Director of photography killed, movie director injured after Alec Baldwin discharged prop firearm

[Jarnhamar]

Director of photography killed, movie director injured after Alec Baldwin discharged prop firearm on movie set​

Director of photography killed, movie director injured after Alec Baldwin discharged prop firearm on movie set | CNN

A film crew member has died and another was injured after actor Alec Baldwin discharged a prop firearm on the set of the movie "Rust" in New Mexico on Thursday, according to a law enforcement statement provided to CNN.

www.cnn.com

The twitterverse hasn't been kind to Alec, re-posting tweets he made commenting about shooting people and probably the most harsh of all, a tweet where he says "I wonder what it must feel like to wrongfully kill someone.." in response to a police shooting which was later ruled justified.

 

[mariomike]

< snip > a police shooting which was later ruled justified.

Update,

Appellate judges rule in favor of Dillan Tabares' mother in civil suit against city of Huntington Beach

A panel of judges found last week that a jury could see Officer Eric Esparza's fatal shooting of Dillan Tabares as unreasonable.

www.latimes.com

 

[RedFive]

I guess if he listened to himself he would have known how dangerous firearms can be and would have taken it upon himself to learn the requisite safety skills and knowledge...

 

[CBH99]

I don't mean to detract from the thread, But I just read that article and I am just left shaking my head...

A 27 year old man who is homeless and using drugs, Who was also just recently linked linked to the beating death of an 80 year old senior citizen - gets involved in a physical confrontation with a police officer outside of a high school.

This individual then grab something off of the police officer's utility belt while they are grab you are grappling on the ground, Which the officer suspects mayour suspects may have been his knife. (Even if it wasn't, You don't want to run the risk of being hit in just the right spot and losing consciousness while engaging an individual such as this.)

So the officer ends it before bystanders or himself are injured or killed.

Considering they are right across the street from a high school - if the individual had managed to get either an edged weapon or his firearm, it could have ended much much worse.

If the deceased didn't have a problem beating an 80yo man to death, I don't think he would have a problem engaging a high school student.


Officer has my support. Drug addicted dirtbag across the street from a high school, who just beat someone's grandpa to death? Not so much...


EDIT - Using voice feature of new work phone. Not drunk. Please forgive awful typos.

 

[ModlrMike]

First two rules of weapons handling:

1. Every weapon is loaded until you personally prove that it is not.
2. Never point a weapon at someone or something you don't intend to shoot.

This is nothing more that a complete failure of those two rules, and a grossly negligent one at that. Him trying to blame the person who handed him the gun is despicable.

 

[The Bread Guy]

I guess if he listened to himself he would have known how dangerous firearms can be and would have taken it upon himself to learn the requisite safety skills and knowledge...

... and we'll see as more information comes out how much training/education he was offered on the set, where even though the buck stops with trigger puller, what little I'm learning is that armourers are allegedly responsible for every weapon every step of the way. He may be guilty, but he may not be alone & it goes to sentencing/other parties in any litigation.

 

[mariomike]

Some, who are old enough, may remember Brandon Lee. He is being mentioned in the news lately.

After an investigation, District Attorney Jerry Spivey said no criminal charges would be filed over Lee’s death because while negligence was a factor, there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing, the Times reported in 1993.

A negligence lawsuit filed by Lee’s mother, Linda Lee Cadwell, against the studio was eventually settled out of court, the LA Times reported that year.

Actor who fatally shot Brandon Lee in 1993 movie tragedy was also traumatized

The son of Bruce Lee was killed in a freak accident on the set of “The Crow” in 1993, when fellow actor Michael Massee was supposed to shoot him at close range with a harmless pistol.

nypost.com

 

[RedFive]

... and we'll see as more information comes out how much training/education he was offered on the set, where even though the buck stops with trigger puller, what little I'm learning is that armourers are allegedly responsible for every weapon every step of the way. He may be guilty, but he may not be alone & it goes to sentencing/other parties in any litigation.

I can't think of any firearms safety program where the responsibility for the safety of the firearm doesn't rest squarely on the shoulders of the person holding it. If the training was insufficient, that person should not have been holding a firearm without direct supervision, period. Even on a BMQ PWT1 firing line, an ARSO is no more than a couple steps away from their new shooter. Who decides what amount of training is enough, well that's a question I don't have the answer to.

We will see indeed, but Mr. Baldwin is getting dragged hard online after shooting his mouth off about guns, gun control and a certain officer involved shooting mentioned earlier in the thread, only to negligently shoot his own director and cinematographer. I'm not one to gloat, especially when the death of an innocent party is involved, but that's gotta hurt for him, in addition to the pain of having taken a life.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

... and we'll see as more information comes out how much training/education he was offered on the set, where even though the buck stops with trigger puller, what little I'm learning is that armourers are allegedly responsible for every weapon every step of the way. He may be guilty, but he may not be alone & it goes to sentencing/other parties in any litigation.

Added to that, Alec Baldwin was also the Movie’s producer. Which means he bears a lot of the responsibility for the on set organization and activity.

