On October 21, an up-and-coming cinematographer was fatally shot on the set of Alec Baldwin’s new movie, Rust. Baldwin was practicing for a scene in which his character was trying to save his son from being killed. He pointed his prop gun, which had been declared as cold (no real bullets in gun), at the camera. Director, Joel Souza heard what sounded like “a whip and then a loud pop,” then saw the cinematographer beside him, Haylna Hutchins, clutch her stomach and stumble backwards. He and Hutchins were rushed to the hospital in a helicopter, but Ms. Hutchins did not survive.
Only a few hours beforehand, a half-dozen camera crew workers walked off of set to protest the working conditions, which included waiting long periods of time for paychecks, unreasonably long commutes, lack of safety, and long workdays, and they were then replaced with non-unionized workers. The week before, at least one camera operator complained about gun safety protocols not being followed. Even more devastating, Baldwin’s stunt double had accidentally misfired two shots on set the Saturday before Hutchins’ death and there was no discussion on how to prevent it from happening again; Rust’s production was being rushed and safety was lost along the way.
The set’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, issued a statement deflecting blame and saying safety was her ‘number one priority.’ Reed claims that her superiors rejected her request to have more time to prepare and educate the crew on gun safety and that that’s when things became unsafe. Reed also claims that all guns on the set were always accounted for and that she has no idea where the live ammunition, found in the armorer’s truck, came from.
Rust’s production has come to a halt and whether or not it will be completed remains unclear.
SOURCES
‘Rust’ armorer says she doesn’t know how live ammo got on set, according to attorneys
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