cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/10928093
Grand jury in New Mexico charged the actor for a shooting on Rust set that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins
Actor Alec Baldwin is facing a new involuntary manslaughter charge over the 2021 fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the movie Rust.
A Santa Fe, New Mexico, grand jury indicted Baldwin on Friday, months after prosecutors had dismissed the same criminal charge against him.
During an October 2021 rehearsal on the set of Rust, a western drama, Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when it went off, fatally striking her and wounding Joel Souza, the film’s director.
Baldwin, a co-producer and star of the film, has said he did not pull the trigger, but pulled back the hammer of the gun before it fired.
Last April, special prosecutors dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin, saying the firearm might have been modified prior to the shooting and malfunctioned and that forensic analysis was warranted. But in August, prosecutors said they were considering re-filing the charges after a new analysis of the weapon was completed.
That’s an unfair comparison.
If someone hands you a gun that by all accounts should not be able to fire a bullet that can injure or kill, in a highly controlled setting with a professional armorer, and that gun kills someone when you didn’t even pull the trigger you should not go to jail.
The gun was apparently modified and had real bullets, both of which were the fault of the armor (the mod was seemingly done by someone else but the armorer should have caught it). Sure, you can speak about blame over hiring an incompetent armorer on everyone involved on the production and certification side, but that’s a different matter and not what’s being discussed here.
I’m an actor, with some combat experience (99.9% swords, a couple of fake gun shots, but they were stage not film).
The idea of this happening is terrifying to me, and makes me want to never do firearms choreo. However, whether sword or firearm, if i injured someone during choreo I would know it’s my fault. I am supposed to always be able to control what I’m doing and if I’m advancing and cutting at their head, even if they forgot to parry or dodge my blade shouldn’t hit their head. If it does - my fault. Its drilled into us.
Having not done firearm choreo on film myself I can’t speak to it, but really there should be no reason to point a live gun (even w/ blanks) at someone, you can set spikes (floor marks) to cheat the angle (make it look like you’re standing opposite but you’re offset) and then you a tape measure to ensure if the gun discharges nothings in the line of fire.
Actors can spend hours with an intimacy coordinator working out a kiss, or with a dialect coach working on an accent, or stunt coordinator working out falling down some stairs, it shouldn’t be different for working with a deadly weapon.