Profit of Doom
Dismember
...and going off twice?
OT/MISC Alec Baldwin Fired Prop Gun That Killed Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and Injured Director. New Charges Filed!
- Thread starter jward
- Start date
bw
Fringe Ranger
The Beaver? Going to need some corroboration for this outlandish assertion. Sounds like Inquirer.
psychgirl
Has No Life - Lives on TB
It would NOT surprise me in the least of the connections here are 100% true.
The evil spiders web is bigger than you know.
Wayyy bigger.
night driver
ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
Ummm try to keep up. He only fired once. Yep, got two with it but .44s WILL do that.
hunybee
Veteran Member
that is correct.....but that is why there are a buttload of OTHER rules that are in place to avoid this very thing.
alec is at fault, in a few different ways.
so many things wrong in this, and this is definitely (by FAR) not his first rodeo. he has handled weapons in so may of his tv and movie sets. he know the protocols and rules, and he know why they are there. they had already had 3 "misfires" on that set (among so many other problems and safety issues).
the rules on a set do not negate basic gun safety rules. there are modifications, and then additional ones added to have multiple safety stops put in place to avoid this very thing, yet many of those were not followed by many different people. there still are the outside world gun safety rules, and then the "set" gun safety rules are extremely anal retentive and repetitive.
this, and SO many other things on that set, should have never happened. there is plenty of fault to go around, and he has a lot of it.
Marie
Veteran Member
Looks lime Vicki found this 1st in the Alt thread.
Melodi
Disaster Cat
Ok since I no longer have an in-house expert to ask, I have what may be a stupid question but it is bugging me so please be kind, as I ask the experts here.
My question is: Why in this day and age of extremely good technology and the ability to add things to films after the fact are guns on movie sets actually not totally disabled (on the inside) in order to fire NOTHING; then simply let the "sound engineers" add whatever "bang" sound is appropriate later?
I mean I totally understand how until fairly recently, this would simply not have been a realistic option, but today when Hollyweird can revive dead actors to play short "roles" in movies, I simply don't understand why adding the "right" sound for any type of gun should prove that difficult?
I mean I can understand how perhaps some huge military movie reenacting the storming of Normandy or The Battle of Gettysburg might need some very carefully vetted stuff used by professionals.
But using a gun that someone could potentially take away and do live-round target practice with and then return it to the set afterward just seems like a terrible risk.
Actors DO have to rely on their crews and the "rules" are different, they are required sometimes to "fire" directly at the camera and have to operate under slightly different safety rules than I learned at age seven at Summer camp which has already been printed here.
This is why I suspect if he is charged it will be as a producer and not for actual manslaughter (though involuntary manslaughter is also possible) because as the producer he was ultimately in charge of set safety. So I'm not excusing him, I'm just wondering why there is any use of "live" guns (as opposed to "real" guns that are totally or at least temporarily rendered disabled) on a movie set?
Thanks in advance, I grew up on the edges of "The Industry" so I know some of these things can be complicated and the "rules" change over time.
My question is: Why in this day and age of extremely good technology and the ability to add things to films after the fact are guns on movie sets actually not totally disabled (on the inside) in order to fire NOTHING; then simply let the "sound engineers" add whatever "bang" sound is appropriate later?
I mean I totally understand how until fairly recently, this would simply not have been a realistic option, but today when Hollyweird can revive dead actors to play short "roles" in movies, I simply don't understand why adding the "right" sound for any type of gun should prove that difficult?
I mean I can understand how perhaps some huge military movie reenacting the storming of Normandy or The Battle of Gettysburg might need some very carefully vetted stuff used by professionals.
But using a gun that someone could potentially take away and do live-round target practice with and then return it to the set afterward just seems like a terrible risk.
Actors DO have to rely on their crews and the "rules" are different, they are required sometimes to "fire" directly at the camera and have to operate under slightly different safety rules than I learned at age seven at Summer camp which has already been printed here.
This is why I suspect if he is charged it will be as a producer and not for actual manslaughter (though involuntary manslaughter is also possible) because as the producer he was ultimately in charge of set safety. So I'm not excusing him, I'm just wondering why there is any use of "live" guns (as opposed to "real" guns that are totally or at least temporarily rendered disabled) on a movie set?
Thanks in advance, I grew up on the edges of "The Industry" so I know some of these things can be complicated and the "rules" change over time.
undead
Veteran Member
There will be civil suits coming out of this. The film company will be sued, the 'armorer', the director, and Baldwin himself. The director will have his own civil suits cuz he be smarting. But Baldwin is the one with the deep pockets here, probably deeper than the film company insurance.
inskanoot
Veteran Member
Theres a video on this or the alt thread where John Schneider makes the same point with a sample video of him “firing“ with his finger.
bw
Fringe Ranger
Could be several reasons. An actual sound helps other actors react properly. An actual recoil is needed for a believable shot.
It's becoming clear that the armorer and multiple other people were incredibly stupid on this site.
I'll guess that Little Miss Guns simply didn't have the Command Voice needed to keep others in line. This is her second film, as I understand it, and nowhere near as sure of herself as her smirky video claims. She's currying favor to build her career and doesn't want to irritate anyone who might help in some future film. So when crew members want to go plinking, she has insufficient chutzpah or resolve to stop them.
