Camera crew operators say that they had complained about unsafe working conditions and a lack of upheld industry-standard safety protocols, like gun inspections, on the set of Rust a few times before the fatal incident where Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun that misfired and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Hours prior to the fatal incident that killed Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza, two crew members claim they witnessed Baldwin’s stunt double accidentally fire two rounds after he was told the gun didn’t have any ammo in it.
“There should have been an investigation into what happened,” one of them told the Los Angeles Times.
“There were no safety meetings. There was no assurance that it wouldn’t happen again. All they wanted to do was rush, rush, rush.”
Another member of the crew reportedly sent a text message to the unit production manager, warning that there had been at least three “accidental discharges”.
“This is super unsafe,” they said in the text.
Hours before the fatal accidental shooting, half a dozen camera operators reportedly walked off set in protest against a number of dodgy working conditions, including a lack of gun inspections as well as long hours, long commutes, and a long wait for paychecks.
At least one of them reportedly tried to discuss gun safety with a production manager last weekend.
In a statement, Rust Movie Productions said that “the safety of our cast and crew is the top priority of Rust Productions and everyone associated with the company.
“Though we were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down. We will continue to cooperate with the Santa Fe authorities in their investigation and offer mental health services to the cast and crew during this tragic time.”
On Friday, Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun that misfired and tragically killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and seriously injured director Joel Souza.
The accident happened in the middle of filming a gunfight scene for the Western film and occurred on the 12th day of a 21-day shoot. Hutchins was, according to the LA Times, “huddled around a monitor lining up her next camera shot when she was accidentally killed by the prop fun fired by Baldwin”.
In an email from Local 44 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, a worker’s union for prop workers, the prop gun used in the accidental shooting had “a live single round”.
An investigation is currently underway by the Santa Fe County Police Department and Baldwin released a statement about how he’s feeling yesterday morning.
