Alec Baldwin Accidentally Kills Cinematographer on Set of New Movie (1 Viewer)

[DaveXA]

Here is an article that talks about the repetive gun safety concerns the crew had that led to their walk off:

'Rust' crew describes on-set gun safety issues and misfires days before fatal shooting

At least one of the camera operators complained last weekend to production managers about gun safety on the set.

www.latimes.com

Yeah, it's definitely looking like a sloppily run low budget film. That doesn't bode well for Baldwin if he was the one making the decisions.

 

[SWJJ]

What kind of dummy round/blank was supposed to be in the gun for the scene? I am not sure if i could tell the difference in a blank/dummy round and live round. If Baldwin DID check the gun, would he have been able to tell the difference?
If someone will take a fall for this it will the armourer or prop person or what ever they are called, rightfully so.

It was suppossed to be completely unloaded, they were not shooting a scene, he was practicing quickdraw before they started rolling on camera.

 

[DaveXA]

Y'all keep saying "wait and see" about blaming Baldwin, but there is stuff out there to see. There are LOTS of articles out there that continue to highlight the problems on this set, and Baldwin, the main producer of his "passion project" may in fact be found criminally, not just civilly liable for these deaths.

Maybe so, and if he's found criminally liable, then so be it. I don't care whether he is or not. Whoever was making the decisions should be held accountable, but the devil is going to be in the details. If a contract with the armorer states she's responsible for ensuring the safety of the props, they'll no doubt be able to stick it to her to avoid being held accountable. I don't know what it would take to hold the producers/directors accountable for hiring incompetent people.

 

[bigdaddysaints]

Yeah, it's definitely looking like a sloppily run low budget film. That doesn't bode well for Baldwin if he was the one making the decisions.

and that remains to be seen. He had writing credits for the movie, and producer credits for the movie, but we don't actually know what kind of day to day say he had in the production. If he had control of this film, why would he have backed the the people who walked out?

 

[DaveXA]

and that remains to be seen. He had writing credits for the movie, and producer credits for the movie, but we don't actually know what kind of day to day say he had in the production. If he had control of this film, why would he have backed the the people who walked out?

Yeah, that's exactly why I'm saying we don't know. I find it difficult to believe he supported those walking out if he was the one who hired them. That doesn't really add up from where I sit.

But if he was involved in the hiring of incompetent people, then he's got at least some level of culpability on that side of it. I think that will possibly hurt him in a civil suit.

 

[SWJJ]

and that remains to be seen. He had writing credits for the movie, and producer credits for the movie, but we don't actually know what kind of day to day say he had in the production. If he had control of this film, why would he have backed the the people who walked out?

My info is coming from industry friends, and the things they told me 3 days ago are starting to show up in legit media so I believe them. They told me he was dismissive of concers, had a lot of say in the operation, and this will land in his lap.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

There is an article in the Wall Street Journal (behind a pay wall) that explains this was a low budget "passion project" that was very important to Baldwin. It was intended to make the indi film circuit and was not intended for box offices.

There is blame to go around, but Baldwin shares plenty of it.

I get wanting to defend against the knee-jerk reactions to blame him just because he pulled the trigger, and discuss the nuance of fire arms on set, and how that's different, but when we continue to discuss the nuance, it becomes clear, Baldwin has some level of culpability.

I don't agree that the blame ends with him, but he certainly deserves a BIG chunk of it.

it's probably helpful to redact Baldwin's name and think "an actor" + "a producer"
i think the actor follows protocol (onset gun responsibility rests with the armorer, just liking rigging harness or car stunts rests with the stunt coordinator)
Baldwin's responsibility as a producer is another matter - i have not seen an 'org chart' for this movie, but producers would be responsible for crew/work conditions, et al

 

[SaintInBucLand]

Y'all keep saying "wait and see" about blaming Baldwin, but there is stuff out there to see. There are LOTS of articles out there that continue to highlight the problems on this set, and Baldwin, the main producer of his "passion project" may in fact be found criminally, not just civilly liable for these deaths.

Careful, people are going to accuse you of Baldwin bashing just because you are laying out facts.

 

[bigdaddysaints]

i

Careful, people are going to accuse you of Baldwin bashing just because you are laying out facts.

I'd bet the farm he won't be held criminally responsible. The worse that he'll get is a civil suit, wrongful death maybe. If anyone gets a ciminal charge it'll be the ones responsible for handing him the gun and verifying it was cold.

 

[bigdaddysaints]

My info is coming from industry friends, and the things they told me 3 days ago are starting to show up in legit media so I believe them. They told me he was dismissive of concers, had a lot of say in the operation, and this will land in his lap.

As long as it isn't the Janitor, we all know how that guy is.,lol

 

[SaintInBucLand]

i

I'd bet the farm he won't be held criminally responsible. The worse that he'll get is a civil suit, wrongful death maybe. If anyone gets a ciminal charge it'll be the ones responsible for handing him the gun and verifying it was cold.

As SWJJ said, if he was involved in hiring the people that handle the weapons on the set, he should be held criminally responsible. These people had a history and track record of mishaps and probably came at a lower price. Looks like the production company, El Dorado Pictures was interested in costs over people's lives.

 

[bigdaddysaints]

@superchuck500 , any precedence on what SWJJ and SIBL are saying, that he could be held criminally responsible for hiring the ones responsible for the neglected protocol? I would think that would be very hard to prove criminally. It would have to be him personally hiring, not the production co correct?

 

[DaveXA]

i

I'd bet the farm he won't be held criminally responsible. The worse that he'll get is a civil suit, wrongful death maybe. If anyone gets a ciminal charge it'll be the ones responsible for handing him the gun and verifying it was cold.

Possibly, but I think ultimately, the only one who will face criminal charges will be the armorer, unless someone deliberately loaded the weapon without the armorer's knowledge. I don't know how that could happen though.

 

[Yatman]

Nuance...what's that?

what is is, is meaningless as a bullet leaves a gun, at which point, it's either you "or" the bullet, there is no "and"

in the case on this movie set, if it misses, you win; if it hits, you lose, there is no nuance

instead of the broad swath of variables in this tragedy, how about looking at some tangibles

- the set was clearly unsafe, at least as firearms were concerned
- the chain of custody for un/loaded firearms was suspect
- the firearm that discharged was apparently not checked by the armorer, a.d., or baldwin

for those concerned with subtleties...
An actor on 'Rust' said he felt the movie's gun scenes were dangerous but was too afraid to say anything

He said he decided not to raise his concerns about the set's gun safety because, as a new actor, he didn't want to "cause trouble."

"So I held my tongue for a lot of it, but some of the other actors who had worked on a lot more sets than I have ... They were double and triple checking our weapons after the armorer gave them to us, whether they were cold or hot," Hudson told TMZ.

 

[SWJJ]

@superchuck500 , any precedence on what SWJJ and SIBL are saying, that he could be held criminally responsible for hiring the ones responsible for the neglected protocol? I would think that would be very hard to prove criminally. It would have to be him personally hiring, not the production co correct?

I doubt there will be much with real precedence here, but I doubt it's ever happened that the person who hired them also pulled the trigger.