Alec Baldwin says ‘heart is broken

Alec Baldwin’s first interview after fatal ‘Rust’ shooting

December 2, 2021 by Raba Noor

During US actor Alec Baldwin’s first interview since the shooting, his interviewer gives light on the actor’s emotional state.

With Good Morning America, the interviewer shared his own thoughts on the shooting.

He admitted, during his own guest appearance on the prime time program, that “I’ve done thousands of interviews in my last 20 years at ABC, this was the most intense I’ve ever experienced.”

“[It was] so raw. He’s devastated. But he’s also very candid. He’s very forthcoming. He answered every question. He talked about Halyna Hutchins, talked about meeting with her family as well,” he stated.

He also went on to admit that they “went through in detail what happened on the set that day. And I have to tell you, I was surprised in many places over the course of the hour and 20 minutes we sat down.“

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‘Rust’ shooting may have been sabotage, say armorer’s lawyers

November 4, 2021 by Raba Noor

'I wanted to thank you all': Alec Baldwin thanks supporters

LOS ANGELES: Lawyers representing the woman who loaded Alec Baldwin’s gun said an act of “sabotage” by disgruntled crew members may have caused the tragic shooting on the set of “Rust.”

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was the armorer in charge of weapons on the Western movie set in New Mexico, where Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer last month after being told his firearm was safe.

Her lawyers told the “Today” program, on the US network NBC, that Gutierrez-Reed had loaded the gun with ammunition from a box of dummy, or inert, rounds and had “no idea” where the live round that killed Halyna Hutchins came from.

“We’re assuming somebody put the live round in that box — which if you think about that, the person who put the live round in the box of dummy rounds had to have the purpose of sabotaging this set,” said Jason Bowles.

“There’s no other reason you would do that. That you would mix that live round in with the dummy rounds.”

Prosecutors have refused to rule out criminal charges over Hutchins’ death.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza has said it appeared “there was some complacency on this set.”

There have been multiple reports that “Rust” camera crew resigned the day before the shooting, in part due to significant safety concerns surrounding firearms and explosives on set.

Both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed are cooperating with the ongoing investigation.

Pressed on why somebody would deliberately sabotage the production by disguising a lethal round as safe ammunition, Bowles pointed to “unhappy” crew members who had walked out hours before the shooting.

“We have people who had left the set, who had walked out because they were disgruntled,” said Bowles, pointing to on-set complaints over long working hours and hotel accommodation for crew.

“We have a timeframe between 11:00 and 1:00 approximately that day in which the firearms at times were unattended. So there was opportunity to tamper with a scene.”

Asked why Gutierrez-Reed had left the firearms unattended, Bowles said she had been asked by producers to shoulder additional duties as a “key props assistant,” and was attending to those at the time of the shooting.

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Brandon Lee’s sister says actors need gun safety training

November 2, 2021 by Raba Noor

LOS ANGELES: Actors who use firearms on Hollywood sets should have to be trained in safety protocols, Shannon Lee, whose brother, Brandon Lee, was killed in an accidental shooting on a movie set, said Monday. Lee, the daughter of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, said such training could be a matter of life or death … Read more

Alec Baldwin says fatal shooting was ‘one in a trillion’

October 31, 2021 by Raba Noor

LOS ANGELES: US actor Alec Baldwin said Saturday in his first public comments on his fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins with a prop gun on a movie set that the tragedy was a “one in a trillion episode.”

In footage aired by TMZ, Baldwin and his wife Hilaria spoke to reporters who intercepted them in Manchester, Vermont. The Hollywood star declined to comment on the investigation of the shooting on the set of the 19th-century Western “Rust” on October 21.

Baldwin has previously tweeted to express his grief over the tragedy, and said he is cooperating with police investigating the killing.

“She was my family,” he told the reporters in the footage.

“There are incidental accidents on film sets from time to time, but nothing like this. This is a one in a trillion episode.”

Calls have grown since the incident for better control of weapons on Hollywood sets, and Baldwin said the effort was “something I am extremely interested in.”

But he could not say whether he would ever work with firearms on a set again.

He also said that production on “Rust,” which was suspended immediately after the killing, would not resume.

Baldwin, who was a producer as well as the lead actor in the film, fired a live round from a Colt .45 during a rehearsal on the set of “Rust.”

The round passed through Hutchins’ body and struck director Joel Souza in the shoulder. She died, while he was treated in hospital for the injury and released.

Baldwin, who had been told by the film’s assistant director that the gun was “cold” — meaning it did not have a live round in the chamber — said he could not comment on the ongoing investigation.

The assistant director, Dave Halls, has since told detectives that he did not fully check the gun before declaring it safe.

