Baldwin case
It can happen again and again: That is why blank cartridges are a deadly danger
Alec Baldwin accidentally killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins while filming
© Steve Mack / Everett Collection / Picture Alliance
While filming the western “Rust”, lead actor Alec Baldwin accidentally fatally hit cameraman Halyna Hutchins. Weapons expert Lars Winkelsdorf explains how the tragedy happened.
From Lars Winkelsdorf
During the filming of the Hollywood production “Rust” there was a fatal accident in the USA in which the actor Alec Baldwin shot dead 42-year-old cameraman Halyna Hutchins and seriously injured director Joel Souza.
Alec Baldwin: Film weapons are dangerous
Although this type of film has been used for decades with specially modified film guns, which usually cannot be loaded with live ammunition, the risks involved in action films should by no means be underestimated. Fatal accidents have already occurred several times while handling the popping props, for example in 1993 with the US actor Brandon Lee, who was shot by fragments of a previously used representation cartridge: Small splinters had got stuck unnoticed in the gun barrel and were fatally affected by the blank cartridge thrown down the barrel.
The portrayal of firearms in films has very little in common with reality. Real shot noises would leave cinema viewers with severe hearing injuries in the hall and, from a purely physical point of view, a person cannot roll over or fly away if he is hit by a projectile from a pistol. All of these are artistic exaggerations for entertainment. And even the shot from a high-quality silencer is still many times louder than the hiss that is presented in films.
Special blank cartridges
Even the pump guns, which are considered dangerous, are a mystification of Hollywood: They fire the same 12/76 caliber cartridges that are used in double shotguns for duck hunting and even multiple shots cannot explode cars.
So that the viewer can even notice the muzzle flash and the weapon function is maintained, special blank cartridges are used and the weapons are converted accordingly. As a rule, nozzles are inserted into the barrels in order to still be able to use the significantly lower gas pressure for the function and to generate impressive fireballs in front of the weapon.
Possible cause of the accident
It is very likely that this was also the cause of the accident in the case of the filming of “Rust”: Instead of a projectile, this nozzle was likely to have come loose, which was then accelerated out of the barrel and flew uncontrollably through the area like a projectile.
The security measures in such film productions have so far been weak. After the tragic accident in New Mexico, the production companies will have to ask themselves whether it would be better to use protective vests and even helmets for such filming in the future.
That reality had to overtake fiction in such a tragic way was, in view of the dangerously irresponsible handling of weapons, which has been shown in films for decades in ever more spectacular images, but only a matter of time in view of the most important rule: “Point the gun never at something that you don’t want to shoot at! “
About the person: Lars Winkelsdorf is a freelance journalist and weapons expert. He worked for ARD Report Munich, ZDF Frontal21 and the Tagesschau, among others.