Alec Baldwin’s Fatal “Rust” Shootout Blame Game Gets Very Ugly

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Two weeks ago, actor Alec Baldwin was handed a propeller pistol he believed was filled with dummy bullets as he performed a scene on the set of his upcoming western, Rust. But the gun was not filled with dummy bullets, and Baldwin unloaded the gun, fatally killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.

The entertainment industry was stunned, as colleagues mourned the loss of Hutchins, a 42-year-old mother who looked poised to become a celebrity behind the camera. Baldwin was seen stunned and hunched over in tears after speaking with investigators, and production was suspended indefinitely.

Over the past two weeks, the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office has opened an investigation into the crash and parties involved have released their statements, expressing sadness and disbelief as to how it could have happened.

By now, previous details have been unearthed about those involved, such as the chief gunsmith expressing concerns about his allegedly lax approach to gun safety on the set of his previous film, and the first assistant director fired from a previous film because of an accidental firearm. landfills. Crew members detailed the events of that tragic day and experts speculated what could have gone wrong.

And the industry has demanded change, with actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and shows like The Rookie pledging to stop using real guns on set.

But two weeks were enough for the tragedy to tip-toe, and now the blame game has begun.

Hutchins’ husband Matthew Hutchins served as a lawyer this week, hiring a personal injury and wrongful litigation law firm.

An attorney for first assistant director Dave Halls, who according to a search warrant affidavit handed the gun to Baldwin and informed him that it could be used safely, claimed he was not of his responsibility to check the firearm.

Even Baldwin couldn’t resist ringing the bell, agreeing it was “bullshit” to suggest the production was chaotic and dangerous, as he shared a post from a woman in the wardrobe department, who called the Cackling crew members “jerks” and said it was Halls who “fucked up”.

While no one has filed a complaint yet, it wouldn’t take a legal expert to suspect that one will come and when it does, it will be a legal showdown between several parties, including the handful of production companies involved. , the team members, and possibly Baldwin, who is also a producer on Rust, himself.

But lawyers for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s 24-year-old chief gunner, attacked on Wednesday, surprisingly pointing at an unidentified “disgruntled” crew member. They said they believed Cackling’s death was the result of sabotage, suggesting someone slipped an actual bullet into a box that was believed to contain only dummy bullets.

A sign directs people to the road to Bonanza Creek Ranch where the movie Rust was filmed on October 22, 2021 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Sam Wasson / Getty

Speaking of the tensions on set between the producers and some of the crew, several of whom left the set hours before the fatal shooting to protest over safety concerns and working conditions, lawyers said they believed that someone had acted on purpose to endanger someone.

“I believe someone who would do that would sabotage the set, wants to prove a point, means he’s unhappy, he’s unhappy,” Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney Jason Bowles said at the ‘Today show. “I don’t think you can rule anyone out at this point.”

The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the Daily Beast if the investigation considered there might have been foul play.

Crew members, meanwhile, believe it’s a low blow and are incredulous that Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyers are trying to blame them after many voiced pre-crash concerns over the lack of security measures and poor conditions on the set, with several resignations directly because of them. (A spokesperson for the film’s production company said no official safety complaints have been filed.)

Lane Luper, a cameraman, had posted on Facebook a few days before the accident frustrations related to the production. He was one of many who walked off the set that morning, claiming the “corner cut” made production unsafe.

To hear how the crew’s fears that something could go wrong due to the working conditions and the alleged lack of safety measures have now been turned to make it seem like a crew member was at fault is “incredibly irresponsible “and” libelous, “Luper said TODAY. Thursday at the suggestion of lawyers.

“I think whether or not it was an act of sabotage has no bearing on whether if the protocols had been followed Halyna would be alive today, period.”

Another production source, who asked The Daily Beast to remember his name, also dismissed the bold claim that a member of the team deliberately tried to sabotage the film, instead highlighting how badly the security measures of the guns were clearly lax.

“I think whether or not it was an act of sabotage has no bearing on whether if the protocols had been followed Halyna would be alive today, period.” they stated. “Even if [Gutierrez-Reed] means someone else put the bullet in the gun, security protocols would still have kept that gun out of Alec’s hand.

“It was her mismanagement of the set and her inability to withstand the pressures of the film set and demand that the protocols she is there to enforce be followed whatever the circumstances, because if they are not , someone could die, and that’s exactly what happened. “

And even if there had been a live bullet purposely mixed with dummy bullets, it would have been Gutierrez-Reed’s responsibility to check the bullets before loading them into the gun. Then she is supposed to show the gun and cartridges to the first assistant director.

Veteran gunsmith Mike Tristano, who has worked on over 100 films including The Purge, previously told The Daily Beast about the proper protocols in place to prevent an accident from happening on set, explaining how to tell the difference. between turns. .

“A live round is very different from a white,” he said. “A blank doesn’t have a bullet head at all, it’s a crimped socket. It’s just a case that has been crimped to hold gunpowder. During the firing, the case expands, letting escape the powder which creates the flash at the end of the barrel and in the case of a Western period, the smoke of the weapons.

Candles are placed in front of a photo of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a vigil held in her honor at Albuquerque Civic Plaza on October 23, 2021, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Sam Wasson / Getty

“Dummy bullets look like real bullets with a few exceptions. The back of the mannequin has a primer that has been perforated. In other words, it means that there is no live primer in the gun. Also, if you shake a mannequin, which we do all the time, you [hear] BBs in it, which means there is no powder in the dummy.

According to the affidavit of the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office search warrant, Dave Halls, a seasoned first assistant director, had turned over the .45 Long Colt revolver to Baldwin. Halls had picked up the pistol from a prop table and handed it to Baldwin, stating that the pistol was “cold,” indicating that it did not contain live ammunition.

Halls told investigators Gutierrez-Reed showed him the gun, but he couldn’t remember if she spun the drum so he could check every round to make sure it was round. dummy, admitting he should have checked every lap.

Tristano said it was standard practice to only load guns right before a scene, even showing everyone the cartridges he uses. “I’m showing everyone the dummies, so they can see they’re dummies, the primers are punched, and I’m going to shake each round individually,” he explained.

“Then I load the dummies into the gun and close the loading door. I’m going to pick up the gun and, pointing at the ground, click on each chamber and that cylinder so that the hammer hits the back of each dummy bullet, further illustrating than it’s safe. This is the norm. We do it because we monitor everything – it’s a foolproof system. So obviously none of this was done.

As lawyers for the parties involved continue their respective press tours, each spelling out the reasons why their client is not to blame and someone else is, Hutchins as a person, a talented cinematographer, a loving wife, a mother of a 9 year old child. son, is increasingly absent from these conversations. No amount of finger can change what happened that day. No one can win.

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