Posted on 10/22/2021 12:37:12 PM PDT by Red Badger
Alec Baldwin shot and killed Halyna Hutchins in an apparent misfire of a prop gun. Why Baldwin, a freak about gun control, is in a movie that involves guns is beyond my comprehension. Does he not have enough money?
But this is not about him. This post is about Halyna Hutchins because the victim matters more than the idiot who killed her.
Born in Ukraine when it was a Soviet state 42 years ago, Hutchins grew up in the Arctic and had little to do except watch movies. She was 12 when the Soviet Union collapsed and Ukraine gained independence. She trained as a journalist.
Metro reported, "Hutchins was born in the Ukraine and grew up on a Soviet military base in the Arctic Circle before attending Kyiv National University.
"After graduating with a degree in international journalism, she worked as an investigative journalist for British documentaries in Eastern Europe.
"However, Hutchins’ true passion lay in filmmaking, and she moved to Los Angeles, where she got work as a production assistant and a grip electrician.
"She also shot her own short films, inspired by cinematographers including Christopher Doyle and Sergey Urusevskiy.
"On the advice of cinematographer Robert Primes, Hutchins enrolled the filmmaking MFA program at the American Film Institute Conservatory in 2013 and graduated two years later."
She was a rising star.
Variety reported, "Hutchins graduated from the American Film Institute in 2015, and had worked on several short films before shooting 'Archenemy,' a 2020 feature starring Joe Manganiello. She was named a rising star by American Cinematographer in 2019."
Michael Pessah, her friend and fellow cinematographer, told Variety, "She’s a wonderful, positive, creative person that was so excited to be breaking through and making movies. She was really on the upswing."
She also was a wife and mother. She left behind husband Matthew, a lawyer, and their 8-year-old son, Andros.
The Daily Mail reported, "Remembered by friends as a 'kind' and 'loving soul', Halyna lived in Venice Beach, California, with husband Matthew and their son Andros, known affectionately as her 'little man' and thought to be around nine years old.
"'Halyna loved him so much and enjoyed watching him grow into the handsome boy he is today,' one friend wrote in a moving Instagram tribute. 'I know she is looking after him and Matt in this horribly scary time.'
"Social media photos capture a playfulness and sense of adventure, with Halloween costume parties, road trips with friends and days out exploring all lit up by Halyna's smile.
"She was also highly regarded by her peers and had been tipped as a 'rising star' by other cinematographers. 'She was somebody who was absolutely dedicated to art and integrity,' director, colleague and friend Adam Mortimer told Good Morning Britain this morning. 'I can tell already she was going to be a genius.'"
Manganiello, who starred in and worked with her on "Archenemy," issued a statement on Instagram.
He said, "I was so lucky to have had Halyna Hutchins as my DP on 'Archenemy.' She was an absolutely incredible talent and a great person. She had such an eye and a visual style, she was the kind of cinematographer that you wanted to see succeed because you wanted to see what she could pull off next. She was a fantastic person. There was no amount of pressure she couldn’t handle. She was a great collaborator and an ally to anyone in front of her camera. Everyone who knew her was rooting for her."
We lost a good person who was just reaching her prime. That saddens me. Hollywood has been working with prop guns for more than a century. This is inexcusable.
Posted by Don Surber at 10/22/2021 12:05:00 PM
They do have rules about angles. Camera work is supposed to trick people to think it’s a straight on shut when it really isn’t. Just like with “Hollywood punches” which miss their mark by quite a bit, but at full speed fro the angle its thrown, look like they were a direct hit.
Chances are good that some leftist hollywood type would not know the barrel from the grip. As a person responsible for the props, you have to design the props accordingly.
True. Even the crew had walked out over safety concerns just prior. They knew he was breaking the rules and were worried enough to protest apparently
But rule #2 or #3 in live firearm handling — always know what is behind your target. You might be shooting into random space however, a live bullet will continue to travel beyond the couple of feet within your field of vision.
Then again, we don’t expect an actor to know this if he has never fired a firearm nor is that skill set required.