Halls was fired as assistant director on a previous movie for gun safety violations, that film’s producers said this week.

– ‘Well-oiled crew’ –

The film’s armorer said in a statement on Friday that she had “no idea” where the live round came from.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 24, was responsible for supplying and keeping weapons safe on set, ensuring that they were accounted for at all times and locked away when not in use.

She “never witnessed anyone shoot live rounds with these guns and nor would she permit that,” the statement said.

“They were locked up every night and at lunch and there’s no way a single one of them was unaccounted for or being shot by crew members.”

More than a dozen weapons were being stored in a prop truck on the set, according to law enforcement documents seen by AFP on Friday.

Gutierrez-Reed spoke after days of reports suggesting safety lapses on set.

Authorities have said they do not rule out pressing criminal charges.

Investigators in Santa Fe, where “Rust” was being made, said they had seized a cache of ammunition, some of which they believe was live, and the sheriff told reporters there was “some complacency” on set.

Baldwin said that the day he arrived in Santa Fe he had taken Hutchins and Souza to dinner.

“We were a very, very … well-oiled crew shooting a film together and then this horrible event happened,” he said.

And he described meeting Hutchins’ widower and son, saying they were “overwhelmed with grief.”

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Press conference about the criminal investigation involving Alec Baldwin

October 30, 2021October 28, 2021 by Raba Noor

United States: Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, with District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies (R), speaks to the press on October 27, 2021, about the criminal investigation regarding the fatal shooting and wounding of crew members on the set of the movie “Rust.”

In Santa Fe, New Mexico Criminal charges against actor Alec Baldwin, who shot dead a cinematographer and wounded a director on the set of his latest movie, have not been ruled out, the local district attorney said on October 27, 2021.

An investigation into last Thursday’s fatal shooting has recovered 500 rounds of ammunition from the set in New Mexico, Sheriff Adan Mendoza told reporters, adding detectives believe they were a mix of blanks, dummies and live rounds.

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Criminal charges against Alec Baldwin not ruled out: DA

October 30, 2021October 27, 2021 by Raba Noor

LOS ANGELES, Criminal charges against actor Alec Baldwin, who shot dead a cinematographer and wounded the director on the set of his latest movie, have not been ruled out, the local district attorney said Wednesday.

“All options are on the table,” said Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies.

“No one has been ruled out at this point.”

Baldwin was rehearsing a scene in the movie “Rust” in which he pulls the Pietta Long Colt .45 from a holster and fires towards the camera when the gun discharged.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot in the torso. She died in hospital.

The bullet then lodged in the shoulder of director Joel Souza.

An investigation into last Thursday’s fatal shooting has recovered 500 rounds of ammunition from the set in New Mexico, Sheriff Adan Mendoza told reporters, adding that detectives believe they were a mix of blanks, dummies and live rounds.

“We suspect there were other live rounds found on set,” Mendoza said. “We’re going to determine how those got there, why they were there, because they shouldn’t have been there.

“I think there was some complacency on this set,” he added.

Mendoza said Baldwin had been “co-operative”, and said armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed and assistant director Dave Halls had also been interviewed.

Halls handed Baldwin the weapon that killed Hutchins, using the phrase “cold gun” — industry lingo for an inert firearm.

As the armorer on a movie set, Gutierrez Reed, 24, would have been responsible for supplying and keeping weapons safe on set, ensuring that they are accounted for at all times, and locked away when not in use.

Entertainment trade website The Wrap reported this week that crew members had been using the weapons just hours before Hutchins was killed.

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Baldwin was practicing drawing gun when he fired fatal shot: director

October 25, 2021 by Raba Noor

LOS ANGELES, Alec Baldwin was practicing drawing his gun from his holster and pointing it at the camera when he fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie “Rust,” the director said in a search-warrant affidavit.

The 63-year-old Baldwin was “sitting in a pew in a church building setting, and he was practicing a cross draw,” director Joel Souza said, “pointing the revolver towards the camera lens.”

Souza told investigators in the affidavit released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office that he was looking over Hutchins’ shoulder “when he heard what sounded like a whip and then loud pop.”

The director said he remembered the 42-year-old Hutchins “complaining about her stomach and grabbing her midsection.”

“Halyna began to stumble backwards and she was assisted to the ground,” the affidavit, seen by AFP, said. “Joel explained that he was bleeding from his shoulder and he could see blood on Halyna.”

Hutchins was struck in the chest when Baldwin fired the prop gun he had been told was safe on the set of the low-budget western in New Mexico on October 21. She was declared dead in hospital hours later.

Souza, 48, was treated by doctors and sent home.

No one has been charged and no arrests have been made.