 

[Weinie]

Added to that, Alec Baldwin was also the Movie’s producer. Which means he bears a lot of the responsibility for the on set organization and activity.

Surprised that the Orange Man hasn’t weighed in yet. Maybe some things are even too crass for him.

 

[The Bread Guy]

I can't think of any firearms safety program where the responsibility for the safety of the firearm doesn't rest squarely on the shoulders of the person holding it. If the training was insufficient, that person should not have been holding a firearm without direct supervision, period. Even on a BMQ PWT1 firing line, an ARSO is no more than a couple steps away from their new shooter.

100% If he pulled the trigger, and someone died because of it, then he did it - be it murder, manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death, whatever it ends up being. Full stop.

That said, his defence counsel will be likely point out all the other weak links in the chain, esp. if someone said "it's safe to fire in that direction," as opposed to "it's unloaded".

Movie sets aren't military ranges, though (and I'm still learning on that front as I go here following this) - which is why the odds of this sort of crap happening is obviously higher on movie sets. Not to mention word of some workers apparently seeing things done a la cheap on the set, and the armourer herself (trained by her father, who sounds like a high-end competitive shooter & armourer/movie consultant - can't find any immediate indication of military training on his part, though) apparently telling a podcast she wondered if she was ready to do the job for an earlier flick (this film wasn't her first as lead armourer). (you can listen to the Sept 2021 podcast here).

Added to that, Alec Baldwin was also the Movie’s producer. Which means he bears a lot of the responsibility for the on set organization and activity.

Oh yeah -- he stands to lose on a number of fronts, especially if there's any truth to the cutting corners alleged by those who walked off the set before this happened.

Surprised that the Orange Man hasn’t weighed in yet. Maybe some things are even too crass for him.

Never say never

OP edit to clarify armourer's uncertainty

 

[mariomike]

Officer has my support.

Also, The City of Huntington Beach taxpayers.

Mom is suing them for $10 million after federal court revived her civil rights lawsuit.

Tabares v. City of Huntington Beach, No. 19-56035 (9th Cir. 2021)

After a police officer fatally shot her son, plaintiff filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 and California law against the officer. The officer shot plaintiff's son seven times in front of a convenient store after the two were involved in a physical altercation.

law.justia.com

 

[OldSolduer]

I took my FAC course from a guy who was also a movie set weapons guy. The procedures are or at least were stringent. It seems they have failed a few times. Jon Eric Hexum was killed on set in the mid 80s by a gun that was "unloaded".

Let us not rush to judgement.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

How long before the narrative switches to the gun being to blame? 5....4....3.....

 

[mariomike]

Let us not rush to judgement.

My uneducated guess is the judgement will be "an undisclosed amount of money."

 

[Jarnhamar]

Crew members reporting not getting paid. Accommodations issues. Crew walking off the set citing safety concerns. The gun used in the shooting apparently had NDs earlier in the filming with nothing done about it. Union workers fired and replaced with non-union workers.

Paints quite the picture.

 

[Kirkhill]

'Rust' crew describes on-set gun safety issues and misfires days before fatal shooting

At least one of the camera operators complained last weekend to production managers about gun safety on the set.

www.latimes.com

 

[Blackadder1916]

To begin with, one's thoughts should be with the family of the young women who was tragically killed.

While it may be easy to pile on to the "name", especially when his political views, celebrity image (good and bad) and past comments makes him a ready target, let's remember that this was a movie set and the same rules and protocols of weapons handling that most many of us (hopefully) take as second nature would not be routine for the talent as much as it should. Even those of us more comfortable with firearms were regularly reinforced with training in safety precautions (along with IAs) each time that we used live rounds (i.e. range briefing). Still, there were "accidents" far too often.

Now, I do recall several films featuring this actor in which firearms use was central to the plot and he very successfully "pretended" (this is what acting is) to have a facility with firearms. However, there are a whole lot of people behind the camera whose jobs are to make him look like he knows what he is doing. But, just as for those who carry weapons as part of their job, familiarity can breed an over-developed sense of everything's alright.

There have been many articles popping up about movie set firearms protocol in the past few hours

https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/prop-guns-movie-sets-1.6221637

and

EXPLAINER: Guns on movie sets: How does that work?

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died Thursday after Alec Baldwin fired a loaded weapon that was handed to him by an assistant director who mistakenly believed it was safe to use on the New Mexico set of “Rust.”

apnews.com

And some from well before this tragic incident

Filming With Firearms - The American Society of Cinematographers (OldSolduer, perhaps your FAC instructor?)
and

Movie Gun Services LLC

New York's #1 provider of LIVE blank-fire firearms, Exotic Weapons for TV, Film & Print

www.moviegunservices.com

 

[dapaterson]

Can't testify about the bona fides of the author, but this is an interesting piece about firearms and firearm safety on film/TV stes.

https://www.facebook.com/602900675/posts/10160354155130676

 

[Blackadder1916]

Can't testify about the bona fides of the author, but this is an interesting piece about firearms and firearm safety on film/TV stes.

Dean Goodine | Art Department, Art Director

Known for: Inception, The Incredible Hulk, The Edge

www.imdb.com