Posted on 10/25/2021 6:59:51 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
LOS ANGELES — The assistant director who handed Alec Baldwin the gun that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on a movie set last week had been fired from a film in 2019 after a gun unexpectedly discharged on the set, injuring a crew member, a producer for that film told NBC News on Monday.
The previous incident occurred in New Mexico during the filming of “Freedom’s Path,” said the producer, who worked on the movie. The assistant director, Dave Halls, was removed from the set immediately and later fired, according to the producer.
“Dave was very remorseful for the events and understood the reasons he was being terminated,” the producer told NBC News.
The injured crew member, who was working on sound, recoiled after the blast and was told to seek medical attention after being evaluated by an on-set medic, the producer said.
The extent of the crew member’s injuries wasn’t clear, but the person returned to production a few days later, the producer said, adding that a new assistant director was hired and the film was completed.
Halls did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
Authorities in New Mexico, where the Oct. 22 shooting on the set of “Rust” that also injured Joel Souza, have not charged anyone in the shooting.
Maggie Goll, a special effects technician who worked on the set of a Hulu series with Halls in 2019, said the assistant director did not maintain a safe working environment on the set.
In a statement to NBC News, Goll said Halls did not hold safety meetings or announce when a gun had appeared on the set. He also tried to keep filming after the lead pyrotechnician on the series, "Into the Dark," suffered a medical emergency, she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
Hardcore Freeper here. Read an article? What’s an article :)
You didn’t hear what Schneider said about actor’s responsibility.
I heard him say that the actor’s responsibility was contingent on that of the firearms experts.
I’ve shot a few handguns, but it was decades ago. If you put me in a movie today, I wouldn’t know for the life of me how to check a gun to make sure it was empty. For all we know, Baldwin didn’t know guns from squat either, but had always relied upon the experts hired to help him.
Firearm safety seems to have been sloppy all around, on that set.
Schneider also mentioned the producer’s responsibility I believe. And since there had been two other negligent firearms discharges a few days earlier, involving the same armorer and the same AD, the producer, Alec Baldwin, should have done something about them.
“I’ve shot a few handguns, but it was decades ago. If you put me in a movie today, I wouldn’t know for the life of me how to check a gun to make sure it was empty. For all we know, Baldwin didn’t know guns from squat either, but had always relied upon the experts hired to help him.”
I trust you would ask the expert to show you it was empty.
OTOH, any actor that handles a gun is required to have training on that gun first.
These Hollywood people are pretty careless with guns on their movie sets.
But, they sure like to lecture everyone else.
That is not really what Schneider said. He said that if the actor knows firearms it is his/her responsibility to check the firearm themselves and if the actor does not know firearms it is the actor's responsibility to get the firearms expert to show them that the gun is safe.
He put the final responsibility on the actor in both cases.
Schneider also talked about that in some detail.
Where were the experts? Did they do THEIR jobs?
My only point on these threads has concerned the legalities as they might actually go down in a court of law. So many people here seem to believe that Baldwin was solely responsible for what happened. But there were others, and it’s a complex situation.
Don’t worry; it will all come out in the wash. None of it will negate your proper perspective on gun safety practices - but Law is a different matter, when it gets interpreted and sliced/diced in a courtroom.
If this even gets that far...
“I heard him say that the actor’s responsibility was contingent on that of the firearms experts.”
I d8dn’t. He even raised his voice slightly to ensure that the audience knew he was not dismissing Baldwin’s negligence.
” If you put me in a movie today, I wouldn’t know for the life of me how to check a gun to make sure it was empty. “
That makes it your responsibility to find out and get it down pat. It doesn’t absolve you.
“. So many people here seem to believe that Baldwin was solely responsible for what happened.”
Nope.
Well, we’ll see what happens in court. There’s a good argument that the people responsible for making sure the gun was ‘cold’ were IRresponsible - not just that Baldwin was.
Every point I've made with you is in that light. Every point Schneider made was in that light. He placed responsibility on the armorer, the AD, the actor and the producer. Baldwin was the actor and the producer. They are all legally liable.
Schneider is obviously an intelligent man with a lot of experience.
But he’s not a lawyer. Where he places responsibility may be entirely correct morally and ethically in his view and in that of many others; but it doesn’t necessarily bear much on how the case will turn out.
I was responding to your accusation that no one but you is addressing the legal ramifications.
I didn’t write that I and nobody else here was addressing the legal aspect. I said that MANY people seem to think that Baldwin was solely responsible.
“’Rust’ assistant director was fired from 2019 movie after gun discharged on set”
yeah, but producer alec baldwin hired him because he was dirt cheap ... actually, the very same criteria baldwin used for hiring EVERYONE for his low-budget production, but you get what you pay for ...
If you were in a movie, you would have spent weeks in a studio sitting a table reading lines to each other before you ever stepped on-site to film.
During that time, you would have also been choreographing fight scenes, practicing blocking for the camera to figure out where everyone would stand, being fitted for costumes, and yes, taking firearms classes before ever being handed a gun.
You only go to the set when you've rehearsed your lines with everyone else, practiced your movements, know your place in the scene, and are ready to film.
-PJ
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