Halyna Hutchins Shot With Prop Gun - Alec Baldwin indicted & Hannah Gutierrez-Reed charged, 2021 #7

[mickey2942]

I wonder if this verdict takes the heat off AB? Looks like DH was smart to take a plea deal. I wonder if HRG was offered a deal too? She probably should have taken it.

In regards to dress, in Montana, wearing jeans that are new, count as being "dressed up". You can wear black jeans to work as "dress pants'.

 

[cocomod]

I genuinely feel bad for her. I never got the impression that she ever did anything intentionally bad, or even negligently, but is a victim of inexperience more than anything else. By "inexperience", I don't just mean inexperience of the job but of the movie industry - and the people who run it - as a whole.

I feel like everyone keeps talking about her inexperience. She did have another job as an armorer and she failed on that project too. I don't feel bad for her. If she was in over her head, she had an opportunity to either turn down the job or request backup.

She WAS very negligent!!! She didn't do her freaking job and I am so glad the jury saw that. Her main job was to make certain that there was safety in regards to the bullets and firearms on set. She failed at this and a human being died!! She has been around Hollywood basically her whole life. I guarantee you she knows about the Hollywood scene. I have only been around it 7 years (my husband has for 30 years) and I know the scene. I know the score and I understand the nuances. She wasn't a little girl in over her head. She was cocky and too sure of herself. She thought she didn't have any responsibility when she failed at her job. She had LIVE rounds on set and claims to not even know it even though there were pictures shown to the jury of several days of live rounds mixed in with the others. She didn't do her job - period. She is guilty of manslaughter and I am super glad the jury got it right! IMHO

 

[Dre]

That quick remand was harsh as hell but she was awfully (like truly, terribly) negligent.

Diligence was required, is not her strong suit and she never cared to learn it.

 

[Herat]

Her job was not to apply makeup, or get the wardrobe in order.

Her job was to maintain all the firearms and ammunition in safe and secure manner so no one would be injured.

The evidence shows she failed to handle and store the weapons in a safe and secure manner, and violated several key safeguards in the job. She was really a disaster waiting to happen, IMHO.

The verdict was correct.

 

[Observe_dont_Absorb]

I wonder if this verdict takes the heat off AB? Looks like DH was smart to take a plea deal. I wonder if HRG was offered a deal too? She probably should have taken it.

In regards to dress, in Montana, wearing jeans that are new, count as being "dressed up". You can wear black jeans to work as "dress pants'.

IMO DH was extremely smart to take the deal and got off light IMO as he was the person ultimately responsible and after all the disruptions and dissatisfaction voiced on set, he could hardly claim to be unaware there were issues.

I'm baffled as to how SZ gained immunity and IMO she should have been looked into a bit more closely, most especially for throwing the rounds away.

I agree with what the prosecutor said about SK nearly being the scapegoat for all this and it must have been an awful time for him. Although his operations looked somewhat chaotic and disorganised to the eye, he did know his business accurately and did not supply any live rounds, as it seems (although not clarified in detail) that the live rounds came from HGR herself, in rounds that she had brought from home / a previous set. I assume SK will be a lot more careful and keeping inventory from now on.

I felt the tampering with evidence cocaine suggestion was redundant as there was nothing to back it up. If LE had wanted to see if reckless drunken / drugged behaviour was at the root of all this madness and chaos, they should have sealed the whole set and staff residences, done a full drug search of the whole place and drug tested everyone. Of course they would never, because Hollywood.

There's other layers of people responsible for this madness though - who hired HGR in the first place, who interviewed her and passed her, who refused her the time and second armourer she needed etc? Why did none of the unhappy crew on set use this alleged health & safety hotline number to alert the unions / guilds of all the issues?

Worse, to find out that HH was incorrectly intubated twice, heartbreaking, as we'll never truly know if she could have survived her injuries IMO, she was not only shot with fatal injuries but effectively choked to death by medics it seems.

I feel that HGR has been adequately punished and was surprised she's detained in custody but it's understandable. Perhaps she'd have been better off mandated to a rehab / treatment facility for a year if reckless drunken drugged behaviour sit behind her actions and poor decision making?

I hope what happened on this set has already resulted in industry changes and that every person on set in a US movie knows this hotline number now.

