Posted on 03/15/2023 7:08:17 AM PDT by KC Burke
Well, yes.
Did Baldwin kill one and injure another, with a loaded gun?
He most certainly did.
Did he intend to kill and injure?
I would say he probably did not.
Check the weapon, it’s your responsibility. It’s that simple.
That has not been an industry standard in the last 50 years. In fact, actors are supposed to be forbidden to manipulate firearms in any manner other than called for in the script or by the Director.
Does that override the laws of the State of New Mexico? Certainly not. Should the state even take those industry standards into consideration? Those are reasonable questions. And the dancing answer is: "Maybe".
Or we could just forget about making action movies that use firearms.
Frankly, most actors are not competent to even check or clear a firearm. They are dependent on a system of other people checking those things to keep them safe during filming. That system works quite well.
Baldwin in his role as Producer was distinctly negligent in allowing safety standards to be ignored. That is your gateway into a charge of criminal negligent homicide, or whatever the equivalent is in New Mexico.
The District Attorney office for this case is staffed by complete morons.
Baldwin was doing a rehearsal.
Did you follow these procedures in your videos?
Actor’s Equity SAFETY TIPS FOR USE OF FIREARMS
Treat all guns as if they are loaded and deadly.
The property master or armorer should carefully train you in the safe use of any firearm you must handle.
Do not let others handle the gun for any reason.
Never point a firearm at anyone including yourself. Always cheat the shot by aiming to the right or left of the target character. If asked to point and shoot directly at a living target, consult with the property master or armorer for the prescribed safety procedures.
If you are the intended target of a gunshot, make sure that the person firing at you has followed all these safety procedures.
If you are required to wear exploding blood squibs, make sure there is a bulletproof vest or other solid protection between you and the blast packet.
Use protective shields for all off stage cast within close proximity to any shots fired.
Appropriate ear protection should be offered to the cast members and stage managers.
Check the firearm every time you take possession of it. Before each use, make sure the gun has been test-fired off stage and then ask to test fire it yourself. Watch the prop master check the cylinders and barrel to be sure no foreign object or dummy bullet has become lodged inside.
I wholeheartedly agree with that summation.
With today’s camera technology, staging, and editing “tricks”, there is no reason to use an actual functioning firearm in any scene. There is also no reason to aim a functioning firearm directly at another human, the viewing public won’t notice if it’s not aimed at center mass.
In my opinion, if a functioning firearm is used in any scene, even the most illiterate actors must be trained in the use of the weapon.
This may have prevented the entire situation we’re referring to.
Thank you for the well-reasoned responses and discussion!
There you go, with logic and common sense. That will never fly around here.
Movie sets hire armorers because actors can’t be trusted to know anything about guns. I remember one actor who was horsing around and fired a blank next to his own temple and the blank shot killed him.
The ‘Rust’ set was very unprofessional and some California people went home because they thought it was unsafe. Live rounds were known to be on the property. That should never be allowed. The armorer and the director both were responsible for checking the gun before handing it to an actor. Baldwin’s a reprehensible fool but actors have never been in charge of the guns used on movie sets.
Oh i don’t think he should be charged with murder at all. This is negligent manslaughter at the most. As his own Producer as well as culprit and the one that set up the rule breaking climate he has a lot here to be liable for in this.
Yes.
You forgot to mention the rule that weapons which can fire blanks (or live rounds) must be unloaded during a rehearsal. No dummy rounds, no blanks. That must be verified by the Armorer or a Weapons Handler, not by the Actor. When filming a "take" it is the job of the Armorer or Handler to load the weapon with appropriate rounds and unload it afterwards.
Actors still had (and have) the absolute right to request a weapons check before a rehearsal or a take.
Always cheat the shot by aiming to the right or left of the target character.
That item is valid in a rehearsal but may be complete nonsense in an action scene. Specifically, when the scene requires a direct shot at the camera or a closeup shot at another actor that is what the actors will do.
We dealt with that problem by exclusively using replica weapons which were incapable of firing any projectile, or even firing blanks. Flash effects were added in post-production. The "bang" was also added in post-production.
In some scenes, we used recoil weapons powered by a CO2 cartridge. Again, weapons not capable of firing any projectile. Also, no need for hearing protection since those replicas only make the "phffft!" sound that people incorrectly believe comes out of a weapon with a "silencer" mounted.
Likewise, using only replica weapons eliminates the need for blast shields.
CO2 cartridges were unloaded from recoil weapons during rehearsals.
We never used squibs. Blood effects were added in post-production.
The Weapons Master (Armorer) still had to keep track of all the replica weapons, issue them for scenes and recover them afterwards. And make sure no other unauthorized weapons were ever introduced on set.
On a few occasions where live fire was required, that action was performed by a Designated Marksman. Actors were never allowed to handle live weapons, and in fact were not present on the set during those scenes.
Having a loaded gun for a rehearsal was very strange, not practicing the cross draw as the armorer requested was careless.
“Check the firearm every time you take possession of it. Before each use, make sure the gun has been test-fired off stage and then ask to test fire it yourself.”
If Producer and actor Alec Baldwin had followed the basic rules of on-set gun safety during his rehearsal then he could not have killed that woman and shot the other guy.
There is every reason to believe that Baldwin was an expert with gun handling both on and off the set.
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