Fatal accident at Baldwin film
“They treated us like dog poop”: crew members complained about shooting conditions
The conditions at the location of the Baldwin western “Rust” caused trouble even before the fatal accident
© Eddie Moore // Picture Alliance
Just before a fatal shot was fired on the set of the western “Rust”, part of the camera crew had left the location. They complained about the bad treatment by the producers.
The tragedy surrounding camera woman Halyna Hutchins, who was killed by a shot from a prop gun, has dominated the headlines since Friday evening. Part of the crew had left the location just a few hours before the tragic accident. In addition to safety concerns, they were mainly driven by the poor conditions of the employees. Now more details about the situation on the set have become known.
The employees belonging to the camera team were particularly annoyed by the long working hours in connection with the extremely long journey, reports the “Los Angeles Times”. Accordingly, the film crew had to commute almost 80 kilometers from Albuquerque to the remote location on the Bonanza Creek Ranch every day. Originally it was said that one would be accommodated in nearby Santa Fe, according to the report. Since shooting days began at 6:30 am, the almost one-hour drive meant getting up extremely early to be on time for the start of shooting. After 12 to 13 hours of shooting, the exhausted employees had to drive back.
“Treated like dog poop”
This made some employees extremely angry. “The producers of this film treat the crew like shitty dog poop,” complained the employee Lane Luper on Thursday evening on Facebook. “We are currently fighting to get us hotel rooms because we are too tired in the evening to drive an hour back to Albuquerque after long shootings. he complains. “One producer even complained that she had to pay us ten dollars more than the homeless do.” In addition, there were problems with unpaid salaries, according to a series of posts.
The employee’s anger must also have been so great because Alec Baldwin, who is also listed as a producer on the film, had just made very positive comments about the IATSE film union. She represents the film staff behind the camera and had recently fought in a tough dispute for better conditions and even threatened a strike before an agreement was reached on Thursday. Baldwin had posted a approving video from the set of “Rust” and even encouraged a strike. Luper’s angry answers can be found under a Facebook post about the clip.
Employees at risk?
Luper saw the situation on set as a security threat. A colleague slept in his car for one night so as not to have to drive overtired. “Nobody on any movie set should have to sleep in a car in a parking lot to avoid dying driving home,” he grumbled. Attempts to negotiate an improvement have been unsuccessful. The producers insisted on an industry regulation that a hotel would only have to be provided after 14 hours of work. But because the one-hour lunch break during the “Rust” shoot would not be counted, the crew members would effectively have to reach 15-hour days in order to be able to claim the hotel rooms.
As a compromise offer, 13 hours of working time were offered, which led to shooting days with 12.5 hours, reports Luper. With breaks and driving, you would still have just under eight non-working hours a day. “Most people here don’t sleep more than five hours a night.” Ultimately, he and his people threw in the towel, according to the last message. “You will definitely hear about it.” A few hours later, the fatal accident overshadowed the report.
Source:Los AngelesTimes, Facebook post