“Did he load a cartridge into the gun?”
If you kill someone with a gun loaded by someone other than you, who is to blame?
“Then again, we don’t expect an actor to know this if he has never fired a firearm nor is that skill set required.”
The producer should know!
Oops! Alec was the producer!
Exactly.
The mantra for gun safety is “every gun is loaded and dangerous, even when they aren’t loaded” or “consider every gun to be loaded at all times”
People can personally unload a gun themselves, set their gun in a corner or wherever, leave, then days later take the gu. Out and there is a round in the chamber because while they were gone, someone used the gun and forgot to unload it.
Everyone handling a gun, prop or otherwise, needs to treat the gun as though loaded with real ammo, even if they THINK it has blanks in it, or that it is unloaded.
There are simply no do-overs. Accidents can be fatal- and there are no second chances. You don’t get to start over with a fresh life. Everyone on set should have been taught that, repeatedly. Alec, being tne producer out of all since he was running the show it was u,timatel6 his responsibility to ensure the safety of everyone along with the help of expert handlers.
Sadly he has had to learn a very hard life lesson at the tragic expense of another human being.
12. Ensuring that any actor who is required to stand near the line of fire be allowed to witness the loading of the firearms.
https://www.csatf.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/01FIREARMS.pdf
Yes, Another very important extra safety step, thanks for pointing that out too.
No chance. There’s liability insurance that covers mishaps like this. It’ll probably be settled for a seven figure amount, and Baldwin’s and the studio’s insurance premiums will go up, but not insurmountably high. They might even be self-insured.
Born in Ukraine, grew up in Arctic...........
If the expectation is that it is a prop, a “fake gun,” and it turns out to be a real gun, then it would be the person responsible for the props or the person who certified it safe.
Chances are that many Hollywood types like Baldwin don’t know firearms and they may even demonize them and gun owners. They are fools and hypocrites and they are ignorant of firearms. I bet in the actor’s job description, they are not expected to be firearms experts. If they turn out to be familiar with firearms, then it is incidental.
Any more than actors in a movie about world war 2 tanks, is expected to be an expert on tanks. They may pretend to be but they are not.
In a civil liability situation, he may be responsible in some way. However, criminally, I would expect not. Baldwin probably has some “civil” responsibility if he is in management or owns the production company, or is the producer.
A woman died. Someone was careless and that carelessness caused her death.
Apparently, someone took the firearm out for target practice the days before. It had to be “checked out” and when “checked back in” the person responsible didn’t do a safety check. Heck, even the people using it to target practice were negligent. They should have emptied the firearm when they returned it.
Someone or some entity owns the firearm, too. Can a production company own a >real< firearm? I always thought that it had to be a person’s name on the background check.
“If the expectation is that it is a prop, a “fake gun,” and it turns out to be a real gun, then it would be the person responsible for the props or the person who certified it safe”
Real Guns are used as props.
Industry protocols require:
1. Actor to verify gun safe.
2. All in line of fire verify gun safe.
3. Never point gun at a person unless absolutely required for scene.
Baldwin guilty on all counts.
“Chances are that many Hollywood types like Baldwin don’t know firearms “
He was the producer. Guilty.
“However, criminally, I would expect not.”
Involuntary Manslaughter
“I always thought that it had to be a person’s name on the background check.”
I have ‘several’ guns where no background checks on purchases have ever been run.
I don’t know. As much as I dislike Baldwin, if I were on a jury that was hearing his case, I may not find him guilty.
1. unless he and everyone knew that it as a real firearm; 2. he was expected to have experience with firearms; 3. he was clearly being careless in some way.
It is possible.
A woman died. Everyone was reckless and that recklessness caused her death.
Recently? Private party sales? Family/friend transfer? Never mind. Don’t answer.
This is a major production company, a business, that probably owned the firearms. Unless one of the production team or cast provided a privately owned firearm. That might make them liable. Yikes.
That’ll be one of the questions if there is a trial.
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