Everybody... but Baldwin
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainme...single-person-set-blame-halyna-hutchins-death
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainme...single-person-set-blame-halyna-hutchins-death
None of that was done in this case. As one of the producers, Baldwin had a responsibility to ensure that safety protocols were followed.
So much has been discussed about the trigger, hammer, trigger being pulled, IMO, is irrelevant.
The question should be, who put a live round in the chamber, and why.
The coroner's finding (which exceeds what the coroner should do b/c it should be limited to actual cause of death - gunshot wound and not the conclusion that it was an accident)
He may walk from criminal charges, but he won't escape civil liability for wrongful death.
The last man to handle the gun bears final resposibility....actors don't bear responsibility....
The weapons master is required to be on set whenever a weapon is being used. [This was not followed in the set of Rust. The armorer was on the site, but not on the set -- because she had been detailed with doing tasks associated with her assistant prop master role.] The Actors' Equity Association's guidelines state that, "Before each use, make sure the gun has been test-fired offstage, and then ask to test fire it yourself. Watch the prop master check the cylinders and barrel to be sure no foreign object or dummy bullet has become lodged inside." [This obviously was not followed. Other articles state that both the actor who will handle the gun and the assistant director are supposed to watch the armorer load the gun, and during loading the armorer is supposed to shake each round so that everyone can hear the BBs rattling inside to demonstrate that the round is a dummy.] Further, "All loading of firearms must be done by the property master, armourer or experienced persons working under their direct supervision."
"Nowadays, all weapons are checked before your blanks are put into the weapon.… The blanks themselves are never loaded until the very last minute, when all crew is in position, so the armourer knows exactly where every member of the crew is so that no one's walking through any danger areas the armourer has set up," said armoury co-ordinator Sam Dormer.
Another article: https://deadline.com/2021/10/hollywood-guns-safety-protocols-reviewed-rust-1234862211/
As Neal W. Zoromski, a veteran prop master who had turned down an offer to join Rust, told the Los Angeles Times, he initially asked for a department of five technicians, which would be standard in the business. After concessions, he modified his request to two experienced crew members: an assistant prop master and an armorer, who handles prop guns. He was told the movie could only afford one person handling all these duties, prompting Zoromski to pass.
Yet another article: https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-rules-for-shooting-on-film-sets-71797
Clearly, rules were broken and corners were cut. What remains to be determined is how many rules were broken (these are industry protocols, not laws, but they may be enshrined in Screen Actors Guild contracts), and by whom.
Absolutely not the same thing at all. Not remotely the same thing.No less than if someone handed you a gun, said "it's unloaded...,"
and w/o further inspection
Yes. His responsibility doesn't stem from the fact that he pulled the trigger but rather from the fact that he should have had a better staff on site.Just by way of thought experiment, if Baldwin was not the actor who fired, and all else remained the same, would his level of culpability still be the same?
But that's just it. An actor is supposed to be able to act as if any guns they handle are NOT real. That's why they have a paid professional who is responsible for making sure no one gets hurt.Real gun, real death. Real personal responsibility.
....and w/o further inspection....Actors are SUPPOSED to point guns at people.
- You pointed it at another human being...It is the responsibility of the armorer...
I really don't understand why this very simple concept continues to cause confusion.