Baldwin has been interviewed by detectives in Santa Fe and has said he is cooperating fully with the probe.

Cameraman Reid Russell also gave his version of events in the affidavit.

Russell, who was standing next to Souza and Hutchins, said Baldwin was “trying to explain how he was going to draw out the firearm and where his arm would be at when the firearm was pulled from the holster.”

“Reid was not sure why the firearm was discharged and just remembered the loud bang,” the affidavit said. “He remembered Joel having blood on his person, and Halyna speaking and saying she couldn’t feel her legs.”

– ‘Cold Gun’ –

The camera operator said the shooting was not caught on film as the cast and crew were still preparing for the scene.

The incident happened after a lunch break, Souza said in the affidavit, and the director wasn’t sure if the gun had been checked again for safety after the break.

“Souza stated there should never be live rounds whatsoever, near or around the scene,” the affidavit said, but as “far as he knows, no one gets checked for live ammunition on their person prior and after the scenes are being filmed.”

“According to (Souza), it was his belief the gun being used in the rehearsal was safe and used the term ‘cold gun’ when explaining the firearm safety announcements,” the affidavit said.

“(Souza) said he remembered the phrase ‘Cold Gun’ being said, while preparing for the scene.”

Attention has focused on the film’s assistant director, Dave Halls, who handed the weapon to the actor, and on the armorer, 24-year-old Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.

According to the affidavit, Halls handed one of three prop guns to Baldwin that had been set up on a cart by Gutierrez-Reed.

“(Halls) yelled ‘Cold Gun,’ indicating the prop gun did not have any live rounds,” it said. “(Halls) did not know live rounds were in the prop-gun.”

Souza also told investigators the day had gotten off to a late start because of a dispute with a camera crew about pay and housing.

The director said everyone was “getting along,” however, and “there were no altercations that took place to his knowledge.”

The new details emerged as Hutchins’ shocked friends and colleagues gathered to pay tribute to her Sunday at a vigil where their anguish and anger were on display.

Calls were growing for a ban on live firearms on movie sets, with a petition gathering more than 20,000 signatures and a California lawmaker announcing he would push a bill banning live ammunition on sets in the state.

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Hollywood gathers for Baldwin shooting victim vigil

October 25, 2021 by Web Desk

Shell-shocked friends and colleagues of Halyna Hutchins gathered Sunday to pay tribute to the cinematographer who was killed when Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on a movie set. Anguish and anger were on display as Hollywood held a vigil for Hutchins, as questions grew over how such a tragedy could have happened, despite rigorous … Read more

Grief, anger over death on Alec Baldwin movie

October 23, 2021 by Web Desk

Actors and moviemakers in Hollywood were mourning the death of a rising star of their business Friday, but there was also anger over how Halyna Hutchins could have been killed when Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun. “I am gutted and just so mad right now,” tweeted filmmaker Rachel Morrison. “No shot, no scene, and … Read more

Movie gunsmith urges ‘absolute caution’ after Baldwin shooting

October 23, 2021 by Raba Noor

France, A French weapons expert, who has supplied guns to Keanu Reeves and taught Robert de Niro how to shoot, on Friday said he was shaken by the tragic accident on Alec Baldwin’s movie.

In a highly secure storeroom in Seine-Saint-Denis, north of Paris, Christophe Maratier displays hundreds of weapons — from Kalashnikovs to First World War machine guns to the latest automatic guns.

As a gunsmith to the stars, working on many French and international productions, it is a business that demands constant, absolute caution.

“It’s an anxiety-provoking job, we put all our energy into safety to avoid accidents,” he told AFP.

Maratier says he was shocked and grieved by the tragic incident in New Mexico on Wednesday, in which a cinematographer died after Baldwin discharged a prop firearm.

The director was also injured in the apparent accident on the set of “Rust” — where Baldwin is playing the lead in a 19th century Western about an accidental killing.

Maratier is currently working with Keanu Reeves on the latest instalment of his John Wick series, which is filming in Paris.

In France, he said, only modified weapons which cannot fire projectiles are permitted on sets.

But directors “still need real guns that make nice flames,” he added.

So it is common to use guns that fire blanks — a reserve of explosive powder without any projectile.

Just to be sure, actors are also instructed never to fire towards anyone or fire any close-range shots, he said.

Maratier is also charged with instructing the actors on how to carry guns safely — something he did for De Niro on 1990s thriller “Ronin”.

“He was very interested to learn — which was surprising,” he said.

Times are changing, with calls for greater use of fake guns and special effects to recreate shots.

The gunsmith’s fear is an accidental error: the piece of stone that found itself lodged in the weapon when an extra has left it on the ground, or the projectile placed by mistake in the barrel and fired out by the blank.