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Actually, Melodi, that is a very GOOD question! Part of the answer might be that they were trying to show as much realism as possible, given that firearms used in the old West often gave off a lot of smoke (since many or most of them used black powder and modern "smokeless" powder was only beginning to be developed and used at that time). Simulating the smoke and the sound at the same time visually even using CGI can be challenging. Then there's also the flash that many guns produce when fired.
In this day and age of accurate replica firearms, it is very possible to use a gun that does not actually fire any projectile but makes an accurate sound from a digital recording (similar to how some toy guns do) and can also generate some smoke for realism. Given that so many actors, producers and other set employees in Hollyweird are anti-gun, and don't know much about firearms, and can't seem to obey the basic safety rules for using firearms - using replica fake firearms in movies that require gun use in their plots might be in their best interests!
One simple answer is likely cost?
Post production computer generated imagery (CGI) is a laborious process taking time and costing much more money than just firing a blank to make smoke and maybe adding a sound effect to "sweeten" the report.
Small independent movie productions simply don't have the budget for CGI apparently. Most sound in a movie is done in post production IIRC.
"Rust" couldn't even afford to pay for hotel rooms despite initially promising to do so.
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SmithJ
Veteran Member
Probably what happened is a disgruntled employee slipped a live round in because of the work conditions (being laid off/walk out) and due to carelessness no one caught it.
The industry will protect it's favored members. You can already see the articles starting the blame train on the armorer.
The armorer will go down; civil liability and criminal negligence; Baldwin will skate.
The industry will protect it's favored members. You can already see the articles starting the blame train on the armorer.
The armorer will go down; civil liability and criminal negligence; Baldwin will skate.
Melodi
Disaster Cat
Another friend (off forum) also told me that replica guns are quite costly, so I think there was definitely a cost-cutting issue going on here.
Both in terms of cutting corners on the set and not wanting to have to CGI afterward - thanks to everyone who answered my question. It was very helpful and suspect Mr. Baldwin will be facing some charges, as the director if not as the shooter (and he may get both).
Both in terms of cutting corners on the set and not wanting to have to CGI afterward - thanks to everyone who answered my question. It was very helpful and suspect Mr. Baldwin will be facing some charges, as the director if not as the shooter (and he may get both).
Some new details emerging.
Notice how the AP headline is bending over backwards to run cover for Baldwin. Despite his being the co-producer of what is appearing to be a very troubled production.
Fair Use Cited
----------------
Alec Baldwin was careful with guns before fatal shooting, crew member says
by: The Associated Press, Nexstar Media Wire
Posted: Oct 25, 2021 / 06:39 AM CDT / Updated: Oct 25, 2021 / 06:39 AM CDT
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A camera operator told authorities that Alec Baldwin had been careful with weapons on the set of the film “Rust” before the actor shot and killed a cinematographer with a gun he’d been told was safe to use, court records released Sunday show.
Cameraman Reid Russell told a detective that Baldwin was rehearsing a scene Thursday in which he was set to draw his gun while sitting in a church pew and point it at the camera. Russell said he was unsure whether the weapon was checked before it was handed to Baldwin.
The camera wasn’t rolling when the gun went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Russell told a detective according to a search warrant affidavit.
Authorities said Friday that the assistant director, Dave Halls, had handed the weapon to Baldwin and announced “cold gun,” indicating it was safe to use. When asked about how Baldwin treated firearms on the set, Russell said the actor was very careful, citing an instance when Baldwin made sure a child actor was not near him when a gun was being discharged.
The affidavit released Sunday also includes statements by director Joel Souza, who was standing behind Hutchins and was wounded.
It detailed the moments before the shooting and shows that there was turmoil on the set the day of the shooting.
Several members of the camera crew walked off the production in a dispute over payment and lodging, Russell said, and he was left with a lot of work to do. Only one camera was available to shoot, and it had to be moved because the light had shifted and there was a shadow.
Souza said that he was focused on how the scene would appear on camera. He said he recalled hearing the phrase “cold gun” being used before the shooting.
He said the scene they were shooting did not call for the use of live rounds.
Souza described the gunshot as sounding like a whip and a loud pop.
On Sunday, a crew member who worked with Halls on another project said she had raised safety concerns about him in 2019.
Maggie Goll, a prop maker and licensed pyrotechnician, said in a statement that she filed an internal complaint with the executive producers of Hulu’s “Into the Dark” series in 2019 over concerns about Halls’ behavior on set. Goll said in a phone interview Sunday that Halls disregarded safety protocols for weapons and pyrotechnics and tried to continue filming after the supervising pyrotechnician lost consciousness on set.
Halls has not returned phone calls and email messages seeking comment.
The fatal shooting and previous experiences point to larger safety issues that need to be addressed, Goll said, adding that crew member safety and wellbeing were top issues in recent contract negotiations between a union that represents film and TV workers and a major producers’ group.
“This situation is not about Dave Halls. … It’s in no way one person’s fault,” she said. “It’s a bigger conversation about safety on set and what we are trying to achieve with that culture.”
