It's been a minute since we had an update on the Rust shooting incident. At the time, if you look back at my posts, my opinion as someone with decades of set experience - and having directed and produced lots of action and stunt sequences - was that the armorer was primarily to blame, as well as the First AD. The entire safety process is in their direct control at all times in the case of weapons on set, and following very simple safety protocol established decades ago would have, as it always does, ensured this tragedy would not have happened. The jury seems to have agreed with me in this case (though other defendants are going to share the blame as well, for various reasons including employer liability). I link to one report here:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hannah-gutierrez-reed-rust-armorer-shooting...
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Midnight Rider already set a precedent here. Along with that 1st A.D., Director Randall Miller and Exec Producer Jay Sedrish were convicted of felony involuntary manslaughter in that case when Sarah Jones 1st A.C. died onset due to an accident caused by negligence. The Rust incident will likely not be blamed entirely on btl crew.
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M LaVoie There's really no similarity between Midnight Rider and Rust. As far as BTL crew, I don't understand the comment, honestly. This isn't a class struggle and the facts were pretty clear about who was in charge of the safety protocols. Owners, producers and employers can't be liable unless those who are supposed to be responsible have failed... In this case the Armorer and the AD failed. Production is responsible under employer's liability for the negligence of the employees.
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Thanks for sharing, Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg. It's been a while since I've heard an update. Hope present and future productions keep safety as #1 priority so nothing like this (and smaller incidents) ever happens again.
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Alec Baldwin has already been indicted on the exact same involuntary felony manslaughter charges. No similarity? Really? The trial is coming up. So I guess we'll see how it goes.
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I understand why the armorer and first AD are responsible, but why is the actor who fired what was supposed to be loaded with blanks criminally liable?
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Suzanne Bronson I'm no legal expert, so take my comment with a grain of salt. To my understanding, Mr. Baldwin was the Producer, so he should have perhaps done a bit of extra due diligence. A few years ago, I produced + filmed a period documentary with reenactments of a robbery. We had a gun on set along with a retired police officer to check the weapon to ensure it was safe to handle in scenes. Even before calling action, I asked to see the weapon myself to check the chamber and barrel was empty. Even dry fired the gun at the ground a few times. Better safe than sorry. We used blanks as well. They look quite a bit different than live rounds. And at no point, were they ever fired at someone. Too risky for injury.
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Stephen Folker exactly. You never point a prop gun that can fire anything at anyone directly. Always off to the side. While replica guns can be held to heads and put in mouths because they have no firing pin and no ability to hold any blanks or bullets.
In this case, during the setup the eyeline was being closed on a very long lens. It's possible Alec might have been directed by Haleyna or Joel to close the eyeline so the angle worked better on monitor. She probably intended to step away from the camera during the actual take. But it was a rehearsal. Still, it was supposed to be a blank and he was pretty far away. Which explains why everyone felt more confident then they should have been. Or worse, they were more scared than they should have been...
Recently claims from many crew express an atmosphere of fear and intimidation and rushing. Many of the key crew actually walked off before the incident and quit the production. This tone is set from the top down by the producer and has a direct impact on the crew's performance including the 1st A.D.'s schedule and set management which can become unrealistic causing crew to fall asleep behind the wheel or make horrible rigging choices that compromise safety. In their own way, toxic producers can be pretty dangerous.
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^^^^ leadership or lack of leadership starts at top and flows down. Never up. If you ever worked as crew for money/livilhood, the set is a dictatorship (my experiences).
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M LaVoie Agree with you 100% on this.
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Thanks Stephen & M!
Based on her subpoena'd texts and recorded phone calls in prison, the armorer showed little remorse and a jarring lack of responsibility for her actions.
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No one should ever ever touch a gun on set unless the armorer has checked it first and gives permission to hold to actor. Never. Period. As a 1st AD for a long time, I don't care who's rushing, I still would not take a gun that hasn't been opened and looked at with a flashlight to assure me it's clear from the armorer or prop person. AFTER that, it's shown to the actor and any surrounding crew until everyone feels it's safe to use. No reason for me to every touch it even if the actor is done with the set up and wants to hand it over.