UPDATE: In an email sent to its membership early on Friday morning, film union IATSE Local 44 said a prop gun fired by Alec Baldwin contained a “live round” that struck and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust in New Mexico.
As first reported by Indiewire, the union, which covers propmasters, told its membership that the prop gun had a live round in it, but that the production’s propmaster was not a union member.
I couldn't sleep last night with all the messages I had about the tragic accident on set yesterday in Sante Fe.
As I laid awake, I think I replayed the over 1 million rounds of blanks firing I have been apart of in my career.
I thought about how much safer the industry became after the tragic death of Brandon Lee.
I thought about my safety talks every morning of the "Open Range" shoot out that started with me saying "My Job as a Prop Master is to send you home safe tonight, and for that to happen you have to listen to me. I will have the final say as to whether it is safe or not."
I thought about the time I told the producer I would lock the guns up if safety was being compromised and him going off on me, but I would not back down.
I thought about the time I would not let a Director have an actor shoot a revolver at somebodies face, and him undressing me verbally in front of the crew, but I did not back down.
I thought about the only time Kevin Costner got mad at me during the "Open Range" shootout when he changed the angle of a close up shot and I said we have to change to our special electric gun that would take 10 minutes while we were in meal penalty.
At the end of the scene he thanked me and said he got caught up in the adrenaline of the moment and invited me to ride to lunch with him.
I thought about all the rifles, cannons and Machine guns on "Legends of the Fall, Ararat, and Passchendaele". I thought about the plastic rods we used on every rifle so we could tell the barrels were clear when they left, and if any had obstructions when they were returned.
I thought about dry firing every revolver that was being used in a rehearsal so all knew it was safe.
I thought about the late Dennis Weaver who asked my why I was continuously showing him is Colt was safe. My answer "It was out of your sight, and I want you to know it is safe. He told me the story about being given a prop gun in the 50's and during a break, he decided to #### it and pull the trigger. To his shock he fired a bullet into the floor. He had been given a loaded gun. He then said, you can stop showing me, I trust you.
I thought about the guy who brought us a vintage Luger to use in a film, and as a bonus he brought us a box of live ammo. We told him to remove it from our office.
I thought about the time I had a weird gut feeling to dry fire my camera ready ammo as I was cycling it through a Winchester. Only to find out the primers were still partially live and pushed the head of the bullet into the rifle barrel. After a heated conversation with my ammo supplier the way primers were made inert was changed.
I thought about the T-Rods we made to make sure every open barrel weapon had clear barrels before we loaded blanks. We also look down them with flashlights.
I thought about my line "Safety will never be sacrificed for a sunset" in reference to the crazy last hour in perfect light.
I thought about all the people I told, you cannot stand there. Do you need to be here? Can you pull focus from the other side of the camera. We need to put lexan up. Can this camera run remotely?
I thought about the Kevlar vest I carried on my truck as an extra level of protection for people
I thought about the armourers who if they were loud, brash gun lovers, were never invited back to my set. To me it is a tool I have to make sure is safe in a performers hand that is all. I like quiet pros. I learned that from the late Eddie Aiona who got quieter when the firearms were out. I am also very quiet.
I thought about the camera operator who said to me a few years ago "I am always happy to see you on a set because I know we will be safe." There is a responsibility for all Prop Masters in that line,
I thought about the growth of our industry in the past decade and the pressure new Prop Masters must feel without the wealth of experience and mentorship.
I thought about the accountant on a big show a few years ago who said "Props is usually an after-thought in the budget." That is what new Prop Masters have to deal with.
I thought about both Alec and Francis who I worked with and what they are going through.
My heart broke for the young Cinematographer who lost her life.
I thought we as a group have to figure out how to never let this happen again.
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While I admit to being ignorant to movie making I have to question how a live round would even make its way to a filmmaking site or mixed with guns being used for props? Seems like the kind of thing that would happen if someone was being set up.
I think it's probably time to give up on any guns firing and do it all in vfx. They can create entire worlds in CGI, some muzzle flashes shouldn't be to much work.
I think it's probably time to give up on any guns firing and do it all in vfx. They can create entire worlds in CGI, some muzzle flashes shouldn't be to much work.
This would drive me crazy, the lack of the ejection port covering opening would do my head in.
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
Corporal Jean-Marc H. BECHARD, 6 Aug 1993
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Originally Posted by Sliver
Just ignore me...I'm in a mood today.