The film’s chief electrician Serge Svetnoy blamed producers for Hutchins’ death in an emotional Facebook post on Sunday. Svetnoy said he had worked with Hutchins on multiple films and faulted “negligence and unprofessionalism” among those handling weapons on the set. He said producers hired an inexperienced armorer.
Hollywood professionals say they’re baffled by the circumstances and production crews have quickly stepped up safety measures.
Jeffrey Wright, who has worked on projects including the James Bond franchise and the upcoming movie “The Batman,” was acting with a weapon on the set of “Westworld” when news broke of the shooting Thursday at a New Mexico ranch. “We were all pretty shocked. And it informed what we did from that moment on,” he said in an interview Sunday at the Newport Beach Film Festival.
“I don’t recall ever being handed a weapon that was not cleared in front of me — meaning chamber open, barrel shown to me, light flashed inside the barrel to make sure that it’s cleared,” Wright said. “Clearly, that was a mismanaged set.”
Actor Ray Liotta agreed with Wright that the checks on firearms are usually extensive.
“They always — that I know of — they check it so you can see,” Liotta said. “They give it to the person you’re pointing the gun at, they do it to the producer, they show whoever is there that it doesn’t work.”
A vigil for Hutchins was held Sunday in Southern California, where attendees exchanged tearful hugs and speakers echoed calls for heightened safety standards.
Baldwin, who is known for his roles in “30 Rock” and “The Hunt for Red October” and his impression of former President Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live,” has described the killing as a “tragic accident.”
Alec Baldwin was careful with guns before fatal shooting, crew member says | WGN-TV (wgntv.com)
Notice how the AP headline is bending over backwards to run cover for Baldwin. Despite his being the co-producer of what is appearing to be a very troubled production.
Fair Use Cited
----------------
Alec Baldwin was careful with guns before fatal shooting, crew member says
by: The Associated Press, Nexstar Media Wire
Posted: Oct 25, 2021 / 06:39 AM CDT / Updated: Oct 25, 2021 / 06:39 AM CDT
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A camera operator told authorities that Alec Baldwin had been careful with weapons on the set of the film “Rust” before the actor shot and killed a cinematographer with a gun he’d been told was safe to use, court records released Sunday show.
Cameraman Reid Russell told a detective that Baldwin was rehearsing a scene Thursday in which he was set to draw his gun while sitting in a church pew and point it at the camera. Russell said he was unsure whether the weapon was checked before it was handed to Baldwin.
The camera wasn’t rolling when the gun went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Russell told a detective according to a search warrant affidavit.
Authorities said Friday that the assistant director, Dave Halls, had handed the weapon to Baldwin and announced “cold gun,” indicating it was safe to use. When asked about how Baldwin treated firearms on the set, Russell said the actor was very careful, citing an instance when Baldwin made sure a child actor was not near him when a gun was being discharged.
The affidavit released Sunday also includes statements by director Joel Souza, who was standing behind Hutchins and was wounded.
It detailed the moments before the shooting and shows that there was turmoil on the set the day of the shooting.
Several members of the camera crew walked off the production in a dispute over payment and lodging, Russell said, and he was left with a lot of work to do. Only one camera was available to shoot, and it had to be moved because the light had shifted and there was a shadow.
Souza said that he was focused on how the scene would appear on camera. He said he recalled hearing the phrase “cold gun” being used before the shooting.
He said the scene they were shooting did not call for the use of live rounds.
Souza described the gunshot as sounding like a whip and a loud pop.
On Sunday, a crew member who worked with Halls on another project said she had raised safety concerns about him in 2019.
Maggie Goll, a prop maker and licensed pyrotechnician, said in a statement that she filed an internal complaint with the executive producers of Hulu’s “Into the Dark” series in 2019 over concerns about Halls’ behavior on set. Goll said in a phone interview Sunday that Halls disregarded safety protocols for weapons and pyrotechnics and tried to continue filming after the supervising pyrotechnician lost consciousness on set.
Halls has not returned phone calls and email messages seeking comment.
The fatal shooting and previous experiences point to larger safety issues that need to be addressed, Goll said, adding that crew member safety and wellbeing were top issues in recent contract negotiations between a union that represents film and TV workers and a major producers’ group.
“This situation is not about Dave Halls. … It’s in no way one person’s fault,” she said. “It’s a bigger conversation about safety on set and what we are trying to achieve with that culture.”
The film’s chief electrician Serge Svetnoy blamed producers for Hutchins’ death in an emotional Facebook post on Sunday. Svetnoy said he had worked with Hutchins on multiple films and faulted “negligence and unprofessionalism” among those handling weapons on the set. He said producers hired an inexperienced armorer.
Hollywood professionals say they’re baffled by the circumstances and production crews have quickly stepped up safety measures.
Jeffrey Wright, who has worked on projects including the James Bond franchise and the upcoming movie “The Batman,” was acting with a weapon on the set of “Westworld” when news broke of the shooting Thursday at a New Mexico ranch. “We were all pretty shocked. And it informed what we did from that moment on,” he said in an interview Sunday at the Newport Beach Film Festival.
