sometimes I feel like being b*tchy is just code for being mean. This is no situation for meanness.
Alec was a producer on set and the conditions were horrible for the crew. There were other misfirings before this.
This article explains exactly what transpired from crew members who were on set at the time of the accident:
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-10-22/alec-baldwin-rust-camera-crew-walked-off-set
Thank you for the article. If half of that is true, there is a lawsuit in the making from the victim’s family. From kicking off Union people from the set and replacing them with scabs to the prior accidental discharges before this fatal shooting. All of it was a disaster.
And why would anybody hire a 24-year-old armorer with only one movie under her belt? My heart goes out to Ms. Hutchins’ family.
The Assistant Director, Dave Hall, is the one who took the gun off of the armorer’s cart and directly handed it to Alec Baldwin, telling him it was a cold gun. Hall was also on the set of Brandon Lee’s film when he was killed. Sounds fishy!
First: The name of the AD is Dave Halls. Second: He worked on the set of “The Crow: Salvation” which is the sequel to “The Crow” and was filmed many years later (2000). Brandon Lee was killed while filming “The Crow” (1993) – NOT the sequel.
You should really, and I mean really get your facts straight before claiming something is fishy.
The state of some comments on here is embarassing and straight out of loony conspiracy land. Also people who blame the actor (he needs to check the gun himself before shooting at someone) or that the DP should not be behind camera while filming (and rehearsing) or that everyone who has a producing credit is involved and has knowledge and responsibility of every daily detail on set obviously have no clue about how making a movie or tv show works.
And there are strict protocols regarding gun handling on sets and something went incredibly and tragically wrong here. Everyone needs to wait and see what the investigation finds and refrain from speculating and making wild accusations.
Oh shut up, Busy Ann. Alec is no innocent. He was running a shoddy and unsafe production.
Do NOT say “shut up”. That is just rude. He wasn’t “running” the production, he was only one of 7 production companies involved and he certainly wasn’t monitoring the props people. This was a perfect storm involving many, many people and a serious issue within the entire industry — let’s not pile it all on Baldwin.
You should NEVER point a gun in someone’s direction unless you aim to inflict bodily harm. There is protocol for this. The cinematograpger should have set up the camera and walked away. There are many protocols that were not followed here. It is extremely tragic. There are probably many people who did not follow safety protocol and dally Alec B is one of them.
I am not going to cast judgement on anyone. I simply don’t know enough yet.
Reading through this interesting + very long comment thread. Funny how JADED appears so personally invested in poor, “innocent” Alec Baldwin. LOL Were you working on the Rust set these past few weeks? Do you work at a major studio? If so, do tell because your knowledge of the inner workings of Hollywood and Producers and Unions and Scabs and Hot/Cold Props is astounding. Hat tip to you, JADED.
Real guns and ammo on movie sets – PREPOSTEROUS!
After a gun tragedy I always wonder what will change to prevent the ‘accident’ from happening again. But nothing, absolutely nothing changes. I sometimes wonder how we can call ourselves civilized.
RIP, Halyna. You gave your life for such a needless ‘right’.
Gun worshipers win again.