Alec Baldwin Firearm Accident

[MechAg94]

I wonder if what would have been normal safety practices were modified because of covid?  Could covid safety be taking precedence over gun safety?
There was a mention in one story that the guns were kept on a cart outside of the set where the fatal scene was being filmed.  This was supposedly due to covid restrictions, though I can't imagine exactly how that would keep folks from catching the bug.

It is possible, but articles have said there were people who walked off the set due to safety concerns and/or lack of pay.  I figure COVID was not high on the list of concerns. 

[AZRedhawk44]

It's important to keep in mind that Hollywood is in the midst of a massive labor strike anways with one of the non-actors' guilds (IATSE) that offers operational support on sets.

The walk-out on the Rust set was led by IATSE crew.

A more conspiratorial mind might even hope the police investigate to see if the walk-off crew were involved in the on-set plinking with the film weaponry, and could have contributed to or even manufactured the unsafe condition deliberately.

I still say Baldwin is morally and ideally legally at fault for the death.  A firearm is a firearm and a trigger yank is a trigger yank.  Being an actor (say it with me, ack-TOR, Ben Kingsley style from Iron Man 3) doesn't absolve you from the act of putting lead into another human any more than any other state of human ignorance of firearms knowledge or safety practices.  But if some union troglodyte contributed to the problem deliberately, that implicates IATSE in conspiracy.

[WLJ]

A more conspiratorial mind might even hope the police investigate to see if the walk-off crew were involved in the on-set plinking with the film weaponry, and could have contributed to or even manufactured the unsafe condition deliberately.

I brought up the possibility that one of the disgruntled workers could have tampered with the gun and/or ammo earlier.
But
That doesn't get the armorer and the co-director, who told Balwin the gun was cold (unloaded), off the hook because they should have at the very least checked the gun before it was handed to him.

[Ben]

That doesn't get the armorer and the co-director, who told Balwin the gun was cold (unloaded), off the hook because they should have at the very least checked the gun before it was handed to him.

I've been leaning towards the associate producer taking the gun off the cart without checking with the gun girl.

[WLJ]

I've been leaning towards the associate producer taking the gun off the cart without checking with the gun girl.

Was it the associate producer or the associate director that handed the gun to Baldwin? I thought it was the AD. And are co-dir and assoc dir the same thing?

[Ben]

Was it the associate producer or the associate director that handed the gun to Baldwin? I thought it was the AD. And are co-dir and assoc dir the same thing?

Sorry, I meant the assistant director, Dave Halls.

[WLJ]

Okay, what's the correct term to use here or are they interchangeable? I've heard him called all three.
Co-Director?
Associate Director?
Assistant Director?

[dogmush]

As more background and previous interviews and statements come out, it's seeming more and more like the armorer wasn't really qualified, and created a very unsafe and blasé attitude around her firearms.

[just Warren]

It's a film set, how is there no footage of what happened?

Aren't the cameras rolling all the time?

Aren't there people doing behind-the-scenes filming for "making of" specials?

Random crew with their phones surreptitiously videoing for the sharing on Tik-Tubes?

[WLJ]

It's a film set, how is there no footage of what happened?

Aren't the cameras rolling all the time?

I think I read they were rehearsing. Which would also explain why the gun  was suppose to be "cold"

[just Warren]

I believe it was a rehearsal

Still though, I've seen numerous clips from rehearsals from TV and movies.

Enough to make me think the cameras are always going.

[WLJ]

Sorry about the above, changed my wording a bit and you beat me to it.

Still though, I've seen numerous clips from rehearsals from TV and movies.

Enough to make me think the cameras are always going.

There very well could be film that we haven't heard of/seen yet but I doubt the cameras are always going.

[zxcvbob]

It's a film set, how is there no footage of what happened?

Aren't the cameras rolling all the time?

Aren't there people doing behind-the-scenes filming for "making of" specials?

Random crew with their phones surreptitiously videoing for the sharing on Tik-Tubes?

He was playing with the gun between takes.  (what kind of idiot points a gun at another person for that instead of, I dunno, that coffee cup over there?)

There might be some unofficial video that we don't know about yet.

[MechAg94]

I also question why any rehearsal or shot required that gun to be pointed and fired at the cinematographer. 

[Perd Hapley]

I could see Baldwin retiring to become a full-time gun-grabber. He'd probably be a lot more effective than most of those who've tried. Dang it.

