‘Rust’ Shooting Tragedy: How it Happened, Hollywood’s History with Guns, and What Can Be Done Next.
The recent events have sparked sadness and outrage, and can hopefully spark change.
Just as the industry was celebrating the aversion of a potential strike by IATSE, an even greater tragedy occurred on October 21 on the New Mexico set of the independent Western ‘Rust’. The film, which stars Alec Baldwin (who also produced), was halfway through its 21-day shooting period when during filming, Baldwin fired a prop gun that was thought to be filled with blanks struck director Joel Souza and cinematographer Haylna Hutchins. The shot killed the 42 year old Hutchins instantly while Souza was seriously injured. Production has been suspended indefinitely with no indication when or if it will start up again.
The grief over Hutchins’ death had an instant widespread reaction over the industry as everyone tries to figure out how something that was easily avoidable happened. This has seemingly and finally started an outcry for the banning of real gunfire on set. The ABC cop drama ‘The Rookie’, for example, implemented a policy banning all ‘live’ weapons on set as a result of the incident and Eric Kripke, the showrunner of Amazon’s superhero drama ‘The Boys’ tweeted support for the use of VFX muzzle flashes. Meanwhile, a petition on Change.org has gotten 30,000 signatures calling for the ban of all firearms on set.
Upon investigation, details have come out that showcase just how chaotic the production for ‘Rust’ was prior to the fatal accident. It was revealed that several IATSE crew members walked off the set at beginning of production over what they believed to be unsafe working conditions both in terms of gun safety and COVID protocols not being followed. Non-union members were hired in place of the departed crew with Hutchins being the only remaining union member. While first assistant director David Halls assured Baldwin that there were not any live rounds in the gun, investigators discovered that it and two other guns were used hours before the incident by crew members for ammunition target practice.
Although tragic on set accidents are sadly common in the film industry, something about this particular incident has caused outrage over the irresponsibility to protect the cast and crew and how this should never have happened especially how previous tragedies were supposed to have changed the way safety on film sets is handled. The most infamous occurring in 1982 during the filming of ‘Twilight Zone: The Movie’. While John Landis was shooting his segment that involved Vic Morrow’s character rescuing two children, a failed effect caused a helicopter to lose control, crashed and landed on top of Morrow and the two children, killing all three instantly. Landis and four others were charged with involuntary manslaughter but were found not guilty. However, further investigation found that the filmmakers had violated several labor laws and forced the industry to introduce sweeping reforms in regards to child labor laws and penalties to those who broke them.
The incident that the Rust shooting most evokes occurred in 1993 during the filming of ‘The Crow’. While on set, lead actor Brandon Lee was shot with a gun filled with blanks. He was pronounced dead hours later. Despite the tragedy and mystery surrounding Lee’s death, no criminal charges were ever pressed. Eliza Hutton, Lee’s fiancee at the time of his death, spoke about the current tragedy on her Instagram page and demanded the industry provide safer alternatives to actual guns.
The investigation surrounding Hutchins’ death is still ongoing and could last for many months. However, the question remains, what will happen next? Not just about the outcome of this tragedy but the need for much tighter work safety rules. The DA behind the investigation has hinted that charges may very well be pressed against numerous parties, including Baldwin due to being a producer on the film, assistant director Halls, especially since stories have come out about how he was removed from a previous film set over a prop gun being discharged and the chief armorer for not doing a thorough check to see if the guns were safe. As for what this will mean for the future of guns on set, as mentioned some productions have made it clear that they will not be having live weapons on set anymore but in order for their to be real change, the higher ups at the networks and studios will have to be on board.
This is a story that will no doubt evolve in the weeks and months to come and we will continue to keep you updated as more information becomes available. In the meantime, we here at FIlmSpeak send our condolences to Hutchins’ family, friends and co workers over this tragic loss and our best wishes to the cast and crew as they navigate this uncertain time for them. We hope that whatever the outcome, this tragedy will lead the film and television business to introduce much safer working conditions that everyone can support and follow.
