Alec Baldwin fired shot that killed one, wounded another on film set

[spaminator]

'Rust' producer: 'We'll be able to complete the movie'
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:May 16, 2022 • 17 hours ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation

A producer of the movie “Rust,” whose set saw the fatal accidental shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins last year, said the movie will be completed, the Hollywood Reporter reported on Monday.


Hutchins was killed in October when a revolver that actor Alec Baldwin was rehearsing with during filming in New Mexico fired a live round that hit her and movie director Joel Souza. Souza was wounded but survived.

“We’re confident we’ll be able to complete the movie,” Anjul Nigam, one of the producers, was quoted as saying by Hollywood Reporter.

A representative of Nigam did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last month, the state of New Mexico fined Rust Movie Productions the maximum amount possible, $137,000, for what it called “willful” safety lapses leading to Hutchins’ death. The company said it disagreed with the findings.

Baldwin, also a producer on the film, has been named in several lawsuits filed in connection with Hutchins’ death, including one by her husband.

Baldwin, 64, has denied responsibility for Hutchins’ death and said live rounds should never have been allowed onto the set of the Western film at Bonanza Creek Ranch.

The actor also has argued in court papers that an indemnification clause in his contract shields him from personal liability.

Cannes: ‘Rust’ Producer Says “We’ll Be Able to Complete the Movie”

'Rust' producer Anjul Nigam, who is bringing a new movie to Cannes with fellow producer/star Alec Baldwin seven months after the shooting tragedy, tells The Hollywood Reporter he's optimistic moviegoers will eventually be able to see the Western.

hollywoodreporter.com

'Rust' producer: 'We'll be able to complete the movie'

A producer of the movie “Rust,” whose set saw the fatal accidental shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins last year, said the movie will be completed, the…

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Prosecutors await forensic analysis in Alec Baldwin shooting
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Publishing date:Aug 04, 2022 • 17 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation

SANTA FE, N.M. — The investigation into the fatal film-set shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin is ongoing, and the New Mexico prosecutor overseeing the case says authorities are awaiting the analysis of key forensic evidence before a decision can be made about whether criminal charges will be filed.


District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies provided the update in a social media post Wednesday, saying her office has received only portions of the investigation from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.

Still outstanding is forensic analysis of the weapon, a review of data from Baldwin’s cell phone and more from the FBI and state medical examiners.

The screening process by prosecutors will begin once sheriff’s investigators receive the information and complete their supplemental reports. To expedite the process, Carmack-Altwies has retained a special prosecutor — retired Ninth Judicial District Attorney Andrea Reeb from eastern New Mexico, who has more than two decades of experience.

“To remain transparent to the local and national community, the (district attorney’s office) will proactively disseminate information as it becomes available,” Carmack-Altwies said.


A live round of ammunition killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza during rehearsal on Oct. 21, 2021. Filming for the Western “Rust” took place at a ranch on the outskirts of the city of Santa Fe.

In records released so far, investigators described complacency, disorganization and neglected safety measures in the making of the low-budget movie.

The videos released by investigators show a debriefing with Baldwin hours after the fatal shooting and rehearsal clips that show Baldwin in costume as he practiced a quick-draw maneuver with a gun.

Baldwin had told investigators that as the gun went off, he was unaware initially that Hutchins would die and was shocked to learn that he had been holding a gun loaded with live ammunition. Baldwin, who also was a producer on the film, had said the gun should have been empty for a rehearsal with no filming.

In April, New Mexico’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau delivered a scathing narrative of safety failures in violation of standard industry protocols. It included testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two previous misfires on the set, complaints from crew members that went unheeded, and reports that weapons specialists were not allowed to make decisions about additional safety training.

Rust Movie Productions is disputing the findings and the sanction.

Prosecutors await forensic analysis in Alec Baldwin shooting

SANTA FE, N.M. — The investigation into the fatal film-set shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin is ongoing, and the New Mexico prosecutor…

torontosun.com

 

[DaSleeper]

SSS

 

[spaminator]

Alec Baldwin did pull trigger on movie set, says FBI report
Cinematographer was accidentally shot dead on 'Rust' movie set in New Mexico last year

Author of the article:Bang Showbiz
Bang Showbiz
Publishing date:Aug 13, 2022 • 12 hours ago • 1 minute read • 9 Comments

An FBI investigation has concluded that Alec Baldwin did pull the trigger of the gun that killed Halyna Hutchins.


The cinematographer was accidentally shot dead on the set of the movie ‘Rust’ in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in October 2021, and the FBI has now concluded that Baldwin, 64, must have fired the gun.

The firearm was supposed to have been loaded with dummy bullets, and Baldwin has previously denied that he pulled the trigger.

However, the report – which has been seen by ABC News – has determined that the gun could not have been fired unless the trigger was pulled.

