Prop Gun Kills Cinematographer

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Paul F said:
Here is what the producers have to say about Mr. Luper -" In a statement to CNN, "Rust" producers called Luper's allegations regarding the film's budget and safety "patently false," adding it "is not surprising considering his job was to be a camera operator, and he had absolutely nothing to [do] with, or knowledge of, safety protocols or budgets.""

Biting my tongue. NTSB. NTSB ... Biting....
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Wow, if that is truly their statement then it is amazingly stupid, basically admittting part of their crew being clueless about any safety... I don't say their statement being true (clearly they are saying anything without thinking how it reflects back on them), some of the crew seems legit, just a weird statement to admit they allowed crew to be inept and that somehow isn't the producers fault.
 
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It's a PR battle. Notice that those who were on the set that day aren't mentioning any details. It's all generalities with nothing substantial to pin on anyone.
 
Here is another one. I can't get through my soup without doing a spit take.

"Robert Gorence, another attorney for Gutierrez-Reed, told the outlet that she loaded the guns with dummy rounds for an afternoon filming session, placed socks over them to prevent passersby from picking them up, and went off to lunch."
 
High1ander said:
Wow, if that is truly their statement then it is amazingly stupid, basically admittting part of their crew being clueless about any safety... I don't say their statement being true (clearly they are saying anything without thinking how it reflects back on them), some of the crew seems legit, just a weird statement to admit they allowed crew to be inept and that somehow isn't the producers fault.
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No, the producers are saying because the camera op's expertise isn't in safety protocols and he has no direct knowledge of the film's budget, his statement is speculative.
Paul F said:
Here is another one. I can't get through my soup without doing a spit take.
"Robert Gorence, another attorney for Gutierrez-Reed, told the outlet that she loaded the guns with dummy rounds for an afternoon filming session, placed socks over them to prevent passersby from picking them up, and went off to lunch."
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This is the third version of how she secured the weapons during lunch! With each new statement, the Armorer is sounding increasingly untrustworthy.
 
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Peter C. said:
No, the producers are saying because the camera op's expertise isn't in safety protocols and he has no direct knowledge of the film's budget, his statement is speculative.
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He doesn't have to be an expert to see or say if rules/protocols are broken. I.e. he doesn't have to be the one that enforces them, so it depends in what context they try to say he has no "knowledge". Like, if he is on set and a gun misfires and he sees/hears that, obviously he will then have "knowledge" of a failed protocol (or lack of protocol). Obviously his take on a budget is speculative unless he has been given perfect information from the producers, so I can see that part won't have any merit like they/you might claim. The thing is though if the producers think they gonna combat every argument from the potential prosecutors by saying any of the crew complaining does so because they are incompetent only digs them deeper in the hole they made. It is somewhat like saying "I don't tax evade because when people hire me I don't give them a recite that proves I work for them" or "How can we possible break any protocols if we don't even have them"?

Peter C. said:
This is the third version of how she secured the weapons during lunch! With each new statement, the Armorer is sounding increasingly untrustworthy.
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Yeah, but can't tell now if it is the lawyer or the armorer speaking. So might just have to chalk it up to a lawyer that change the narrative on her behalf.
 
One particularly uh, amusing thing about the producer's statement regarding Lane is that they got his position on the show wrong. He was the A 1st Assistant, not an Operator. The A 1st is also considered the department head and thus was the point person for raising concerns with the UPM and line producer, so this distinction is not insignificant. As far as claiming he had no expertise in safety protocol: to qualify for the "industry experience roster" as detailed by Contract Services (which is administered on behalf of producers), all union crew are required to complete many, many hours of safety classes. Producers, meanwhile, are not required to take any.
 
Alec Baldwin in his instagram says there should be a police officer on set to monitor weapons safety.
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A first camera assistant, Lane Luper, who resigned the day before Hutchins was killed, has spoken to journalists about concerns he had over relaxed covid-19 policies, a housing situation requiring crew members to drive lengthy distances and a lack of gun safety on set. Other producers have denied Luper’s allegations, asserting that he would have had no knowledge of safety protocols on set. https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts...alec-baldwin-halyna-hutchins-shooting-police/
 
Other producers have denied Luper’s allegations, asserting that he would have had no knowledge of safety protocols on set.
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If the crew is unaware of the safety protocols on set whose fault is that? Apparently the "Safety Protocols" are only known to a select few, unfortunately the Armorer wasn't one of them. The more the lawyers and producers talk the deeper the hole gets. Attacking the guy who literally dodged a bullet isn't making them look any better.
 
How many cops know the difference between a 1/4 load blank, a dummy load, and a regular live round? The suggestion as stated is ridiculous. What in theory could be of value is some legal authority by certification or whatnot to an Armorer so that they could enforce safety protocol rules, overriding the production team that might be pushing them to move faster. But that's something that only looks good on paper because in the end production has the right to hire/fire people.
 
The ineptness being displayed explains a lot about this tragedy. If there's anyone who can say 'I told you so' this year, it's Lane Luper, who dodged a bullet. While he is vindicated, even he must be suffering significantly from the tragedy.
 