“I don’t recall ever being handed a weapon that was not cleared in front of me — meaning chamber open, barrel shown to me, light flashed inside the barrel to make sure that it’s cleared,” Wright said. “Clearly, that was a mismanaged set.”
Actor Ray Liotta agreed with Wright that the checks on firearms are usually extensive.
“They always — that I know of — they check it so you can see,” Liotta said. “They give it to the person you’re pointing the gun at, they do it to the producer, they show whoever is there that it doesn’t work.”
A vigil for Hutchins was held Sunday in Southern California, where attendees exchanged tearful hugs and speakers echoed calls for heightened safety standards.
Baldwin, who is known for his roles in “30 Rock” and “The Hunt for Red October” and his impression of former President Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live,” has described the killing as a “tragic accident.”
Alec Baldwin was careful with guns before fatal shooting, crew member says | WGN-TV (wgntv.com)
SmithJ
Veteran Member
Baldwin is the darling of the left. He will be protected and the little people on the set will be crucified.
Doc1
Has No Life - Lives on TB
What follows is only intended for those who already know how to reload or load muzzle-loading black powder firearms.
For anyone interested - and this is only tangentially related to the topic - anyone (with a little common sense) can make interesting and (fairly) safe blanks with black powder and newspaper. In the interests of safety, I'll point out that these blanks are dangerous at very close range and are perfectly capable of hurting someone.
Loading a muzzle-loading firearm or a cartridge firearm with a modest load of fast black powder - this would be FFFFg or FFFg powder - in your rifle, pistol or revolver and covering it with a tightly compressed wad/ball of dry newspaper works a treat. When fired, it will produce a big bang and a cloud of smoke with virtually no recoil. At night or at dusk, will produce a satisfying shower of sparks. The newspaper wad leaves the firearm as shredded confetti. Because there is no bullet involved and the charge is only pushing a newspaper wad, there's no danger of excess pressure or blowing up a gun.
I used to do this for my son and his friends when they were kids, especially on the 4th of July or New Year's Eve. They loved it! Again, these loads can hurt someone if they are fired at them at very close range, so treat them as real, live rounds and, of course, follow all firearms safety rules!
This will work in percussion revolvers, but only load one chamber. If you load multiple chambers there is a risk that it can ignite adjacent chambers.
If you are a parent or grandparent, this little trick can make you look like a hero to the kids and give them a memorable holiday.
Best
Doc
For anyone interested - and this is only tangentially related to the topic - anyone (with a little common sense) can make interesting and (fairly) safe blanks with black powder and newspaper. In the interests of safety, I'll point out that these blanks are dangerous at very close range and are perfectly capable of hurting someone.
Loading a muzzle-loading firearm or a cartridge firearm with a modest load of fast black powder - this would be FFFFg or FFFg powder - in your rifle, pistol or revolver and covering it with a tightly compressed wad/ball of dry newspaper works a treat. When fired, it will produce a big bang and a cloud of smoke with virtually no recoil. At night or at dusk, will produce a satisfying shower of sparks. The newspaper wad leaves the firearm as shredded confetti. Because there is no bullet involved and the charge is only pushing a newspaper wad, there's no danger of excess pressure or blowing up a gun.
I used to do this for my son and his friends when they were kids, especially on the 4th of July or New Year's Eve. They loved it! Again, these loads can hurt someone if they are fired at them at very close range, so treat them as real, live rounds and, of course, follow all firearms safety rules!
This will work in percussion revolvers, but only load one chamber. If you load multiple chambers there is a risk that it can ignite adjacent chambers.
If you are a parent or grandparent, this little trick can make you look like a hero to the kids and give them a memorable holiday.
Best
Doc
hunybee
Veteran Member
That is true. But those things do cost money to do. Not saying that is why, but it is a consideration.
vector7
Dot Collector
Executive Director of San Diego County Gun Owners Michael Schwartz discussed the deadly misfire on the set of "Rust."
He says the accident was avoidable, and a loaded gun should never have been on a movie set.
View: https://twitter.com/KUSINews/status/1452655418656788481?s=20
He says the accident was avoidable, and a loaded gun should never have been on a movie set.
View: https://twitter.com/KUSINews/status/1452655418656788481?s=20
The labor cost in making a special "blank" gun from scratch or modifying an existing firearm to fire only blanks is likely far more than simply buying a firearm at a pawn shop.
As an aside, some movie machine guns actually are fueled by propane to get a dramatic muzzle flash effect on film. I'm sure those are not cheap to make.
Big budget movies, unlike "Rust", set very high standards for realism, training and safety.
Gun porn montage from the movie "Sucker Punch" set to high energy electronic music,
R/T 7:11
Funker Vogt Arising Hero Faderhead Remix Burnt Extended
View: https://youtu.be/6-czUmtw88Q
Hardcore preparation for the movie "Sucker Punch". Note the use of live ammo for some of the training.