The investigators tested the gun in various ways to see if they could fire the weapon without using the trigger. But ultimately, they concluded that it simply wasn’t possible.

Baldwin addressed the incident during a TV interview last year when he claimed not to have pulled the trigger.


He said at the time: “The trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger. I would never point a gun at someone and pull the trigger on them, never.”

The FBI’s report could still potentially lead to criminal charges against the Hollywood star and other people involved in the fatal accident.

Meanwhile, Baldwin previously admitted that he couldn’t explain how a bullet ended up in the gun.

The veteran actor said that the weapon was only intended to be a prop for the Western movie.

He said last year: “Someone put a live bullet in a gun. A bullet that wasn’t even supposed to be on the property.”

Baldwin also admitted that he was still struggling to come to terms with the tragedy.

He shared: “Even now, I find it hard to believe that [the incident occurred]. It doesn’t seem real to me.”

What forensic testing reveals about revolver in on-set 'Rust' shooting

The FBI conducted accidental discharge testing on the firearm used in the shooting.

abcnews.go.com

Alec Baldwin did pull trigger on movie set, says FBI report

An FBI investigation has concluded that Alec Baldwin did pull the trigger of the gun that killed Halyna Hutchins.

torontosun.com

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Was that fact not known from day 1 and undisputed? So glad after all these months of investigation they can confirm that. Sounds like they have been wasting their time.

 

[DaSleeper]

 

[The_Foxer]

Was that fact not known from day 1 and undisputed? So glad after all these months of investigation they can confirm that. Sounds like they have been wasting their time.

Depends on what their motive was for the investigation. If it was to make it look like they checked into this to make the families feel better, then the time was probably effective.

I had sympathy for the guy when this started - obviously he thought the gun was unloaded and didn't intend to hurt anyone. But - then another actor mentioned "just to prevent this kind of thing i ALWAYS personally check every firearm i'm handed myself to be sure it's not loaded right away", to which baldwin replied "Well i've never done that and it's never been a problem".

Dude - you just shot two people. There was a problem. And you can't even own that there's something you might do in the future to prevent that?

 

[harrylee]

Was that fact not known from day 1 and undisputed? So glad after all these months of investigation they can confirm that. Sounds like they have been wasting their time.

Sounds to me like they are killing time hoping all will be forgotten.

I get the feeling that Baldwin has never shown any remorse for this, he has tried to shift blame from day one.

 

[spaminator]

Medical investigator rules Baldwin set shooting an accident
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Susan Montoya Bryan
Publishing date:Aug 15, 2022 • 10 hours ago • 3 minute read • Join the conversation

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The fatal film-set shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin last year was an accident, according to a determination made by New Mexico’s Office of the Medical Investigator following the completion of an autopsy and a review of law enforcement reports.


The medical investigator’s report was made public Monday by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office along with numerous reports from the FBI on the revolver and ammunition that were collected following the shooting.

Prosecutors have not yet decided if any charges will be filed in the case, saying they would review the latest reports and were awaiting cell phone data from Baldwin’s attorneys.

Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when it went off on Oct. 21, killing Hutchins and wounding the director, Joel Souza. They had been inside a small church during setup for filming a scene.

While it’s too early to say how much weight the medical investigator’s report will carry with the district attorney’s office, Baldwin’s legal team suggested it was further proof that the shooting was “a tragic accident” and that he should not face criminal charges.


“This is the third time the New Mexico authorities have found that Alec Baldwin had no authority or knowledge of the allegedly unsafe conditions on the set, that he was told by the person in charge of safety on the set that the gun was ‘cold,’ and believed the gun was safe,” attorney Luke Nikas said in a statement.

Baldwin said in a December interview with ABC News that he was pointing the gun at Hutchins at her instruction on the set of the Western film “Rust” when it went off after he cocked it. He said he did not pull the trigger.

An FBI analysis of the revolver that Baldwin had in his hand during the rehearsal suggested it was in working order at the time and would not have discharged unless it was fully cocked and the trigger was pulled.


With the hammer in full cock position, the FBI report stated the gun could not be made to fire without pulling the trigger while the working internal components were intact and functional.

During the testing of the gun by the FBI, authorities said, portions of the gun’s trigger sear and cylinder stop fractured while the hammer was struck. That allowed the hammer to fall and the firing pin to detonate the primer.

“This was the only successful discharge during this testing and it was attributed to the fracture of internal components, not the failure of the firearm or safety mechanisms,” the report stated.

It was unclear from the FBI report how many times the revolver’s hammer may have been struck during the testing.


Baldwin, who also was a producer on the movie “Rust,” has previously said the gun should not have been loaded for the rehearsal.

Among the ammunition seized from the film location were live rounds found on a cart and in the holster that was in the building where the shooting happened. Blank and dummy cartridges also were found.