If the production was really that unsafe why would the director and DP stand right in front of Baldwin while he was practicing drawing the gun? They at least had a certain level of trust that the set was safe.

I think there is a lot of emotion flying around the situation right now. Did the DP or director ever raise any concern? They were the ones shot and as far as I know they also felt the production was safe.

While its easy to view those shot as helpless victims here we have to keep in mind when talking about the producers in charge of the production they are included in that decision making. The director and DP were likely equally responsible for the speed and corner cutting if any was taking place.

there will always be crew that finds some kind of an issue on a production. An accident prone production does not instantly mean anyone is at fault. It really means nothing in regards to what happened on that actual day. The fact that the media is now pointing out a crew member was bit by a spider while tearing down the set is an example of just how much this has become entertainment fodder for the masses more than anything. Holy crap a poisonous spider was in a building in the middle of the desert in New Mexico. How dare they not ban all of nature around the set.

Most of these incidents being pointed out having nothing to do with the tragedy that happened. Its just a Wild West of finger pointing now trying to shift blame and manifest blame out of thin air.

A 100% anal union crew could have an accident as well. It happens. I also highly doubt this is the only production run like this. I'm sure a lot cut corners and so far have been very lucky something bad didn't happen. This is very likely a case of just a random really bad accident. An accident pushed along by carelessness but I'm not sure anyone will take the fall for this just based on a careless accident.

A careless mistake will never be tried as murder. At best there could be a wrongful death civil suit for monetary compensation but even that may be a stretch. A judge may not agree given those that were shot were part of the producers who made the decisions. Those shot told Baldwin exactly what to do, when to do it and how to do it.

I'm not even sure if Baldwin himself can be liable for that even if it is his production company. A company is not always responsible for an accident like this. Plus the production company likely has some level of liability insurance. At most Baldwins production company may go under but he himself is likely safe minus the negative PR from the incident.

I also wonder if this happened to any other actor if the media would be paying as much attention to it as it is. This is clearly getting more air time than it would if this was on the set of a B grade production with talent few have heard about. Given his prominent characterization on SNL the past four years I'm sure he is an easier target than usual for media and public scrutiny. Its important for neither side to form opinions about the factual situation just based on personal views. Thats what the investigation is for. Perhaps lets leave it to the experts and sit back and see how it all pans out.

I hope Panasonic releases the GH6 soon so we can stop talking about this already. Clearly its a slow news time. Apple just came out with the most game changing laptops ever and we are more fixated on a shock value of a tragedy and forming opinions without having any or all of the details.
 
I do get the impression that because Baldwin is an anti gun liberal who has lampooned Trump, the conservative media was licking their chops at the opportunity to go after him. Not saying it still wouldn’t have been a big story with a high profile Hollywood star being involved in such a incident.

While I wouldn’t be surprised that cost cutting and disgruntled crew members isn’t uncommon the difference here was the use of live ammo and disregard for safety in its handling.
 
This is a basic health and safety issue, were the procedures in place on this production to prevent this incident? It's not an accident, it's a preventable incident that resulted in a death, Strong procedures should be in place regardless of the amount the crew were being paid, with guns they should be the same on a freebie production.

No doubt the court case will explore in detail the events that lead up to the gun being fired, how the guns were handled and if they had been used for purposes other than the production of the film.
 
Peter C. said:
I do get the impression that because Baldwin is an anti gun liberal who has lampooned Trump, the conservative media was licking their chops at the opportunity to go after him. Not saying it still wouldn’t have been a big story with a high profile Hollywood star being involved in such a incident.

While I wouldn’t be surprised that cost cutting and disgruntled crew members isn’t uncommon the difference here was the use of live ammo and disregard for safety in its handling.
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Here in NYC where Baldwin lives (although it looks like he may be moving to Vermont) the conservative New York Post has been attacking him for decades. The paper refers to him as The Bloviator.
 
Peter C. said:
I do get the impression that because Baldwin is an anti gun liberal who has lampooned Trump, the conservative media was licking their chops at the opportunity to go after him...
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The usual suspects. And some, predictably, went over the edge. And I posted that it was a huge disrespect to the victim and her family.
 
‘Rust’ Gaffer Sues Producers, Alec Baldwin After Halyna Hutchins Death

The chief of lighting on Rust filed a negligence lawsuit Wednesday against the film’s producers — including Alec Baldwin — as well as the assistant director and armorer at the center of the investigation into the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Serge Svetnoy filed his complaint Wednesday in Los Angeles after previously writing on Facebook that he was close personal friends with Hutchins and held her in his arms Oct. 21 as she lay dying on the set of the ill-fated western movie that was filming at Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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https://www.rollingstone.com/movies...s-alec-baldwin-halyna-hutchins-death-1255895/
 
From Deadline, about Rust - "The plot follows infamous western outlaw Harland Rust (Baldwin), who has had a bounty on his head for as long as he can remember. When his estranged 13-year-old grandson Lucas is convicted of an accidental murder and sentenced to hang, Rust travels to Kansas to break him out of prison."
 
What a cash grab. The vultures are circling looking for blood (money). The script supervisor is being represented by renowned ambulance chaser.
 
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