Alec Baldwin received a weapon as a “Cold Gun” panorama

The question, of course, is: how did this happen? How was it possible that actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun while filming Rust at Bonanza Creek Ranch, New Mexico, killing cameraman Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza? “I have no words to express my shock and grief,” wrote Baldwin on Friday afternoon on Twitter: “I will support the police investigation to the best of my ability to find the cause of this tragedy.”

There are still no official statements from the Santa Fe County’s Sheriff’s Office investigating the case. Of the New York Times and the AP news agency, however, quote from an affidavit the sheriff’s office submitted to a court in Santa Fe. It states that the assistant director shouted the words “Cold Gun” before handing the death weapon over to Baldwin – a clear assurance that the gun was not loaded. Before that, the 24-year-old armorer would have placed three weapons she had prepared in an open car on the set. After the fatal shot, she would have removed the cartridge case and handed the weapon over to the police.

It is also unclear which ammunition the weapon was loaded with and why it was able to develop this lethal effect. When asked by SZ, the Santa Fe police did not want to confirm that security protocols had been violated. The investigation is not even so far that it is clear what exactly camerawoman Hutchins and director Souza have been hit.

Even before that, there were complaints from employees about working hours and the long journey

On Thursday, a few hours before the fatal shooting, several members of the film crew apparently left the set to protest against the working conditions on site. the Los Angeles Times first reported this, citing a crew member; the acquaintance of another worker on site confirmed the process of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Those leaving the set included cameramen and their assistants complaining about working hours and the long journey to Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe. Hutchins was apparently not there, but regretted the protests from colleagues. “It feels like I’m losing my best friends,” she said.

The shooting had started on October 6th, at the time of the shooting there was a statement from the company founded especially for the film Rust Movie Productions According to 22 actors, 75 crew members and 230 extras on the set. The crew had been promised that they would spend the night in Santa Fe, just 30 kilometers away – but shortly after filming began, it was said: Albuquerque, about an hour’s drive away. Work started on most shooting days at 6.30 a.m. That meant: Departure no later than 5.30 a.m., on some days crew members only returned to the hotel shortly before midnight.

An hour after the camera crew stopped work, came loud Los Angeles Times new workers on the set who were not affiliated with any union. “They wanted to keep shooting, so they chose this abbreviation,” the source is quoted as saying. There were already two incidents with the pistol last Saturday. Baldwin’s stunt double fired two shots, although he was assured that there were no projectiles or blank cartridges in the weapon: “There were massive security gaps on this set. It just had to go fast, fast, fast,” she said Source. According to the newspaper report, the production manager had been informed of these shots and an employee had warned him via SMS.

Alec Baldwin on the phone after being questioned by the police. He wrote on Twitter: “I support the police investigation to the best of my ability.”

(Photo: Jim Weber / AP)

The production company sent out a statement stating, “Safety is a top priority at Rust Productions. We have not received any official complaints about the use of guns and props on set, but will conduct an internal investigation while filming is suspended. ” In addition to being an actor, Baldwin is also the producer of the independent film, which is considered a low-budget production with a budget of six million dollars.

From the schedule of production that of the SZ is present, it can be seen that the shots occurred during rehearsals. There was supposed to be a shooting in a church and the figure of Baldwin was supposed to leave the building. For adjustment he should pull the pistol out of the holster; other sources confirm that someone shouted “Cold Gun”. On the second attempt, a shot was released that pierced Hutchins’ chest and then hit director Souza, who was kneeling right behind her. Souza was injured but has since been released from the hospital.

“There is no reason to use blank cartridges these days – you can insert anything in post-production”

The security measures are extremely strict when weapons are used on film sets, said a member of the film workers’ union International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) of the SZ, usually nobody except the “Weapons Masters” has access to pistols; there are strict controls and safety distances (six meters even with blank cartridges). However, there were also misunderstandings about the course of the accident because the IATSE chamber Local 44 in an email to members spoke of a “live round” – which initially sounded like “projectile”, but can also be blank cartridges. Projectiles are prohibited in US filming locations.

The bigger question the case naturally raises is the question of poor working conditions on film sets. Perhaps he is representative of major grievances in the industry. A strike by IATSE members had only been averted last week. These are the people who are only called “below-the-line workers” in Hollywood: makeup artists, costume designers, decorators, technicians – symbolic of how un glamorous these jobs are was the debate about streamlining the Academy Awards. One suggestion was that the Academy Awards for below-the-line workers – in categories such as “Production Design” or “Makeup and Hairstyling” – could be given during the commercial breaks.

There was really not much going on in this month-long dispute between producers and the union. The agreement, on which the members will still vote, provides for a salary increase of three percent per year as well as longer breaks between the days of shooting, which can sometimes last 20 hours. IATSE is made up of regional chambers, in Hollywood alone there are 13 with more than 40,000 workers; Hutchins, for example, was a member of Local 600. In an Instagram post last week, she supported their demands. From her environment it is said that she had to stop working in a strike on Monday.

It is quite possible that this case will now cause far-reaching changes in the industry. “These days there is no longer any reason to use blank cartridges – you can insert anything in the post-production,” writes Rachel Morrison on Instagram. She is the first cinematographer to be nominated for an Oscar (2017 for “Mudbound”): “If you don’t have the funding to make a film safely, you shouldn’t shoot it at all.” Others like Kevin Williams, who is responsible for props at the film faculty of the elite university UCLA, find the existing rules sufficient if they are strictly adhered to: “It wouldn’t hurt to train people more.”

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