R/T 5:09
Sucker Punch - Behind the scenes - Training the cast
View: https://youtu.be/L7leHv3d11E
Gun porn montage from the movie "Sucker Punch" set to high energy electronic music,
R/T 7:11
Funker Vogt Arising Hero Faderhead Remix Burnt Extended
Hardcore preparation for the movie "Sucker Punch". Note the use of live ammo for some of the training.
R/T 5:09
Sucker Punch - Behind the scenes - Training the cast
I’m going to disagree. This was a low budget film. “Realism” is not something a low budget film cares much about. More generally, most westerns throughout both TV and movie history also don’t strive for realism vis-a-vis the powder charge used to fire a cartridge.
Ping Jockey
Inactive
There are plenty of Property Masters/Gun Wranglers who cater to the film industry. Their only business is renting or leasing any type of ‘special’ blank firing weapons, especially where dated or period weapons are to be used such as westerns or specific battles of the civil war, WWI and II.
I’ve no idea of what the costs would be for such services. If these wranglers are to assume any liability for accidental or negligent discharges I would say their costs would be extreme. And that they would be severe against anyone, including actors, who violate any of their safety rules.
I do believe you are quite correct in that this whole fiasco production was bare bones and ran only by the skin of their collective backsides. Far too many shortcuts and far too little attention paid to the details such as proper weapons safety. Given the narcissist was one of the ones in charge I’d say they cut any and all costs down to the bone.
Ping Jockey
Inactive
Just one gun wrangler service:
Movie Gun Services LLC
New York's #1 provider of LIVE blank-fire firearms, Exotic Weapons for TV, Film & Print
www.moviegunservices.com
Good points. Hollywood is an industry with a all kinds of vendors supplying all kinds of goods and services.
As a co-producer, Alec Baldwin was responsible for all of the financial, hiring, and logistical considerations during the making of the movie.
A deficiency in any aspect is the responsibility of the producer/producers.
thompson
Certa Bonum Certamen
Click on the link and scroll allllll the way down the page of this article:
Running the cursor over the blue hyperlink on the page shows a link that apparently allows anyone to create a fake news story.
Also, while there IS a legitimate news source called WGN, the initials here stand for worldgreynews.
I HATE FAKERS!ETA: Check out their "about" section:
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Walrus Whisperer
Hope in chains...
I truly think Baldwin committed murder. He needs to fry.
It's all a big dream/movie.
It's all a big dream/movie.
Profit of Doom
Dismember
Referring to previous “misfires”
bw
Fringe Ranger
We've got an enthusiastic lynch mob here. Don't follow the guy myself, never saw him on SNL, don't care what his politics are, so don't have a dog in this fight. Sounds more to me like real sloppy property/armorer performance.
Profit of Doom
Dismember
I always use a condom. Except for that one live round...
Walrus Whisperer
Hope in chains...
The Snack Artist
Membership Revoked
Here's an angle I haven't seen yet. I own a Peacemaker. I was handling it yesterday. To unload it one must open the eyebrow on the right side of the weapon, then let the round fall out. Move on to all other chambers. Or, you can pull the rod out the front and the cylinder comes out of the gun. It is NOT like a newer type handgun. It shoots in single action only. That's why you see the cowboy in the movie jackhammering the hammer to get off consecutive firings with multiple targets like a shoot out.
It would seem to me this safety precaution wasn't used. This gun is not like a modern weapon where one can hinge open the cylinder and load, check, empty, the firearm. It has to be done with every chamber in the cylinder, one at a time. Or, when cleaning you take the cylinder out of the weapon.
Somebody was using the gun for target shooting. I'll bet it wasn't emptied and checked and rechecked.
As far as the kiddie porn I'll reserve judgement on that. One more thing. Why alec baldwin and why now?
It would seem to me this safety precaution wasn't used. This gun is not like a modern weapon where one can hinge open the cylinder and load, check, empty, the firearm. It has to be done with every chamber in the cylinder, one at a time. Or, when cleaning you take the cylinder out of the weapon.
Somebody was using the gun for target shooting. I'll bet it wasn't emptied and checked and rechecked.
As far as the kiddie porn I'll reserve judgement on that. One more thing. Why alec baldwin and why now?
pauldingbabe
The Great Cat
For a Peacemaker, first the hammer must be at half cock to free the cylinder. Then the loading gate has to be open for access to the chambers. To load it, Load one, skip one, load four, go to full cock then ease the hammer down on the empty chamber. And don't mess up. With an old design single action, the hammer MUST be down on an empty chamber or a sufficient blow to the hammer will fire the cartridge in that chamber.
Updated revolver designs use a transfer bar and all six chambers can be loaded. What Is a Transfer Bar System? - The Shooter's Log (cheaperthandirt.com)
Updated revolver designs use a transfer bar and all six chambers can be loaded. What Is a Transfer Bar System? - The Shooter's Log (cheaperthandirt.com)
Ragnarok
On and On, South of Heaven
'Careless' and 'inexperienced' armorer, 24, on Alec Baldwin Rust set halted filming on last movie - starring Nic Cage - after 'giving gun to child actress, 11, on set'
A fellow Rust crew member referred to Gutierrez-Reed as being 'inexperienced and green,' alleging that there had been at least two incidents of guns being discharged on set before Thursday's fatal accident.