JMO MOO

 

[Marantz4250b]

Iirc, another armorer declined the job on the Rust set, not because of the remuneration, but because he had some complaints and misgivings of how lax everything appeared to be. I remember him stating some such thing earlier on.

It was kind of about the money. The first person they approached said he'd need at least one assistant at all times which obviously increased the cost significantly. Rust Productions wasn't willing to pay that increased cost.

It was said a page or two back that she got the job through nepotism - because of her dad, essentially. That's not really the main reason if she was a second choice. It may have played a part but the main reason for her hiring was cost.

 

[Slick762]

I feel that HGR has been adequately punished and was surprised she's detained in custody but it's understandable. Perhaps she'd have been better off mandated to a rehab / treatment facility for a year if reckless drunken drugged behaviour sit behind her actions and poor decision making?

I hope what happened on this set has already resulted in industry changes and that every person on set in a US movie knows this hotline number now.

JMO MOO

What punishment? She's been out on bail the entire time. Last night was literally the first night she's slept in a cell.

 

[clearskies1]

I don’t disagree with the verdict. Morally though, I think others are responsible as well. You don’t hire people in key safety related roles and not monitor the situation. Part of the camera crew walked out because of safety problems. That is significant. But did anything change because of it? It doesn’t seem like it. That is a major failing IMO. It doesn’t seem like there were systems in place to make sure there was a safe environment. Personalities and cost seemed to rule, not safety. JMO.

 

[Marantz4250b]

I really dislike Alec Baldwin as a human, but I feel he is less negligible than Hannah. As an actor, I’d assume the professional armorer is certifying the gun is safe when it’s handed to me (unless there’s certain regulations on the set where an actor has similar requirements to follow with guns).

He's clearly as negligent as her.

He's been in the industry decades and has done a lot of "gun heavy" movies. In his own promo material he's said how skilled he is with firearms. He absolutely knows the safety codes and union rules around the use of guns on movie sets. He knew the gun and it's "dummies" had not been checked. It's supposed to be checked in front of him. It wasn't.

He took someone else's word that it was safe - that by it's very nature is extremely negligent.

On top of all that, he is very anti-gun and has been very vocal on the subject for years - he knows very well how horrific the outcome can be from reckless/negligent use of firearms yet still failed to satisfy himself that what he was about to do with a gun was safe to do!

If Hanna Reed has come over as arrogant and above it all then so has Alec Baldwin; he's spent a big portion of his life shouting about how you shouldn't be allowed to own firearms (whether you want to or not is beside the point) yet his arrogance and duplicity on the subject allows HIM to earn a very nice living from using firearms to pretend to kill people!

Bottom line: he knew the dangers; he didn't check it was safe; he killed someone. Firearms safety is one area in life that is non-delegable - you are responsible.

 

[Marantz4250b]

I don’t disagree with the verdict. Morally though, I think others are responsible as well. You don’t hire people in key safety related roles and not monitor the situation. Part of the camera crew walked out because of safety problems. That is significant. But did anything change because of it? It doesn’t seem like it. That is a major failing IMO. It doesn’t seem like there were systems in place to make sure there was a safe environment. Personalities and cost seemed to rule, not safety. JMO.

Lots of people were equally culpable. Not least the production company as a whole as they made the hiring decisions and the company is liable for the actions of its staff.

 

[Betty P]

Her job was not to apply makeup, or get the wardrobe in order.

Her job was to maintain all the firearms and ammunition in safe and secure manner so no one would be injured.

The evidence shows she failed to handle and store the weapons in a safe and secure manner, and violated several key safeguards in the job. She was really a disaster waiting to happen, IMHO.

The verdict was correct.

She was disorganized and careless. Her work habits made the workplace unsafe. That disorganization is also likely why she felt she didn't have enough time to complete her work. Keeping things organized and locked away helps you avoid running around, searching for equipment spread around the movie set. Common sense, but like some, she showed a sense of entitlement and belief that being a professional "gun aficionado", she didn't need to follow other people's rules. Sort of like the expert witness on the stand yesterday who was waving around a (hopefully) empty pistol and pointing it at the judge.

 

[Betty P]

Part of the camera crew walked out because of safety problems.