New Mexico’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau in a scathing report issued in April detailed a narrative of safety failures in violation of standard industry protocols, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set prior to the fatal shooting.

The bureau also documented gun safety complaints from crew members that went unheeded and said weapons specialists were not allowed to make decisions about additional safety training.

In reaching its conclusion that the shooting was an accident, New Mexico’s medical investigator’s office pointed to “the absence of obvious intent to cause harm or death” and stated that there was said “no compelling demonstration” that the revolver was intentionally loaded with live ammunition on the set.

Medical investigator rules Baldwin set shooting an accident

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The fatal film-set shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin last year was an accident, according to a determination made by New…

torontosun.com

 

[harrylee]

Rules for ye, but not for me.

 

[The_Foxer]

I don't think ANYONE doubts it was an accident. He obviously did not intend to shoot that person and did not intend for the gun to go off, and almost certainly believed it was unloaded.

But it is still negligent not to check the gun yourself and not rely on anyone else for that information. Thousands and thousands of people have been shot by 'empty' guns - it's gun safety 101 to check every firearm yourself before you point it anywhere. And i'm confident someone probably pointed that out at some point. And if not then that was negligent on THEIR part.

This was utterly avoidable so while it was not criminal it certainly has an element of negligence to it and someone should be accountable for that.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I don't think ANYONE doubts it was an accident. He obviously did not intend to shoot that person and did not intend for the gun to go off, and almost certainly believed it was unloaded.

But it is still negligent not to check the gun yourself and not rely on anyone else for that information. Thousands and thousands of people have been shot by 'empty' guns - it's gun safety 101 to check every firearm yourself before you point it anywhere. And i'm confident someone probably pointed that out at some point. And if not then that was negligent on THEIR part.

This was utterly avoidable so while it was not criminal it certainly has an element of negligence to it and someone should be accountable for that.

And while he may be able to shirk responsibility on a personal (actor) level, as the producer of the movie, the responsibility for making sure the gun was safe falls back on him. He should have made sure he had the proper people and protocols in place.

 

[The_Foxer]

And while he may be able to shirk responsibility on a personal (actor) level, as the producer of the movie, the responsibility for making sure the gun was safe falls back on him. He should have made sure he had the proper people and protocols in place.

True. And given that the experts are saying that they DID recommend additional steps and weren't given the power to make that happen including firearms training he may have to wear that. I mean - ANY reasonable person should know that guns are dangerous and that on a movie set you're doing things that would never be done for safety reasons in the real world (like pointing guns at people you don't actually intend to shoot), and all safety precautions must be taken to ensure accidents don't happen.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

True. And given that the experts are saying that they DID recommend additional steps and weren't given the power to make that happen including firearms training he may have to wear that. I mean - ANY reasonable person should know that guns are dangerous and that on a movie set you're doing things that would never be done for safety reasons in the real world (like pointing guns at people you don't actually intend to shoot), and all safety precautions must be taken to ensure accidents don't happen.

But each of those steps involves $$$ spent off the bottom line. He went cheap, got burned and now is trying to pretend that his decisions to go cheap were not the root of it.

 

[The_Foxer]

But each of those steps involves $$$ spent off the bottom line. He went cheap, got burned and now is trying to pretend that his decisions to go cheap were not the root of it.

Given the budget of a movie and given the comparatively low/no cost of some of those measures it's so hard for someone like me to believe anyone could be that cheap when life and safety are at risk that my first instinct is to say "no, you must be wrong". But you're probably not.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Given the budget of a movie and given the comparatively low/no cost of some of those measures it's so hard for someone like me to believe anyone could be that cheap when life and safety are at risk that my first instinct is to say "no, you must be wrong". But you're probably not.

The only other option is arrogance and/or incompetence. Possible but less likely.

 

[spaminator]

Alec Baldwin was told he had 'cold gun' on 'Rust' set
Author of the article:Bang Showbiz
Bang Showbiz
Publishing date:Aug 16, 2022 • 8 hours ago • 1 minute read • 8 Comments

Alec Baldwin was told he’d been handed a “cold gun” before the accident that killed Halyna Hutchins.


The cinematographer was accidentally shot dead on the set of the movie ‘Rust’ in October 2021, and Baldwin has once again insisted that he didn’t pull the trigger on the gun that killed Hutchins.

Asked how a gun could fire without the trigger being pulled, Baldwin said: “You’re familiar with what fanning a gun is? Have you heard of that phrase, fanning the gun? So, if you pull the hammer back, and you don’t lock the hammer; if you pull the hammer back pretty far – in old Western movies you’d see someone fan the hammer of the gun – the hammer didn’t lock; you pulled it back to an extent where it would fire the bullet without you pulling the trigger, without you locking the hammer.”

