The crew members on set as Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer – and what they said happened

Published

3 years ago

October 25, 2021

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As authorities continue to investigate the fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal film scene in New Mexico, questions are being raised about how the tragedy was able to occur on set.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, was killed when Baldwin discharged a prop firearm on the set of the western movie Rust on Thursday. The film’s director Joel Souza, who was standing behind her, was shot in the shoulder.

It is unclear why the gun contained a projectile. Baldwin, best known for films and TV shows including The Departed and 30 Rock, and for portraying Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live, has described Hutchins’ death as “a tragic accident”.

No one has been charged in relation to the incident, which happened at the Bonanza Creek Ranch outside Santa Fe. Santa Fe-area District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies has said prosecutors are reviewing evidence, while New Mexico workplace safety investigators are examining if film industry standards for gun safety were followed during production.

Several media and social media reports have raised concerns about safety protocols on what was a low-budget movie set.

Here is what we know about crew members on set and what witnesses have told authorities.

Armourer

The person in charge of weapons on set is known as an armourer. The armourer for Rust, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, had set up the gun and two others, according to an affidavit from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.

The weapons were set on a cart outside the building where a scene was being rehearsed, court records say.

After the shooting, she removed a shell casing from the gun and turned the weapon over to police when they arrived, according to the court records.

Before taking up the role of armourer on a previous film, Ms Gutierrez-Reed reportedly said she wasn’t sure if she was ready for the position.

Speaking in an interview after completing a role as head armourer for the Nicolas Cage film The Old Way, Ms Gutierrez-Reed said: “‘I almost didn’t take the job because I wasn’t sure if I was ready, but doing it, it went really smoothly.”

She is also said to have admitted she found loading blanks into a gun “the scariest” thing and had sought help from her father, the renowned gunsmith Thell Reed, to overcome her fear.

Assistant director

It was the film’s assistant director Dave Halls who grabbed the gun from the cart and took it inside to Baldwin, unaware that it was loaded with live rounds, a detective wrote in a search warrant application for the film set.

He shouted “cold gun” – an industry term meaning a weapon is not loaded with ammunition, indicating that it was safe to use – before handing the firearm over, the search warrant states.

His film credits, according to IMDB, include The Matrix Reloaded, Bad Santa and The Crow: Salvation, a sequel to The Crow – which saw star Brandon Lee killed on set in a similar firearms incident in the 1990s.

Director

Rust director Joel Souza was standing behind Ms Hutchins and was shot in the shoulder during the incident. He was taken to hospital but later discharged.

At the time of the incident, Souza said he was focused on how the scene would appear on camera and that he recalled hearing the phrase “cold gun” being used, according to the affidavit.

He said the scene they were shooting did not call for the use of live rounds.

Cameraman

Camera operator Reid Russell gave a statement to detectives, telling them that Baldwin had been careful with weapons on set.

Mr Russell said the actor was rehearsing a scene in which he was set to draw his gun while sitting in a church pew and point it at the camera when the fatal shooting occurred.

He said he was unsure whether the weapon was checked before it was handed to Baldwin but that the camera was not rolling when the gun went off, according to the search warrant affidavit.

When asked about how Baldwin treated firearms on the set, Russell said the actor was very careful, giving details of an instance when Baldwin made sure a child actor was not near him when a gun was being discharged.

Speaking to detectives about the time on set leading up to the shooting, Russell said several members of the camera crew had walked off the production in a dispute over payment and lodging, and he was left with a lot of work to do.

Electrician/lighting professional

The film’s chief electrician Serge Svetnoy blamed producers for Ms Hutchins’ death in an emotional Facebook message posted on Sunday.

Mr Svetnoy said he had worked with Hutchins on multiple films and faulted “negligence and unprofessionalism” among those handling weapons on the set.

He also said that producers hired an inexperienced armourer.

Script supervisor

The film’s script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell, said she was standing next to Hutchins when she was shot.

Following the shooting, she quickly called emergency services, and details of the call were later released.

“I ran out and called 911 and said ‘Bring everybody, send everybody’,” Mitchell told The Associated Press. “This woman is gone at the beginning of her career. She was an extraordinary, rare, very rare woman.”

In the 911 call, Ms Mitchell is calm but clearly in a state of distress; background noises suggest people raced to get help for the two people who had been injured while the call was being made.