I was wondering about this. I thought part of the camera crew walked out because of their lodging. It was something about having to stay in a grubby motel that was a long drive to and from the set. They wanted to stay closer to the set, but, because it was a touristy area, hotels were expensive. I recall some of the crew had brought RV's, etc. and stayed in those - not unusual for movie locations.

Does anyone recall what the story was with the camera crew that left?

 

[IceIce9]

He's clearly as negligent as her.

He's been in the industry decades and has done a lot of "gun heavy" movies. In his own promo material he's said how skilled he is with firearms. He absolutely knows the safety codes and union rules around the use of guns on movie sets. He knew the gun and it's "dummies" had not been checked. It's supposed to be checked in front of him. It wasn't.

He took someone else's word that it was safe - that by it's very nature is extremely negligent.

On top of all that, he is very anti-gun and has been very vocal on the subject for years - he knows very well how horrific the outcome can be from reckless/negligent use of firearms yet still failed to satisfy himself that what he was about to do with a gun was safe to do!

If Hanna Reed has come over as arrogant and above it all then so has Alec Baldwin; he's spent a big portion of his life shouting about how you shouldn't be allowed to own firearms (whether you want to or not is beside the point) yet his arrogance and duplicity on the subject allows HIM to earn a very nice living from using firearms to pretend to kill people!

Bottom line: he knew the dangers; he didn't check it was safe; he killed someone. Firearms safety is one area in life that is non-delegable - you are responsible.

Do other actors check guns that are handed to them by armorers who check them and say, “cold gun” or do they trust that the armorer has done their job correctly? Honestly wondering. Would like to hear what other actors do when handed a gun by an armorer.

 

[Lexiintoronto]

I wonder if this verdict takes the heat off AB? Looks like DH was smart to take a plea deal. I wonder if HRG was offered a deal too? She probably should have taken it.

In regards to dress, in Montana, wearing jeans that are new, count as being "dressed up". You can wear black jeans to work as "dress pants'.

I feel more confident he’s going to be either convicted or plead guilty after hearing what the prosecutor said, and how Hannah was found guilty so quickly by the jury.

The prosecutor was compelling and effective and was able to break down why they both are guilty in the simplest terms.

There have been so many arguments made by experts that are based on nebulous gun handling theory on movie sets. It boils to common sense. Hannah didn’t check the ammo or weapon, told people the gun was safe and then walked away.

Then Alec failed to check the weapon, pointed it at two people then fired the weapon. Add onto that he was a producer and actor on set that was aware that there were gun safety issues on set before he touched the gun that day.

All my own views based on reports and what the prosecutor has said.

 

[Marantz4250b]

Do other actors check guns that are handed to them by armorers who check them and say, “cold gun” or do they trust that the armorer has done their job correctly? Honestly wondering. Would like to hear what other actors do when handed a gun by an armorer.

It's been mentioned a lot on here; the standard industry/union protocol is that the armourer demonstrates the state of the gun to the actor - and everyone else present - showing that there is nothing in it, there are no barrel obstructions, how it operates and what they need to do with it for the scene, etc. The armourer then loads it in front of the actor any everyone else and demonstrates the state of each round which goes into it.

Anyone present can ask at any time for it to be rechecked or have things explained to them if they are in doubt about anything.

People like George Clooney and Jeffrey Wight have explained this exact procedure and have been quite open in saying that they have never been on a set where this procedure was not undertaken. It's industry standard practice. The fact that the gun is shown to the actor as being in a safe condition is the actor's check that it is safe in the way any other firearms user checks their gun. Alec Baldwin knows all this, he's been doing it for years and years.

He took possession of a gun without personally checking it and without it being demonstrated to him as being safe to use. He made that decision and ended up killing someone. And this event could very easily have involved two fatalities.

 

[Weki]

I was wondering about this. I thought part of the camera crew walked out because of their lodging. It was something about having to stay in a grubby motel that was a long drive to and from the set. They wanted to stay closer to the set, but, because it was a touristy area, hotels were expensive. I recall some of the crew had brought RV's, etc. and stayed in those - not unusual for movie locations.

Does anyone recall what the story was with the camera crew that left?

That’s my recollection as well. The camera crew walked out over lodging. It seems like the director was sympathetic to their issues. Many ppl saw how careless HGR was with the guns and still stayed.