Baldwin also insisted that the safety director reassured him that “the gun was safe” when it was handed to him.


The Hollywood star told ‘The Chris Cuomo Project’ podcast: “The man who’s the principal safety officer on the set of the film declared that the gun was safe when he handed it to me.

“The person who was the principal safety officer of the film declared in front of the entire assemblage, ‘This is a cold gun.’ Now, why did he say that if he didn’t know and he hadn’t checked?

“The point is, all of us were told that everything was cool and you could relax and we’re working with a gun that’s safe to rehearse with. He explained it to me, effectively, exactly what can happen if you pull the hammer back and let it go if there’s a live round.”

Meanwhile, an FBI investigation recently determined that the trigger was pulled on the gun.

The investigators tested the gun to see if they could fire the weapon without using the trigger, but they insisted it simply wasn’t possible.

Alec Baldwin was told he had 'cold gun' on 'Rust' set

Alec Baldwin insists everyone on the set of 'Rust' knows "exactly what happened" before Halyna Hutchins' death.

torontosun.com

 

[The_Foxer]

Asked how a gun could fire without the trigger being pulled, Baldwin said: “You’re familiar with what fanning a gun is?

I certainly am. I suspect he isn't tho. Fanning the gun still requires you to hold the trigger down on any modern revolver or replica. Even on older originals it required it to prevent the half-cock safety from engaging. While it is theoretically possible for the half cock to fail it's pretty unlikely. When you fan a gun you hold the trigger and use your hand to 'slap' the hammer back and release it rapidly, but you still hold the trigger.

 

[spaminator]

Alec Baldwin doesn’t believe he or anyone else will be charged over fatal ‘Rust’ shooting
Author of the article:Bang Showbiz
Bang Showbiz
Publishing date:Aug 19, 2022 • 16 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation

Alec Baldwin doesn’t believe he or anyone else will face charges in the fatal ‘Rust’ shooting.


The actor, 64, added in a new interview with CNN the tragedy that saw cinematographer Halyna Hutchins shot dead has “taken years off his life”.

Baldwin also revealed the FBI has still not tested live rounds that killed the mum-of-one, 42, for fingerprints to assess how they ended up on the New Mexico set of the western.

He is now awaiting a decision from prosecutors who will decide whether he should be criminally charged over the accident on October 21 last year.

Baldwin also blamed former President Donald Trump, whom the actor famously impersonated on Saturday Night Live, for adding to his stress over Halyna’s death after the ex-leader blamed him for the tragedy – a move the actor said left him fearing for his safety.


He said: “There is just this torrent of people attacking me who don’t know the facts.”

Baldwin placed responsibility for the tragedy on Hannah Gutierrez Reed, 24, who served as the armorer and props assistant on ‘Rust’, as well as assistant director Dave Halls – said to be 48- to 51-years-old – who handed him the gun.

Through their attorneys, Gutierrez Reed and Halls accused Baldwin of deflecting blame onto others.

Baldwin hit back in his CNN chat: “Someone put a live bullet in the gun who should have known better.

“That was (Gutierrez Reed’s) job. Her job was to look at the ammunition and put in the dummy round or the blank round, and there wasn’t supposed to be any live rounds on the set.

“There are two people who didn’t do what they were supposed to do. I’m not sitting there saying I want them to, you know, go to prison, or I want their lives to be hell. I don’t want that, but I want everybody to know that those are the two people that are responsible for what happened.”


Baldwin said he believes Gutierrez Reed and Halls wouldn’t be criminally charged.

He added: “I’m pretty confident neither one of them should ever work in a film set again.

“I sincerely believe… (investigators are) going to say that this was an accident. It’s tragic.”

Baldwin also stressed he does not want to “condemn” Gutierrez Reed.

He said: “I mean maybe it’s the Catholic in me. I have an impulse to say, I don’t want to see anybody suffer. I don’t want to sit there and say you know, go get her and condemn her.”

Baldwin has repeatedly said that he pulled back the gun’s hammer as far as he could without cocking the gun and released the hammer, but did not pull the trigger.

A newly released FBI forensics report says the weapon could not be fired during FBI testing of its normal functioning without pulling the trigger while the gun was cocked. The report noted the gun eventually malfunctioned during FBI testing after internal parts fractured, which caused the gun to go off in the cocked position without pulling the trigger.

Alec Baldwin doesn’t believe he or anyone else will be charged over fatal ‘Rust’ shooting

Alec Baldwin doesn’t believe he or anyone else will face charges in the fatal ‘Rust’ shooting.

torontosun.com

 

[harrylee]

"The actor, 64, added in a new interview with CNN the tragedy that saw cinematographer Halyna Hutchins shot dead has “taken years off his life”.

Took a couple off hers too didn't it.

Rot in Hell thinking about it.