They must also worry about blinding, burning or deafening people (shots can reach 150 decibels).

Despite all these risks, film-makers still see blanks as a necessity “to give the illusion of a real shot”, said Maratier.

“We are creating a spectacle,” he said, adding that the blanks are often designed to give much more of an explosion than real guns.

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Alec Baldwin says ‘heart is broken’ after fatally shooting cinematographer

October 23, 2021 by Raba Noor

Hollywood star Alec Baldwin said his “heart is broken” Friday after he fatally shot a cinematographer with a prop gun in a shocking tragedy on the set of a Western he was filming in New Mexico.

The US actor said he was fully cooperating with a police investigation “to address how this tragedy occurred.”

“There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours,” he tweeted.

He added: “My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”

The rest of the cast and crew of “Rust” — where Baldwin is playing the lead in a 19th century film about an accidental killing — were “devastated” by the incident, they said in a statement to US media, and production has been suspended.

1-
There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours. I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and

— AlecBaldwin(HABF) (@AlecBaldwin) October 22, 2021

Hutchins and director Joel Souza “were shot when a prop firearm was discharged by Alec Baldwin,” the sheriff in Santa Fe said in a statement.

Hutchins, 42, was transported to hospital by helicopter but died of her wounds, while Souza, 48, was taken by ambulance and was receiving treatment.

Souza was later released from hospital, “Rust” actress Frances Fisher tweeted, citing a text from him.

“Mr. Baldwin was interviewed by detectives,” Santa Fe sheriff spokesman Juan Rios told AFP.

“He provided statements and answered their questions. He came in voluntarily and he left the building after he finished his interviews. No charges have been filed and no arrests have been made.”

Rios told the New York Times that the shooting happened in the middle of a scene that was being rehearsed or filmed.

The Santa Fe New Mexican published pictures of a distraught-looking Baldwin which it said were taken in the parking lot of the sheriff’s office after the tragedy.

The paper said its reporter had seen the 63-year-old actor in tears after he had been questioned by investigators.

One photograph shows a man, presumed to be Baldwin, doubled over.

A spokesperson for Baldwin told PEOPLE magazine Thursday that “there was an accident today on the New Mexico set of Rust involving the misfire of a prop gun with blanks.”

In a statement to US media, the film’s production company said the cast and crew had been “absolutely devastated by today’s tragedy, and we send our deepest condolences to Halyna’s family and loved ones.”

“We have halted production on the film for an undetermined period of time and are fully cooperating with the Santa Fe Police Department’s investigation,” the statement said.

– Shot on set –

Los Angeles-based Hutchins was selected as one of American Cinematographer’s Rising Stars of 2019, according to her website.

Originally from Ukraine, she grew up on a Soviet military base in the Arctic Circle, the website said.

The Ukraine foreign ministry said its consulate general in San Francisco was working with US authorities and speaking to Hutchins’ relatives “to provide the necessary consular and legal assistance.”

Tributes to Hutchins poured in on social media.

“My greatest fear is that someone will be fatally hurt on one of my sets,” tweeted Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn.

“My heart goes out to all of those affected by the tragedy today on Rust, especially Halyna Hutchins & her family.”

The shooting took place at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, a production location near Santa Fe which is popular with Hollywood filmmakers.

Movie sets usually have stringent rules over the use of prop weapons, but accidents have happened.

Most famously, Brandon Lee, the son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, died during filming of “The Crow” after being shot by a gun that was supposed to fire blanks.

Brandon’s sister Shannon Lee commented on the shooting on Twitter.

“Our hearts go out to the family of Halyna Hutchins and to Joel Souza and all involved in the incident on ‘Rust’,” she posted.

“No one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set.”

Baldwin co-produced the film and stars as Harland Rust, an outlaw whose grandson is convicted of murder, and who goes on the run with him.

The star posted a photograph earlier Thursday on Instagram showing him apparently on set, dressed in a period costume and with fake blood on his shirt.

“Back to in-person at the office. Blimey… it’s exhausting,” he captioned the picture, which went online several hours before the incident.

– A-lister –

Baldwin, the oldest and most famous of four actor brothers, has been a leading man on television and in films since the 1980s.

He has starred in a number of high-profile movies, including “The Hunt for Red October” and two iterations of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, and has also voiced animated characters in hits like “The Boss Baby.”

He garnered new fans with his long-running portrayal of Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live,” a character that irritated the former president, but won Baldwin a Primetime Emmy.

Baldwin has also made headlines for his marriage — and acrimonious divorce — to Kim Basinger, outspoken political views and hot temper.

He lives near New York with second wife Hilaria. The couple have six children together.

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