More to the Investigation..
'Rust' prop person shot herself in the foot in accidental discharge prior to Alec Baldwin shooting: report
Tyler McCarthy
Mon, November 1, 2021, 11:02 AM
The production of the Alec Baldwin movie "Rust" reportedly saw multiple accidental discharges take place on the set prior to the one that left cinematographer Halyna Hutchins dead.
All eyes have been on the set’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who had only worked as the armorer on one film prior to leading things on "Rust." As she becomes one of the main focuses of the investigation into the death of Hutchins, a new report from the Los Angeles Times indicates that crew members were concerned about her work and that other accidental discharges had happened prior.
The outlet reports that a total of three incidents involving guns being fired accidentally happened prior to the incident involving Baldwin on Oct. 21. One involved Baldwin’s stunt double firing a blank round after he was told the gun he was holding was "cold," an industry term meaning that there were no projectiles in the firearm. This is similar to what assistant director Dave Halls told Baldwin on the day of the shooting, not realizing that a live round was in the gun he handed the actor before declaring it "cold."
The outlet reports another shooting involved a woman in the props department. She was handling a gun and accidentally shot herself in the foot with a blank round, according to Lane Luper, the A-camera first assistant on "Rust."
ACCIDENTAL DISCHARGE ON 'RUST' SET INVOLVED A PROP PERSON SHOOTING HERSELF IN THE FOOT: LIVE UPDATES
Because the round was blank, it’s unclear if any serious injury resulted from the accidental discharge.
These reports back up what Gutierrez Reed’s attorneys previously told Fox News in a statement about her involvement with the accidental death and the conditions on the "Rust" set. New Mexico-based lawyers Jason Bowles and Robert Gorence noted that "safety is Hannah’s number one priority."
They also explained that she has never had an accidental discharge herself, but they admitted that at least two had taken place on the set.
'RUST' MOVIE SHOOTING: DEPUTIES CONFISCATE MORE WEAPONS, AMMUNITION FROM SET
"The first one on this set was the prop master and the second one was a stunt man after Hannah informed him his gun was hot with blanks," they said.
Halyna Hutchins was a rising star in the cinematography world when she was hit with a projectile on set that ultimately killed her. Photo by Fred Hayes/Getty Images for SAGindie
Also in their statement, her attorneys seemingly shifted the blame away from the set’s armorer to a larger conversation about the resources she was given by producers to ensure the set was safe and up to protocol standards.
"She fought for training, days to maintain weapons and proper time to prepare for gunfire but ultimately was overruled by production and her department."
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However, in another contradiction between Gutierrez Reed’s statement and crew members’ accounts reported by the L.A. Times, there was a safety meeting with the cast and crew on the set of "Rust" the morning of the deadly shooting incident.
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mogley98: 30631994113179/comments/
Having worked on an actual film set as an armorer (All for Liberty) I can tell you when an actor is handed a firearm and told it is cold he fully assumes it is. Sort of like a kid in boot camp being handed a grenade and told it is cold to toss it. We will just have to disagree on this, but I find regardless of personal preferences for Baldwin he isn't guilty of anything. The armorer is fully responsible and the assistant director who handled the gun with or without the Armorers OK is also guilty.
My .02 won't change.
Made someone mad...disagree
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I agree.
I've never been on a movie set, but I have two decades worth of media news and studio sets experience (as a media spokesman). There, the hierarchy is very rigid. Nobody but you can even touch your job, and no matter what happens, the "star" is never at fault. Union rules control everything.
Example: if a cameraman needs to change position to a new angle, but there's a mic cable on the floor in the way, the cameraman MUST call an electrician to move that cable, even a few inches. If he were to simply move it aside with his foot, there'd be hell to pay, all work would stop, and a grievance filed.
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mogley98: 30631994113179/comments/
Having worked on an actual film set as an armorer (All for Liberty) I can tell you when an actor is handed a firearm and told it is cold he fully assumes it is. Sort of like a kid in boot camp being handed a grenade and told it is cold to toss it. We will just have to disagree on this, but I find regardless of personal preferences for Baldwin he isn't guilty of anything. The armorer is fully responsible and the assistant director who handled the gun with or without the Armorers OK is also guilty.
My .02 won't change.
As someone who has also worked on set as an armorer I agree completely. I know we will rack up the anonymous "disagrees" but some people on here act like the actor was out deer hunting with his family instead of on a studio set. There are different rules for gun handling.
Over the 3 days of being on set for the gun/shooting scenes I don't think a single actor even looked at the rounds being loaded, mostly because myself, the stunt coordinator and 1st AD had them all ready. Think there was roughly 300rds expended in those three days. The main character was a Broadway actress from NYC, she had never fired a gun before, we had to get her to look convincing even holding it, I bet if she had shot someone knowing her backstory everyone would be calling for my head instead of hers.
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I’m pretty sure the law books don’t mention the terms “armorer” “assistant director” “prop gun”, etc.
More like “accused” “victim “ “perpetrator “ “accomplice “…
No, I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
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I have to agree with the folks that have been armorers for movie production.
For a crime to take place, you must have 2 elements- that act, and the INTENT to perform that act. Going to be very hard to show that Baldwin intended to shoot anyone when weapons were to be under control of a licensed armorer.
From what I have gathered, the armorer had been undercut by the asst. director. OTOH, I am 2500 miles away, not an attorney, and did not stay at a Holliday Inn last night.
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l respectfully disagree. lf anyone puts any type tool (gun-wrench-flashlight) l 'm gohing to check it out before l try and use
it. lf l dont know how to use this item or tool l am going to find someone or information on how to use it. To quote Mr Ripley.
'Believe it or not' - l read the owners manual on items i purchase. lf l hurt you or anyone else with a tool or itim l'm using,
IT'S MY FAULT😲
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