Posted on 11/01/2021 1:39:00 PM PDT by Rummyfan
Our friend Stephen Hunter describes the column below as “one more Alec Baldwin piece, this from a film critic and acknowledged firearms expert.” Steve was the Pulitzer-Prize winning film critic of the Washington Post and is the author of the Bob Lee Swagger novels. His new novel is TARGETED, which will be published in January by Atria/Emily Bestler Books and is available for pre-order now. Steve writes:
What did Alec Baldwin know of the firearm with which he killed Halyna Hutchins? The answer, based on his filmography, is not much.
Whether intentionally or by chance, he has had a remarkably gun-free career as a film actor. He has never made a Western. His most recent exposure dates back to 1994’s “The Getaway,” in which he used a .45 automatic, as did Steve McQueen in Sam Peckinpah’s original. However the automatic is a pistol from another era (1911 on) and its protocols are entirely different than the Italian clone of the Colt Peacemaker he reportedly used on the set of “Rust.”
The perdurable Peacemaker is a genre icon. It has been used safely in literally tens of thousands of Westerns, from “The Great Train Robbery” of 1903 to this year’s “Old Henry.” In today’s professional film culture, even with diminished production of Westerns, there still must be hundreds of men and women highly proficient in its use. New Mexico, where the film shoot had gone, has to be jammed with savvy Colt users. There’s even an under-the-radar sport called Western Action Shooting by which thousands of ordinary folks dress up cowboy and use period-accurate firearms in matches. In other words, there’s no shortage of expertise.
(Excerpt) Read more at powerlineblog.com ...
Really excellent analysis and the most cogent hypothesis of what happened, why it was an “accident” (as in not a deliberate shooting) and how Baldwin violated the first 4 rules of firearms handling and directly caused the death of the cinematographer.
He used a 45 in Hunt for Red October
Do you expect an actor to check the condition of the brakes on a car before getting behind the wheel to shoot a scene?
Do you expect an actor to check the condition of the pyrotechnics before the actor films an explosion scene?
It is not reasonable to expect an actor to know how to properly clear a weapon handed to him for a scene, nor to even know if the scene calls for blanks, dummy cartridges, or a completely unloaded gun, then determine which one is actually in the firearm.
It is also not tolerable to ever have live ammunition anywhere near the set. Ever.
All of this is on the Armorer.
Baldwin did, however, violate the rule of always 'cheating' his aim so as to not directly point a firearm directly at someone else.
But just as I wouldn't expect Baldwin to know how to preflight a helicopter before he got into one for a scene, I don't expect him to be able to properly determine if the condition of the prop he is handed is correct for what the scene requires.
I do expect him as a co-producer to ensure that whoever is hired as Armorer is competent at the job. I also expect that whoever is in the role of Armorer isn't also required to perform other non-Armorer duties that distract from that primary task.
That also is on Baldwin.
“ There’s even an under-the-radar sport called Western Action Shooting by which thousands of ordinary folks dress up cowboy and use period-accurate firearms in matches.”
Under the radar? Tens of thousands of people are into Cowboy Action Shooting. Our club alone has about 50 of them.
L
“It is not reasonable to expect an actor to know how to properly clear a weapon handed to him for a scene, nor to even know if the scene calls for blanks, dummy cartridges, or a completely unloaded gun, then determine which one is actually in the firearm.”
Actually the rules say that everyone who touches it is required to check it. They were posted here a few days ago.
And your analogy to a car is disingenuous at best. A car isn’t legally classified as an inherently dangerous device. Firearms are.
While there’s plenty of blame to go around there’s no getting around the fact that Baldwin broke the cardinal rules of firearms safety.
He’s responsible for that woman’s death.
Period.
L
Rule #5, yes indeed.
Bottom line is if you’re the operator you must know how to administer the weapon. If you can’t/don’t then it shouldn’t be in your possession. It’s no more complex than that. Unlike vehicle mechanics gun safety is very simple and straight forward. All operators must have this training and show they understand it. As an operator you are responsible completely.
“The opening scene of our stage show in Glasgow had called for our singing group, dressed as outlaws – neckerchief masks and all – to enter from stage right and to shoot blanks toward the opposite side of the stage, where I was to make my entrance on Trigger. It had been my responsibility to load all guns used in the show, including those for a shooting act later in the program which used live ammunition. By accident, I had loaded one of their guns with bird shot. I realized the error of the load as the “outlaws” began to shoot: I felt Trigger flinch and noticed several burning places on my face and in my arms and legs. You know the show must go on; I went to the microphone with blood streaming down my face and said, You know, they’ve been shooting at me for twenty years, and this is the first time they’ve hit me.” I introduced the next act, and asked if there was a doctor in the house who would come back stage.” After having a few bird shot picked out of us, Trigger and I went on with the show. ...”
Times have changed, all right.
I’m with you. I don’t expect actors to know or do anything useful, necessary, or difficult. They are actors; people who memorize and then repeat things that other, perhaps smarter people wrote down for them. They are like children.
“It is not reasonable to expect an actor to know how to properly clear a weapon handed to him”
It is absolutely reasonable to expect an actor to know how to properly clear a weapon handed to him.
Guns are not that complicated. A few minutes with the armorer will teach what’s needed.
If the actor is going to actually drive a car, he’s expected to know how to safely drive a car.
If the actor is going to act in water, he’s expected to know how to swim.
If a gun CAN be loaded, it IS loaded. The one wielding it MUST be competent with it.
“this from a film critic and acknowledged firearms expert.”
Meh.
Absolutely it is.
It takes seconds to check a gun to see if it’s loaded and to clear it, and should be the first thing ANYONE does when handed a weapon.
Checking a gun is absurdly simple and does not require the same kind of advanced knowledge and training that a car mechanic or pyrotechnician or preflighting a helicopter does.
You are comparing apples to oranges and making excuses for him not handling the gun responsibly. Your examples are absurd.
Yes if he will actually drive it on camera. I'd expect him to test drive it get a good feel for it, brakes and steering.
Do you expect an actor to check the condition of the pyrotechnics before the actor films an explosion scene?
If he was personally involved in setting or detonating them. Otherwise, no, if he had no direct involvement in their use.
“Checking a gun is absurdly simple and does not require the same kind of advanced knowledge and training that a car mechanic or pyrotechnician or preflighting a helicopter does.”
This is no defense of Baldwin; I have no sympathy for him at all. But while checking a gun is simple for a gun enthusiast, it must remembered that a every gun is a little different. My wife put a round in the ground while loading a single action replica which required the half cock hammer to rotate the cylinder for loading. This is a feature of single action antique pistols of the sort that Baldwin fired. They are inherently more dangerous that modern semi-autos...even those lacking a safety.
As with everything else about him, he’s an idiot with firearms.
I am no firearms expert, but if you have read any of the Bob Lee Swagger novels, or any of Hunter’s books, he does go into a bit of technical detail on guns, trajectories, ballistics, and shooting in general.
It does not matter if the actor knows how to clear a weapon or not. Having the actors attempting to check the safety condition of guns used on set would only introduce far more danger. A movie set is an entirely different world and requires entirely different rules.
People quoting firearms safety rules when commenting on this tragedy have zero idea what they are talking about. This incident has gone a long long way to making 2nd amendment supporters expose their ignorance. The great majority of professional firearms trainers whether they be civilian, military or law enforcement or all of the above have exactly ZERO experience or knowledge of gun safety on a movie set and would not know where to even begin on the set of a hollywood action movie. They also have zero experience with specialized blanks and the specialized modifications on many firearms used in filming. They are really pontificating on a subject in which they have no expertise or authority and it's going to backfire on them.
Spot on!
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