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While I admit to being ignorant to movie making I have to question how a live round would even make its way to a filmmaking site or mixed with guns being used for props? Seems like the kind of thing that would happen if someone was being set up.
The union sure seemed to quick to jump on this as an opportunity to show how dangerous it is to use non-union prop staff and not sure how they are so quick to know that it was a live round. I'm not suggesting that it is at all likely they were somehow involved, but it seemed a little self serving and opportunistic, and not sure if their information is reliable.
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Alec Baldwin is very anti-gun too, I have to imagine this kind of thing really hurts for him considering he's campaigned to end gun violence for a long time.
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He was also arrested and charged a while back for picking fights with random people on the streets of NYC.
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I'll say it to you right here, you couldn't say that to my face or anyone else on here you little irrelevant beta.
Same energy.
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Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger
Alec Baldwin is very anti-gun too, I have to imagine this kind of thing really hurts for him considering he's campaigned to end gun violence for a long time.
I can't imagine being in his shoes. Not all the therapy in the world would help me if this happened to me. Halyna Hutchins sounds like she was loved on every set, including this one. Just awful.
There were already 2 (or 3?) accidental discharges on set, and people were already expressing concern over their safety. With zero meetings or changes resulting from them.
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Three crew members who were present at the Bonanza Creek Ranch set that day said they were particularly concerned about two accidental prop gun discharges on Saturday.
Baldwin’s stunt double accidentally fired two rounds Saturday after being told that the gun was “cold” — lingo for a weapon that doesn’t have any ammunition, including blanks, two crew members who witnessed the episode told the Los Angeles Times. “There should have been an investigation into what happened,” said the crew member. “There were no safety meetings. There was no assurance that it wouldn’t happen again. All they wanted to do was rush, rush, rush.”
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A colleague was so alarmed by the prop gun misfires he sent a text message to the unit production manager. “We’ve now had 3 accidental discharges. This is super unsafe,” according to a copy of the message reviewed by The Times.
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Keep seeing the term "accident" being used to describe what happened.
There is no such thing as an accident with firearms. Someone ####ed up.
Meh, it's just formality. Everyone knows that accidents are sometimes accidental and sometimes caused by mistakes/recklessness/undue car etc. Almost every car accident was someone ****ing up, but we still call them accidents and then they're investigated and charges are laid if applicable. Nothing to get worked up over.
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Yeah it’s literally the definition of an accident. Incompetence and carelessness can still result in an accident. The word doesn’t imply it was an act of god. The alternative is that it was on purpose, which it wasn’t.
And why just firearms that are immune to accidents? Why not cars crashes? Or forest fires?
The Following User Says Thank You to Cecil Terwilliger For This Useful Post:
Two previous near misses, with no safety meetings or corrective action taken.
Improper procedures by inexperienced, uncaring workers handling lethal devices who apparently are being 'rushed' through their work.
In the workplace, which this is, it would be called a preventable incident that now has one person dead and another injured.
I'm sure occupational health and safety would declare, meh... just a formality.
One of the world's leading anti gun violence dickheads who's earned a living glorifying gun violence now has blood on his hands cuz he's dumber than a sack of hammers, and is being led by other people who are as equally dumb and have no business being around firearms.
If this was a car "accident" involving two parties where someone passes, investigations occur to find out if someone is criminally liable or at best, negligent. Which is a fancy way of saying they ####ed up.
If its a forest fire that isn't an act of God, but either arson or a act of negligence from tossed cigs, unattended campfire ect that destroys property and the guilty party is found, they can and will be held criminally liable.
We can assume this wasn't deliberate, but after two previous near misses, no corrective action, and now someone has died, you can bet someone will be held criminally liable since it was 100% completely avoidable.
Aka, not an accident. Someone ####ed up.
There were already 2 (or 3?) accidental discharges on set, and people were already expressing concern over their safety. With zero meetings or changes resulting from them.
The whole thing looks incredibly bad for the producers. Part of the crew had already abandoned the project and had been replaced by non-union people. The movie was clearly in financial trouble as people weren't being paid on time.
The armorer responsible for the guns was a 24-year old on her second film.
...and the gun discharged "accidentally", which means either Baldwin was horsing around or mishandled the gun by accident, neither of which are a good look for a veteran actor.
People responsible for the project, indluding Baldwin, are going to end up paying heavily for what happened.