Last Thursday, actor Alec Baldwin, 63, accidentally discharged a revolver while prepping a scene in his new Western “Rust,” resulting in the death of the film’s director of photography, Halyna Hutchins.
The 42-year-old cinematographer was struck in the chest with a live round shot from a gun Baldwin believed to be “cold” – film production lingo used to describe an unloaded firearm. She died in flight during an emergency transport to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where the also-struck director Joel Souza was treated for a shoulder wound, and released the same night.
“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,” Baldwin tweeted. “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.”
As TMZ would first report days later, crewmembers used the same revolver that delivered the fatal blow earlier that day for “pinking” – target practice by way of shooting beer cans during downtime; just one in a series of disconcerting facts pertaining to the production that’s still under active investigation.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies confirmed criminal charges are still possible, but won’t be filed anytime soon.
“It’s probably weeks, if not months, of follow-up investigation that we’re going to need to get to the point of charging,” she said in an interview with the New York Times.
Warrants issued by New Mexico police revealed several of the film’s camera crew had walked off set mere hours earlier over housing, payment and working condition disputes – forcing producers on “Rust” to replace said walkouts with non-union crew. The accident occurred during a week where below-the-line IATSE union members throughout the film and TV production world were already striking for reform that could prevent such unfortunate tragedies from happening in the first place.
It is standard for the typical movie set to deploy certified propmasters who are required to demonstrate the safety of weapons prior to their usage within a shot, scene or extended sequence.
Shortly after the day’s crew lunch break, Baldwin was reportedly sat upon a pew whilst rehearsing his weapon aim and mechanics as Hutchins, Souza, a cameraman and an electricican/gaffer stood before him inside the movie ranch church.
Serge Svetnoy, the electrician on “Rust,” candidly revealed in an October 22 Facebook post that “it’s the fault of negligence and unprofessionalism” which caused Hutchins to die in his arms, alluding that he holds those colleagues of his who failed to check the weapon accountable.
Many ask: in the age of advanced CGI and special effects as a whole, how come guns still appear on set?
In this current era of moviemaking, there is a vast disconnect between what the big-budgeted blockbuster hopefuls can achieve, and what a minimalist indie outing like “Rust” seeks to. Especially when filming a Western, a genre apt to prefer an intimate lens capable of capturing close-ups – frames no fake gun can exist in without instant detection. Therefore, the most authentic-looking weapons are then procured under the slippery slope spell of misguided pride. “Look how much I can do (in this film), with so little reality-confounding resources at my disposal.”
Even after union crewmembers walked off of “Rust,” those who remained seemingly chose to double down on the likely calculated cost-efficiency of deploying non-union replacements in their stead.
Had they simply taken the day to determine how to best improve a compromised work environment rather than push ahead with filming, a woman integral to their production, to the industry, to the world, would still be alive.
“Our hearts go out to the family of Halyna Hutchins and to Joel Souza and all involved in the incident on ‘Rust,’” Shannon Lee, sister of Brandon Lee – who died under similar circumstances while shooting “The Crow” in 1994 – tweeted. “No one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set.”
