The death of Halyna Hutchins has raised many questions regarding the safety measures and protocols present while shooting on set. In the investigation going on in the incident involving the misfire on the set of ‘Rust’, by Alec Baldwin, the Santa Fe district attorney says there could be potential criminal charges.
The district attorney of Santa Fe, Mary Carmack-Altwies has said, “Everything at this point, including criminal charges, is on the table,” while talking about how the gun was ‘legit’, not a prop gun. There is still investigation underway regarding who loaded it, and what kind of ammunition was loaded that was lethal enough to kill.
According to the Santa Fe district attorney, it could potentially be weeks and even months before the investigation comes to a close, and charges are filed. Meanwhile, production and shooting for ‘Rust’ have been paused, as was announced by producers.
The incident was reported as a rehearsal scene in which Baldwin was handed the ‘prop gun’, by assistant director Dave Halls, who according to officers was not aware of the loaded gun. He was pointing the gun at the camera lens in what is called a ‘cross drawing’.
Industry discussions regarding the safety precautions taken are underway, where studios, as well as individual producers and crew involved in filming, are taking major steps to not only review but actively avoid using actual guns or even blanks in some cases.
All this is in the background while more cases of safety negligence and ignorance pile up against film producers and studios. Ruby Rose, former Batwoman star, took to their Instagram to talk about safety concerns on set that led to her getting a neck injury. They talked about the studio using harmful tactics and misconduct with her on top of her being injured on set.
“To everyone who said I was too stiff on batwoman, imagine going back to work 10 days after this … 10 DAYS!!!!!! (or the whole crew and cast would be fired and I’d let everyone down because Peter Roth said he wouldn’t recast and I just lost the studio millions (by getting injured on his set) that is the one who cost so many people their jobs.” They wrote on Instagram stories.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham also said that it’s time for the industry to revisit safety measures or the state will have to. “My expectation is the industry better step up and identify any number of additional improvements and safeguards,” she said to a news source.
