Let computers do it: Film set tragedy spurs call to ban guns
NEW YORK (AP) — With computer-generated imagery, it seems the sky’s the limit in the magic Hollywood can produce: elaborate dystopian universes. Trips to outer space, for those neither astronauts nor billionaires. Immersive journeys to the future, or back to bygone eras.
But as a shocked and saddened industry was reminded this week, many productions still use guns — real guns — when filming. And despite rules and regulations, people can get killed, as happened last week when Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins after he was handed a weapon and told it was safe.
The tragedy has led some in Hollywood, along with incredulous observers, to ask: Why are real guns ever used on set, when computers can create gunshots in post-production? Isn’t even the smallest risk unacceptable?
For Alexi Hawley, it is. “Any risk is too much risk,” the executive producer of ABC’s police drama “The Rookie” announced in a staff memo Friday, saying the events in New Mexico had “shaken us all.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/let-computers-do-it-film-set-tragedy-spurs-call-to-ban-guns/ar-AAPTOBq
The head armorer of 'Rust' once gave an 11-year-old actress a gun without checking it properly, The Daily Beast reports
The head armorer on Alec Baldwin's film "Rust" was a "bit careless" with guns and, according to The Daily Beast, once gave a weapon to a child actress without thoroughly checking it.
Two production sources who worked alongside Hannah Gutierrez-Reed on "The Old Way," starring Clint Howard and Nicolas Cage, said that filming had to briefly stop after an incident with child actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong.
The Daily Beast reported that Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on set when Baldwin discharged a prop gun that fatally struck 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, allegedly loaded a weapon on the ground in an area filled with pebbles. Then, per the media outlet, she handed it to the 11-year-old girl without adequately checking for barrel obstruction.
Two sources said crew members intervened and called for a pause on filming until Gutierrez-Reed had properly checked the firearm.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/celebrity/the-head-armorer-of-rust-once-gave-an-11-year-old-actress-a-gun-without-checking-it-properly-the-daily-beast-reports/ar-AAPTBPm
Crew says there were 2 accidental weapon discharges before fatal shooting on 'Rust' set
Crew members said that there were two accidental weapon discharges on the set of "Rust" before Thursday's fatal shooting, according to multiple reports.
Three former crew members who were on set told The New York Times that the discharges occurred on Oct. 16, which prompted a complaint to a supervisor about safety on the set.
The crew members who spoke to the newspaper on the condition of anonymity quit hours before the shooting involving Baldwin due to working conditions and unpaid work.
According to The Los Angeles Times, which first reported the previous incidents, Baldwin's stunt double accidentally fired two rounds last Saturday after being told that a gun was "cold," meaning that it had no ammunition in it.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/crew-says-there-were-2-accidental-weapon-discharges-before-fatal-shooting-on-rust-set/ar-AAPSdop
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