Rust crew members claim there were several complaints made against the armorer on the set and that at least six 'fed-up' people had walked off the set prior to Gutierrez-Reed handing Baldwin the gun that killed Hutchins.
The crew made their complaints directly to assistant director Dave Hall - who is named in the search warrant affidavit as the person handed Baldwin the gun that killed Hutchins and told him it was safe - and demanded all the discharges were documented.
'All of us yelled at him, 'That better be on the production report, these guys are irresponsible and shouldn't be here,' a production source said.
'That should be automatic grounds for termination on a union film set, you should be gone. The first time that gun went off without telling anybody, that whole department should have been replaced, immediately. Clearly production thought better of it, decided to roll the dice and pay the ultimate price.'
A search warrant released Friday said that Gutierrez-Reed laid out three prop guns on a cart outside the filming location, and first assistant director Dave Halls grabbed the gun from the cart and brought it inside to Alec Baldwin, unaware that it was loaded with live rounds.
'Cold gun!' shouted Halls before handing the gun to Baldwin, using the phrase to signal to cast and crew that the gun was safe to fire for the scene, the warrant said.
Seconds later, filming a scene inside an Old West-style church, Baldwin apparently aimed towards the camera and pulled the trigger, accidentally killing Halyna Hutchins as she filmed him, and injuring director Joel Souza, who stood behind her.
Sources on the Rust set have said the fatal incident that killed Hutchins, 42, and injured Souza, 48, was a result of production failings from top to bottom.
They added that assistant director Halls, who handed the gun to Baldwin and told him it was safe, should have checked the weapon.
'He's supposed to be our last line of defense and he failed us,' one of the sources on set said. 'He's the last person that's supposed to look at that firearm.'
A Rust production source told The Daily Beast that there were at least two previous incidents of guns being accidentally discharged by other crewmember on set before Thursday's tragic incident.
The source described Gutierrez-Reed as 'inexperienced and green.'
Gutierrez-Reed had previously admitted she wasn't sure she was ready for the job on The Old Way in an interview before filming started.
'I almost didn't take the job because I wasn't sure if I was ready, but doing it, it went really smoothly,' Gutierrez-Reed said in a podcast interview last month after leading the firearms department for The Old Way, starring Nicolas Cage - her first time as head armorer.
She also admitted in the podcast interview she found loading blanks into a gun 'the scariest' thing because she did not know how to do it and had sought help from her father, legendary gunsmith Thell Reed, to get over the fear.
It comes as the film crew revealed they walked off set hours before the fatal accident over safety fears after firearms were accidentally discharged three times - including once by Baldwin's stunt double who had been told the gun was not loaded, and twice in a closed cabin.
Neither Halls nor Gutierrez-Reed immediately returned messages from DailyMail.com late on Friday. Neither has been charged or named as a criminal suspect in the case, though a police investigation is ongoing.
The gun that fired the fatal shot was a vintage-style Colt revolver, DailyMail.com has exclusively learned.
After the shooting, the armorer took possession of the gun and a spent casing, which were turned over to police, along with other prop guns and ammunition used on the set.
Baldwin also changed out of the Western costume he was wearing, which was stained with blood, and turned it over to police.
The warrant does not reveal the model or caliber of the prop gun that fired the fatal bullet, but the film is set in the Old West of the 1880s and DailyMail.com has learned it was a Colt.
The warrant was obtained Friday so that investigators could document the scene at the ranch where the shooting took place.
Unionized workers had walked off the set hours before the fatal shooting, after they complained about long hours, shoddy conditions and another safety incident days earlier involving 'two misfires' of a prop weapon.
A yet-unnamed prop master who oversaw the gun used in the fatal shooting was a non-union worker who was 'just brought in' to replace the workers who left over safety concerns, a source involved in the movie told the New York Post.
It's unclear whether Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer, had recently joined the production, or was one of the crew members who stayed behind after the walk-off.
However, a link in her Instagram bio points to an article about Rust from May, suggesting she had been attached to the production for some time.
Unionized employees had been complaining about the fact they had to stay overnight in Albuquerque - an hour's drive from the set - and not Sante Fe because production wouldn't pay for their hotels, according to sources cited by The Los Angeles Times and multiple social media posts by film and TV insiders.
When they turned up to set to clear their things on Thursday, they found they'd been replaced by locals.
It begs the question of who those local workers were, what their training was and to what extent did they check the weapon before it was handed to Baldwin.
Deadline also cites an unnamed source who said a gun had gone off 'in a cabin' while someone was holding it, days prior to the shooting that killed Hutchins.
'A gun had two misfires in a closed cabin. They just fired loud pops – a person was just holding it in their hands and it went off,' they said, apparently referring to unintentional discharges.
Rust Production LLC did not respond to repeated requests for comment from DailyMail.com on Friday about the incident, but members of the union that represents many of the crew who were involved in the production said they had expressed fears about on-set safety.
Baldwin first addressed the tragedy on Twitter Friday: '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 and I am in touch 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.'
He then tweeted a Variety article titled Alec Baldwin Was Told Prop Gun Was Safe Before Fatal Shooting, Affidavit Says.
