214 Hollywood cameramen signed an open letter demanding a ban on the use of real firearms on set, reports Variety. Among those who signed the letter are Greig Fraser ("Dune"), Rachel Morrison ("Black Panther"), and Mandy Walker ("Mulan"). The filmmakers took the initiative after the death of cameraman Halyna Hutchins, who actor Alec Baldwin accidentally shot during the filming of "Rust." They pledged not to let Hutchins' death be in vain and urged union leadership, producers, and lawmakers to support their initiative.
"We are Halyna Hutchins' fellow Directors of Photography and are we are vowing not to let her death be in vain.
We are calling for immediate action from our union leadership, our producers, and our lawmakers to affect unified change on our behalf: ban all functional firearms on set," the open letter says.
According to the BBC, actor Alec Baldwin himself shared on social media comments from a colleague who called allegations of poor safety practices on the set of "Rust" unfounded. Costume designer Terese Magpale Davis wrote on social media on November 2: "The story of us being overworked and surrounded by unsafe, chaotic conditions is bullshit." Baldwin, who also appeared in the film as a producer, shared her post on Instagram, captioning it with his caption, "Read this."
Details of the tragedy
Actor Alec Baldwin was given a revolver loaded with live ammunition during the filming of "Rust" in New Mexico.
Unaware of this, he shot in the camera's direction, accidentally killing cameraman Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Sousa. It was announced during a press conference by Santa Fe County Sheriff Aidan Mendoza. Confirming that the antique Colt 45 that Baldwin fired was loaded with live ammunition, the police officer said it was not the only live ammunition suspected on the set.
Investigation
Investigators noted a certain "arrogance" about gun safety on the set of "Rusty." Meanwhile, attorneys for gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was in charge of gun safety on the set, released her statement last week saying she didn't know "where the live ammunition came from."She said she had "never seen live ammunition fired from this gun and would not allow it to do so." In her opinion, the producers decided to save money on something, and it affected safety.
Alec Baldwin is also one of the producers of the film. He said that he "sincerely doubts" that the picture will be finished. A spokeswoman for the other producers declined to comment. No one has been charged yet, but according to District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwice, any crew member could potentially be a defendant.
First interview after the tragedy
A week ago, Alec Baldwin spoke to reporters for the first time since the tragedy on the set of the movie "Rust." CNN reported that the American actor stopped his car on the side of the road in Vermont and walked out to the paparazzi reporters chasing him.
"Accidents happen on movie sets from time to time, but not like this. It is a one-in-a-trillion episode; this is a one-in-a-trillion event," Baldwin said.
He wondered how many bullets have been fired at movies and TV shows over the decades: "This is America... How many? Billions in the last 75 years? And in almost all cases with no consequences." According to BBC, the actor stresses that he supports stricter gun regulations. He added that he is forbidden to comment on the investigation, which has not yet reached the stage of filing charges. Ane, he is still figuring out how a live round ended up in the cylinder of a revolver. As for further filming, Baldwin doesn't think it will resume.
