Alec Baldwin ‘Rust’ camera crew walked off the set in protest before the fatal shooting

LA Times ^ | Meg James

[BenLurkin]

Labor trouble had been brewing for days on the dusty set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe.

The cinematographer who was accidentally killed, Halyna Hutchins, had been advocating for safer conditions for her team, said one crew member who was on the set.

As the camera crew — members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees — spent about an hour assembling their gear at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, several nonunion crew members showed up to replace them, the knowledgeable person said.

A member of the producer staff then ordered the union members to leave the set. She said if they didn’t leave, the producers would call security to remove them.

“Corners were being cut — and they brought in nonunion people so they could continue shooting,” the knowledgeable person said.

There were two misfires on the prop gun on Saturday and one the previous week, the person said, adding “there was a serious lack of safety meetings on this set.”

The shooting occurred about six hours after the union camera crew left.

Baldwin, the film’s star who also served as a producer on the film, was apparently rehearsing a scene outside the church of the Bonzana Creek Ranch set...

The scene involved a gun fight that began in the church, and then Baldwin’s character was supposed to back out of the church, according to production notes obtained by The Times. It was the 12th day of a 21-day shoot.

[eyedigress]

The left won’t circle these wagons for long.

[DiogenesLamp]

Show me the film.

What film? It is my understanding that they weren't filming when this idiot shot her. He was having temper tantrum.

If he is pointing guns at the set crew and pulling a trigger, I have a problem with that.

As would any rational person, but the larger problem is still the matter of a bullet placed into the gun by another party for malicious reasons.

[xp38]

Baldwin was the producer.

COFFEE IS FOR CLOSERS!

[for-q-clinton]

Alec will do anything to get people to watch his movie.

[Scrambler Bob]

Why wasn’t Baldwin arrested immediately on suspicion of homicide. Also why wasn’t he forced to give urine and blood samples for drugs and alcohol analysis?
= = =

YES

Would it be unkind to suggest his anguish and despair were ‘acting’?

Note he was within 2300 miles of Washington DC.

Add in Insurrection.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***The shooting occurred about six hours after the union camera crew left. ***

I wonder if some Union man may have messed with the firearm before he left the set.

I remember little acts of sabotage in other Union cases.

[Scrambler Bob]

I see the lawyers circling.
They won’t be goin’ away.
= = =

Inspired by -

Yeah, a storm is threatening
My very life today

[TexasGator]

“What film? It is my understanding that they weren’t filming when this idiot shot her. He was having temper tantrum.”

Where did you see that?

[crz]

I would like to know how Baldwin acted after the incident.

[Billthedrill]

There are well-established protocols for firearms handling on movie sets and no matter what the situation really was, the finger on the trigger belongs to the person responsible. How the revolver got loaded is, in that sense, irrelevant. The sequence works like this: the armorer brings out the firearm from storage and checks both chamber and barrel (negligence if not), gives it to the actor, who checks it him- or herself (negligence if not), and upon agreement with the armorer that the firearm is in the condition desired, takes control of it. The condition desired may be unloaded, loaded with nonfunctional cartridge replicas, or blank cartridges. (Note: the Brandon Lee accident involved "nonfunctional" homemade cartridge replicas that were, in fact, functional cartridges with the powder, but not the primers removed). Once the gun leaves the actor's control nobody but the armorer touches it until the verification sequence is completed again. That includes dropping it even if called for in the scene. At the end of the scene the armorer takes control of the gun and repeats the safety checks before cleaning and storage.

Firearms are never discharged directly at another actor even with blanks. If the scene requires them to be discharged in the direction of a camera (as in the famous Great Train Robbery shot), the camera is operated remotely.

Professional actors train for safety as well as proficiency - the videos of Keanu Reeves and Halle Barry training for the latest Wick movie are very impressive. Alec Baldwin's incident could not have happened under these rules and with professional actors even if someone did slip a live round into the mix. It's on him. IMHO.

[Ann Archy]

And he POINTED a GUN at the woman and PULLED THE TRIGGER AFTER SHE WALKED OFF THE SET!!!

HE"S GOT A VERY SHORT FUSE!

[D Rider]

Fair enough. I always unload and reload. Not counting the nightstand gun. That is the only exception.

[damper99]

An attorney could crucify Baldwin on the stand. “Everyone holding a gun has the responsibility to check if it’s loaded. Did you check?”

Objection your honor...speculation.

[TexasGator]

“And he POINTED a GUN at the woman and PULLED THE TRIGGER AFTER SHE WALKED OFF THE SET!!!”

Duh. She didn’t walk off. If she had, she wouldn’t have been shot!

[Ann Archy]

Geesh.... this was PRIOR to her being shot.....THICK!

[TexasGator]

“And he POINTED a GUN at the woman and PULLED THE TRIGGER AFTER SHE WALKED OFF THE SET!!!”

SHE NEVER WALKED OFF THE SET.

[PhineasSpear]

We’ve seen this many times. Regardless, of whether he murdered her in a typical fit of Baldwin rage, he’ll get off scott free. John Landis’s ego made him believe he could film any stunt, no matter how big and dangerous, without disaster. Then after one stunt brutally slaughtered Vic Morrow and 2 Vietnamese kids, did he go to jail, or have his Director’s license taken away or even suspended? Nope.

[Spitzensparkin1]

Roccus wrote:
“”Has the “projectile” that caused the death and the injury been identified yet?””

“Last I heard the sheriff’s dept. had yet to make that determination.”

You always leave fingerprints on cartridge cases when you handle them. Has said fire arm “prop” been forensically examined and fingerprints taken from said spent round? If there were no fingerprints on the cartridge case then someone wore gloves, now the question is who and why?

SS1

[Freedom56v2]

Were there blanks? Seemed like might have been a hollow—point if I read correctly that bullet went thru one and entered the other victim...

[jmacusa]

The wife and I were watching OAN last and we said the whole thing sounded like a set up.