He was pictured doubled over in grief on Thursday after speaking to the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department immediately following the shooting.
Hutchins' husband shared a touching tribute to his wife on Twitter on Friday. Matthew Hutchins tweeted a photo of his wife and their 9-year-old son Andros on Friday captioned: 'Halyna inspired us all with her passion and vision, and her legacy is too meaningful to encapsulate in words.
'Our loss is enormous, and we ask that the media please respect my family's privacy as we process our grief. We thank everyone for sharing images and stories of her life.'
His Facebook profile picture is a photo of the couple who had been married for 16 years. His bio now reads: 'We miss you, Halyna.'
A private memorial was held in Santa Fe last night with Matthew, Andros, and Baldwin in attendance, according to ShowBiz411. It was reported that grief counselors were present at the service.
The grieving husband told DailyMail.com on Friday morning that he had spoken with the actor. 'I have spoken with Alec Baldwin and he is being very supportive,' he said.
Zak Knight, a pyrotechnic and special effects engineer who is a member of Local 44, told DailyMail.com on Friday: 'There should have never been live rounds on a movie set, that's number one. Number two is every single person on a movie set has a right to inspect a weapon before it's fired. And number three is, there is no reason to ever put a person in front of a weapon that's firing.
'Anytime you see a movie where the barrel is pointed down the camera lens, there should not be an operator behind it. It's obvious that the considerations of this resulted in that gun being pointed directly at two people.
'We would have additionally had a barrier between them. A large number of people failed to do our protocols... every accident is a cascade of events,' he said.
Whatever happened in the moments leading up to her death, Knight said it was caused by a 'cascade of failures' by multiple people. 'We have a hard and fast rule that no live ammunition ever goes into a prop truck or set at any time. We just don't do it.
'If you see bullets on set they are complete dummy rounds and are in no way functional. This goes back to Brandon Lee. There's protocol.' Lee was killed in a similar incident when another actor shot him with a prop gun that was loaded with live ammunition while filming The Crow in 1993.
Knight added that different gun laws between New Mexico and California may have also contributed to the accident. In California, both a trained armorer and a prop master is required on a film set and those are the standards the union adheres to as well.
'You will find the best and most well-trained individuals in Los Angeles. You can't guarantee that as you go across the country,' he told DailyMail.com on Friday.
www.dailymail.co.uk
A fellow Rust crew member referred to Gutierrez-Reed as being 'inexperienced and green,' alleging that there had been at least two incidents of guns being discharged on set before Thursday's fatal accident.
Rust crew members claim there were several complaints made against the armorer on the set and that at least six 'fed-up' people had walked off the set prior to Gutierrez-Reed handing Baldwin the gun that killed Hutchins.
The crew made their complaints directly to assistant director Dave Hall - who is named in the search warrant affidavit as the person handed Baldwin the gun that killed Hutchins and told him it was safe - and demanded all the discharges were documented.
'All of us yelled at him, 'That better be on the production report, these guys are irresponsible and shouldn't be here,' a production source said.
'That should be automatic grounds for termination on a union film set, you should be gone. The first time that gun went off without telling anybody, that whole department should have been replaced, immediately. Clearly production thought better of it, decided to roll the dice and pay the ultimate price.'
A search warrant released Friday said that Gutierrez-Reed laid out three prop guns on a cart outside the filming location, and first assistant director Dave Halls grabbed the gun from the cart and brought it inside to Alec Baldwin, unaware that it was loaded with live rounds.
'Cold gun!' shouted Halls before handing the gun to Baldwin, using the phrase to signal to cast and crew that the gun was safe to fire for the scene, the warrant said.
Seconds later, filming a scene inside an Old West-style church, Baldwin apparently aimed towards the camera and pulled the trigger, accidentally killing Halyna Hutchins as she filmed him, and injuring director Joel Souza, who stood behind her.
Sources on the Rust set have said the fatal incident that killed Hutchins, 42, and injured Souza, 48, was a result of production failings from top to bottom.
They added that assistant director Halls, who handed the gun to Baldwin and told him it was safe, should have checked the weapon.
'He's supposed to be our last line of defense and he failed us,' one of the sources on set said. 'He's the last person that's supposed to look at that firearm.'
A Rust production source told The Daily Beast that there were at least two previous incidents of guns being accidentally discharged by other crewmember on set before Thursday's tragic incident.
The source described Gutierrez-Reed as 'inexperienced and green.'
Gutierrez-Reed had previously admitted she wasn't sure she was ready for the job on The Old Way in an interview before filming started.
'I almost didn't take the job because I wasn't sure if I was ready, but doing it, it went really smoothly,' Gutierrez-Reed said in a podcast interview last month after leading the firearms department for The Old Way, starring Nicolas Cage - her first time as head armorer.
She also admitted in the podcast interview she found loading blanks into a gun 'the scariest' thing because she did not know how to do it and had sought help from her father, legendary gunsmith Thell Reed, to get over the fear.
It comes as the film crew revealed they walked off set hours before the fatal accident over safety fears after firearms were accidentally discharged three times - including once by Baldwin's stunt double who had been told the gun was not loaded, and twice in a closed cabin.