[WLJ]

I also question why any rehearsal or shot required that gun to be pointed and fired at the cinematographer.

Plenty of shots in movies where the gun is fired towards the camera and I'm sure they rehearse to get the lighting and camera angles right which again would explain why the gun was suppose to be "cold". But unfortunately in this case the gun went bang instead of click.

There's still the possibility he was playing around.

[Jim147]

If it isn't inert it is ert.

[WLJ]

If it isn't inert it is ert.

Outert 

[Hawkmoon]

Still though, I've seen numerous clips from rehearsals from TV and movies.

Enough to make me think the cameras are always going.

The union camera operators had mostly walked off the project. As a result, the scene was being shot with only one camera, which was not rolling at the time of the incident because they were doing a dry run.

That doesn't preclude the possibility that someone may hav cell phone video, but there won't be actual footage "in the can."

[bedlamite]

[Perd Hapley]

Could covid safety be taking precedence over gun safety?

Haven't you been paying attention the last year-and-a-half? Covid "safety" overrules everything!!! Everything!!!* No less a luminary than Chris Cuomo himself has told us that covid should "dominate" us.


*Unless you're having a Hate whitey riot, obvy.

[WLJ]

Well this don't look good
They don't say how he was supposedly responsible* though
Edit: I know he's responsible but I mean as in what did he do or nor do?

The assistant director of “Rust” who reportedly handed Alec Baldwin the prop gun that killed Halyna Hutchins was fired from a previous production gig over another firearm incident.

In 2019 when Dave Halls was an assistant director on the movie “Freedom’s Path,” a gun “unexpectedly discharged,” injuring a sound crew member, the production company Rocket Soul Studios told CNN.

‘Rust’ assistant director fired from past gig over another ‘unexpected’ gun discharge
https://nypost.com/2021/10/25/rust-assistant-director-dave-halls-fired-from-past-gig-over-another-unexpected-gun-discharge/

[Hawkmoon]

I was going to post another article that said the same thing.

https://www.newser.com/story/312609/now-scrutiny-of-another-crew-member-on-fatal-baldwin-film.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=uol&utm_campaign=rss_entertainment_img_b

How is he responsible? If you watch the video by the professional Hollywood prop master, according to him the assistant director is the guy who is ultimately responsible for gun safety on the set. He is supposed to check all guns used in the production. According to the video, each gun is supposed to be checked by three people: the armorer, the assistant director, and then the actor who receives the gun.

But ... there have been many, many articles and, so far, it's rare to find even two that agree on all the purported details and "expert, professional" opinions they deliver.

[WLJ]

How is he responsible? If you watch the video by the professional Hollywood prop master, according to him the assistant director is the guy who is ultimately responsible for gun safety on the set. He is supposed to check all guns used in the production. According to the video, each gun is supposed to be checked by three people: the armorer, the assistant director, and then the actor who receives the gun.

I was thinking in terms of what he supposedly did or not do. They don't say.

[Hawkmoon]

Here's the link to the video by the professional prop master.:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP1X5L-AufQ

First, I was encouraged that this guy made the point that this was not a "misfire." The gun functioned as it was designed to. However, he called it an "accidental" discharge, and I don't think it was that, either. Baldwin pulled the trigger. That wasn't an accident. He didn't intend to discharge a live projectile, but the discharge was not an "accident," it was intentional. It was a negligent discharge. The issue to be determined is: whose negligence?

Let's keep on with the video ...

"No live ammo on the set." That protocol was breached. That's the responsibility of the producer(s). And Baldwin is one of the producers, possibly the principal producer.

"Once you have your cart set up, you do not leave it unattended." We don't know if this protocol was being adhered to or not. It would appear that it was not followed, but we don't know that.

"No one should grab a gun except the armorer or the prop master." The AD (Halls) grabbed the gun off the cart and didn't check it in any way before handing it to Baldwin.

However, the prop master in the video then says that the protocol should be for the armorer or the prop master to take the empty gun onto the set, to the first assistant director (Halls), and then clear the gun in front of him. The AD is supposed to handle and shake each dummy round to verify that it's a dummy. Only then are the dummy rounds loaded into the gun. "It's ultimately on the first assistant director to confirm that the gun is safe." Obvious fail here. Apparently NONE of the safety protocols were observed.