Asked by the operator if the gun was loaded with a real bullet, she replied: “I don’t, I cannot tell you that… we have two injuries from a movie gunshot.”

Unnamed crew members

A report in The Los Angeles Times, citing two crew members who were not named, said that five days before the shooting, Baldwin’s stunt double accidentally fired two live rounds after being told the gun did not have any ammunition.

A crew member who was alarmed by the misfires told a unit production manager in a text message, “We’ve now had 3 accidental discharges. This is super unsafe”, according to a copy of the message reviewed by the newspaper.

The New York Times, citing three former crew members, also reported that there were at least two earlier accidental gun discharges.

Rust Movie Productions said in a statement on Friday that it had not been aware of any safety concerns but was investigating claims of previous incidents.

“Though we were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down,” it said.

US

Biden delivers election-year roasting for Trump but ignores anti-war protesters outside

Published

12 hours ago

April 28, 2024

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Biden delivers election-year roasting for Trump but ignores anti-war protesters outside

US President Joe Biden has delivered an election-year roasting of his rival Donald Trump, criticising his immaturity.

Speaking at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday night, the 81-year-old responded to concerns that he is too old for a second presidential term.

“Yes, age is an issue – I’m a grown man running against a six-year-old,” he said, referring to his 77-year-old Republican opponent.

But in a more serious moment, the president told the gathered reporters: “I’m sincerely not asking you to take sides.

“I’m asking you to rise up to the seriousness of the moment.

“Move past the horse race numbers and the gotcha moments and the distractions, the sideshows that have come to dominate and sensationalise our politics, and focus on what’s actually at stake.”

Mr Biden did not acknowledge the hundreds of demonstrators standing outside the event calling for an end to US support of Israel.

Earlier, he had arrived at the venue through a back entrance, avoiding most of the protesters.

Outside the main entrance, some shouted “Shame on you!”, running after well-dressed attendees as they hurried inside for the dinner.

Some chanted accusations that US journalists are not paying enough attention to the war and are misrepresenting it, shouting: “Western media, we see you and all the horrors that you hide”.

They were not alone – more than two dozen journalists in Gaza wrote a letter last week calling on their US-based colleagues to boycott the dinner.

The letter said: “The toll exacted on us for merely fulfilling our journalistic duties is staggering.

“We are subjected to detentions, interrogations and torture by the Israeli military – all for the ‘crime’ of journalistic integrity.”

Israel declared war on Hamas and launched an air and ground offensive in Gaza in response to the attack on southern Israel on 7 October, when Hamas killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took another 250 hostages.

More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have sought refuge in Rafah, where Israel has conducted near-daily raids as it prepares for a possible offensive in the city.

More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed during the Israel-Hamas war, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

At the beginning of April, Reporters Without Borders said more than 105 journalists had been killed in the area since 7 October, with at least 22 of them killed in the course of their work.

The protests outside the correspondents’ dinner come as a protest movement sweeps across US universities – a growing revolt within a demographic Mr Biden will need to beat Mr Trump.

US

Harvey Weinstein taken to hospital after being moved to a New York jail

Published

23 hours ago

April 27, 2024

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Harvey Weinstein taken to hospital after being moved to a New York jail

The lawyer for Harvey Weinstein says the former film producer has been taken to hospital after being moved to a New York jail.

It comes days after the movie mogul’s 2020 conviction for rape was overturned, with a New York court ordering a new trial in the landmark “MeToo” case.

Arthur Aidala, Weinstein’s lawyer, said his client was moved to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan for tests after his arrival on Friday at a New York City prison.

“They examined him and sent him to Bellevue. It seems like he needs a lot of help, physically. He’s got a lot of problems. He’s getting all kinds of tests. He’s somewhat of a train wreck health-wise,” Mr Aidala said.

The hospital did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Mr Aidala said he is still “sharp as a tack” mentally, and his health problems are physical.

Weinstein has had cardiac issues, diabetes, sleep apnea and eye problems for some time.

He was moved on Friday to the Rikers Island jail complex, in The Bronx’s East River, from the Mohawk Correctional Facility, in Oneida County, upstate New York, where he had been since 2023.

“He was not treated well. They refused to give him even a sip of water, no food, no bathroom break,” said Mr Aidala.

“He’s a 72-year-old sickly man.”