Neither Halls nor Gutierrez-Reed immediately returned messages from DailyMail.com late on Friday. Neither has been charged or named as a criminal suspect in the case, though a police investigation is ongoing.
The gun that fired the fatal shot was a vintage-style Colt revolver, DailyMail.com has exclusively learned.
After the shooting, the armorer took possession of the gun and a spent casing, which were turned over to police, along with other prop guns and ammunition used on the set.
Baldwin also changed out of the Western costume he was wearing, which was stained with blood, and turned it over to police.
The warrant does not reveal the model or caliber of the prop gun that fired the fatal bullet, but the film is set in the Old West of the 1880s and DailyMail.com has learned it was a Colt.
The warrant was obtained Friday so that investigators could document the scene at the ranch where the shooting took place.
Unionized workers had walked off the set hours before the fatal shooting, after they complained about long hours, shoddy conditions and another safety incident days earlier involving 'two misfires' of a prop weapon.
A yet-unnamed prop master who oversaw the gun used in the fatal shooting was a non-union worker who was 'just brought in' to replace the workers who left over safety concerns, a source involved in the movie told the New York Post.
It's unclear whether Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer, had recently joined the production, or was one of the crew members who stayed behind after the walk-off.
However, a link in her Instagram bio points to an article about Rust from May, suggesting she had been attached to the production for some time.
Unionized employees had been complaining about the fact they had to stay overnight in Albuquerque - an hour's drive from the set - and not Sante Fe because production wouldn't pay for their hotels, according to sources cited by The Los Angeles Times and multiple social media posts by film and TV insiders.
When they turned up to set to clear their things on Thursday, they found they'd been replaced by locals.
It begs the question of who those local workers were, what their training was and to what extent did they check the weapon before it was handed to Baldwin.
Deadline also cites an unnamed source who said a gun had gone off 'in a cabin' while someone was holding it, days prior to the shooting that killed Hutchins.
'A gun had two misfires in a closed cabin. They just fired loud pops – a person was just holding it in their hands and it went off,' they said, apparently referring to unintentional discharges.
Rust Production LLC did not respond to repeated requests for comment from DailyMail.com on Friday about the incident, but members of the union that represents many of the crew who were involved in the production said they had expressed fears about on-set safety.
Baldwin first addressed the tragedy on Twitter Friday: '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 and I am in touch 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.'
He then tweeted a Variety article titled Alec Baldwin Was Told Prop Gun Was Safe Before Fatal Shooting, Affidavit Says.
He was pictured doubled over in grief on Thursday after speaking to the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department immediately following the shooting.
Hutchins' husband shared a touching tribute to his wife on Twitter on Friday. Matthew Hutchins tweeted a photo of his wife and their 9-year-old son Andros on Friday captioned: 'Halyna inspired us all with her passion and vision, and her legacy is too meaningful to encapsulate in words.
'Our loss is enormous, and we ask that the media please respect my family's privacy as we process our grief. We thank everyone for sharing images and stories of her life.'
His Facebook profile picture is a photo of the couple who had been married for 16 years. His bio now reads: 'We miss you, Halyna.'
A private memorial was held in Santa Fe last night with Matthew, Andros, and Baldwin in attendance, according to ShowBiz411. It was reported that grief counselors were present at the service.
The grieving husband told DailyMail.com on Friday morning that he had spoken with the actor. 'I have spoken with Alec Baldwin and he is being very supportive,' he said.
Zak Knight, a pyrotechnic and special effects engineer who is a member of Local 44, told DailyMail.com on Friday: 'There should have never been live rounds on a movie set, that's number one. Number two is every single person on a movie set has a right to inspect a weapon before it's fired. And number three is, there is no reason to ever put a person in front of a weapon that's firing.
'Anytime you see a movie where the barrel is pointed down the camera lens, there should not be an operator behind it. It's obvious that the considerations of this resulted in that gun being pointed directly at two people.
'We would have additionally had a barrier between them. A large number of people failed to do our protocols... every accident is a cascade of events,' he said.
Whatever happened in the moments leading up to her death, Knight said it was caused by a 'cascade of failures' by multiple people. 'We have a hard and fast rule that no live ammunition ever goes into a prop truck or set at any time. We just don't do it.
'If you see bullets on set they are complete dummy rounds and are in no way functional. This goes back to Brandon Lee. There's protocol.' Lee was killed in a similar incident when another actor shot him with a prop gun that was loaded with live ammunition while filming The Crow in 1993.
Knight added that different gun laws between New Mexico and California may have also contributed to the accident. In California, both a trained armorer and a prop master is required on a film set and those are the standards the union adheres to as well.
'You will find the best and most well-trained individuals in Los Angeles. You can't guarantee that as you go across the country,' he told DailyMail.com on Friday.
Careless armorer gave gun to child on Alec Baldwin Rust set
Sources claim Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 24, had a history of reckless behavior around weapons and was 'a bit careless with guns'. She reportedly gave a gun to a child actress without checking it.
bw
Fringe Ranger
I'll take your word for it. Don't know anything about him other than word of mouth, never saw him in a film.