Also, this is not directed at you, but I don’t know why ppl are saying the production isn’t being punished. They are being sued by everyone and will pay. That’s punishment. I guess I don’t know if folks want all the board members and producers to go to prison to achieve real justice here. We can’t just pull up all the producers to trial and charge them criminally. There’s a very high standard for criminal culpability. As there should be. HGR loaded the bullets in the gun without checking. She didn’t need a producer or the CEO of the production company looking over her shoulder to remind her to do that function. She knew she was supposed to do that. That was her negligent choice NOT to do it. JMO

 

[everlearning]

Do other actors check guns that are handed to them by armorers who check them and say, “cold gun” or do they trust that the armorer has done their job correctly? Honestly wondering. Would like to hear what other actors do when handed a gun by an armorer.

Matthew McConaughey says he always checks his own gun.

"While not criticizing Baldwin, McConaughey said he "personally would try to always take even more steps" as an actor using a gun, including checking the weapon himself.

"You hear 'cold' -- now I want a visual," said the Texan star.

If you and I are in a scene together, I need to give you visual. If it's a six shooter, do you see light through all six holes?"

"Let me look you in the eye, you confirm, and you yell it out, 'cold.'"

He added: "You can't over-confirm it."

Guns Can Safely Be Used On Film Sets, Says Matthew McConaughey

Real guns can safely be used on movie sets so long as protocols are followed, US actor Matthew McConaughey has told AFP in an interview, as calls mount to ban firearms from filmmaking in the wake of the deadly "Rust" shooting.

www.barrons.com

 

[Marantz4250b]

I feel more confident he’s going to be either convicted or plead guilty after hearing what the prosecutor said, and how Hannah was found guilty so quickly by the jury.

The prosecutor was compelling and effective and was able to break down why they both are guilty in the simplest terms.

There have been so many arguments made by experts that are based on nebulous gun handling theory on movie sets. It boils to common sense. Hannah didn’t check the ammo or weapon, told people the gun was safe and then walked away.

Then Alec failed to check the weapon, pointed it at two people then fired the weapon. Add onto that he was a producer and actor on set that was aware that there were gun safety issues on set before he touched the gun that day.

All my own views based on reports and what the prosecutor has said.

Morally speaking he should be convicted - perhaps even more so because he has expended a great deal of energy telling anyone who would listen how dangerous guns are in the wrong hands.

His negligence is no less than that of HGR.

If he has even the slightest shred of decency in his character he'll plead guilty, accept that he was negligent and show some genuine remorse. Then again, if he had any decency he wouldn't be preaching about how people shouldn't be allowed to own guns while at the same time using them to bolster his not inconsiderable wealth.

 

[Marantz4250b]

Matthew McConaughey says he always checks his own gun.

"While not criticizing Baldwin, McConaughey said he "personally would try to always take even more steps" as an actor using a gun, including checking the weapon himself.

"You hear 'cold' -- now I want a visual," said the Texan star.

If you and I are in a scene together, I need to give you visual. If it's a six shooter, do you see light through all six holes?"

"Let me look you in the eye, you confirm, and you yell it out, 'cold.'"

He added: "You can't over-confirm it."

Guns Can Safely Be Used On Film Sets, Says Matthew McConaughey

Real guns can safely be used on movie sets so long as protocols are followed, US actor Matthew McConaughey has told AFP in an interview, as calls mount to ban firearms from filmmaking in the wake of the deadly "Rust" shooting.

www.barrons.com

And that, I suspect, is of relevance here!

I agree with him but, as I pointed out a few pages back, the whole "hot/cold" gun terminology is not good terminology, imo, as it's too ambiguous. "Cold" can mean several things which is bad practice where safety in concerned. As I said in my previous post, I think it's used because it sounds kinda cool. It's not fit for purpose, though, imo.

 

[DizzyB]

The set sounds like a nightmare. So many people seemed to know that weapons were not being handled properly, yet no one stepped in. HGR took the job and failed to do it, and a woman died. Production did not provide a safe environment-should they be held accountable? Were they aware and chose to do nothing? I am not sure that AB should be responsible when he clearly was “acting” in a scene. If he didn’t get on television and insist he didn’t pull the trigger, I am not sure he would be charged.