Frank Dwyer, a spokesperson with the New York City Department of Correction, said Weinstein remains in custody at Bellevue Hospital.

The disgraced producer has been in prison since 2020 and on Thursday, the New York Court of Appeals overturned his first rape conviction.

He has been serving a 23-year sentence after being accused of sexually assaulting ex-production assistant Mimi Haley in 2006 and raping former aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013 following the landmark 2020 trial in New York.

The state’s highest court found the judge at the trial prejudiced Weinstein with “egregious” improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that were not part of the case.

In a 4-3 decision, the court’s majority said it was “an abuse of judicial discretion to permit untested allegations of nothing more than bad behaviour”.

Mr Aidala said the decision was a victory for the defendant and any American charged with a crime, “no matter how popular or unpopular they are”.

“You can’t convict someone based on their entire life,” he said.

“You can’t allow more witnesses to testify against the defendant than the defendant is actually charged with.”

“You can’t throw out a hundred years of legal precedent because someone is unpopular.”

Weinstein remains in jail despite the recent ruling because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape, against which he is also appealing. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison for that crime.

Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg – who is already involved in a hush money trial against former president Donald Trump – will now decide whether Weinstein will face a retrial for his 2020 conviction.

A spokesperson for Mr Bragg said in an email: “We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault.”

Weinstein is scheduled to appear in Manhattan Criminal Court at 2.15pm (local time) on Wednesday in a hearing that will set a timetable for future appearances, assuming the retrial goes ahead.

Deborah Tuerkheimer, a professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and former assistant district attorney in Manhattan, said whether there is a second trial will “hinge on the preferences of the women who would have to testify again and endure the ordeal of a retrial.”

“I think ultimately this will come down to whether they feel it’s something they want to do, are able to do,” she said.

Once considered the most powerful man in Hollywood, Weinstein was accused by dozens of women who claimed he bullied, pressured, coerced, or overpowered them while demanding sexual favours.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek, and Lupita Nyong’o all accused Weinstein of sexual harassment, while actresses Asia Argento and Rose McGowan were among others who accused him of raping them.

He was also accused of reaching settlements to keep the stories quiet.

Weinstein had admitted his behaviour had “caused a lot of pain”, but has maintained his innocence throughout, saying any sexual activity was consensual.

US

Hundreds of homes damaged after tornado smashes through Nebraska

Published

1 day ago

April 27, 2024

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Hundreds of homes damaged after tornado smashes through Nebraska

Hundreds of homes have been damaged and nearly 10,000 are without power after a tornado smashed through parts of Omaha, in the US state of Nebraska.

A number of tornadoes were reported in the state but the worst hit the suburbs to the northwest of the city, which has a population of 485,000.

The homes damaged were mostly in the Elkhorn area, police said, and emergency workers were going door-to-door to help people trapped in the debris.

Elkhorn residents Pat and Kim Woods said they took shelter when the tornado was about 200 yards away.

“We could hear it coming through,” Mr Woods said.

“When we came up, our fence was gone and we looked to the northwest and the whole neighbourhood’s gone.”

Mrs Woods added: “The whole neighbourhood just to the north of us is pretty flattened.”

But while some homes in the area were destroyed, others appeared untouched.

There were no reports of deaths but a number of people suffered minor injuries, according to Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer, who added: “People had warnings of this and that saved lives.”

One of the other tornados passed through parts of Eppley Airfield, the city’s airport, which was closed for almost an hour.

Passengers were sent to storm shelters, according to Omaha Airport Authority Chief Strategy Officer Steve McCoy.

The terminal was not affected but other airport buildings “sustained damage”.

The airport has now reopened, although flight delays are expected late into Friday.

The tornado then crossed the Missouri River into Iowa, where damage reports are still coming through.

Daniel Fienhold, who owns a steakhouse in Crescent, Iowa, said he watched the weather from outside with his daughter and employees.

“It started raining, and then it started hailing, and then all the clouds started to kind of swirl and come together, and as soon as the wind started to pick up, that’s when I headed for the basement, but we never saw it,” he said.

Three workers at an industrial plant were injured when another tornado struck near the Nebraska city of Lincoln on Friday afternoon.

The building collapsed with around 70 people inside and several had to be rescued from the debris.

The weekend is not likely to bring any relief – The Weather Service has issued tornado watches across parts of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.