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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRust Set Didn't Have a Union Prop Master Working on Day of Alec Baldwin Incident, Says Union
On Thursday night, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 44 Chapter, a union that represents crew workers in Hollywood, sent an email obtained by Deadline to members stating there was no union prop master on set the night Hutchins was killed by a prop gun fired by Baldwin.
The email, written by IATSE 44 Secretary-Treasurer Anthony Pawluc, informed its members that "there were no Local 44 members on the call sheet" on Thursday night.
https://people.com/movies/rust-set-didnt-have-a-union-prop-master-working-on-day-alec-baldwin-accidentally-killed-cinematographer/
They bussed in SCABS.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CVNiEl6lJqD/
Halyna recently made a post in solidarity with the IATSE.
SoCalNative
(4,613 posts)for the camera crew, who walked out due to issues that they had with the production.
It is doubtful that they ever hired union prop people, as it's New Mexico and there are reasons that it's cheaper to shoot there.
ForgoTheConsequence
(4,869 posts)I didn't say they ever had union prop masters. My point was that skilled labor could have prevented this.
fescuerescue
(4,448 posts)Usually it takes awhile before we know the precise error.
gldstwmn
(4,575 posts)The tragedy occurred Thursday afternoon during filming of a gunfight that began in a church that is part of the old Western town at the ranch. Baldwins character was supposed to back out of the church, according to production notes obtained by The Times. It was the 12th day of a 21-day
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was huddled around a monitor lining up her next camera shot when she was accidentally killed by the prop gun fired by Baldwin.
The actor was preparing to film a scene in which he pulls a gun out of a holster, according to a source close to the production. Crew members had already shouted cold gun on the New Mexico set. The filmmaking team was lining up its camera angles and had yet to retreat to the video village, an on-set area where the crew gathers to watch filming from a distance via a monitor.
Instead, the B-camera operator was on a dolly with a monitor, checking out the potential shots. Hutchins was also looking at the monitor from over the operators shoulder, as was the movies director, Joel Souza, who was crouching just behind her.
Baldwin removed the gun from its holster once without incident, but the second time he repeated the action, ammunition flew toward the trio around the monitor. The projectile whizzed by the camera operator but penetrated Hutchins near her shoulder, then continued through to Souza. Hutchins immediately fell to the ground as crew members applied pressure to her wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
Late Friday, the Associated Press reported that Baldwin was handed a loaded weapon by an assistant director who indicated it was safe to use in the moments before the actor fatally shot a cinematographer, according to court records. The assistant director did not know the prop gun was loaded with live rounds, according to a search warrant filed in a Santa Fe County court.
The person in charge of overseeing the gun props, known as the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, could not be reached for comment. The 24-year-old is the daughter of veteran armorer Thell Reed and had recently completed her first film as the head armorer for the movie The Old Way, with Clint Howard and Nicolas Cage.
Earlier in the day, the camera crew showed up for work as expected at 6:30 a.m. and began gathering up their gear and personal belongings to leave, one knowledgeable crew member told The Times.
Labor trouble had been brewing for days on the dusty set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe.
Shooting began on Oct. 6 and members of the low-budget film said they had been promised the production would pay for their hotel rooms in Santa
Fe.
But after filming began, the crews were told they instead would be required to make the 50-mile drive from Albuquerque each day, rather than stay overnight in nearby Santa Fe. That rankled crew members who worried that they might have an accident after spending 12 to 13 hours on the set.
Response to ForgoTheConsequence (Original post)
Post removed
ForgoTheConsequence
(4,869 posts)I'm sure he is sick over this. Although, I wish actors would live their politics and refuse to film with non union labor.
madville
(7,412 posts)So he is ultimately responsible for it happening, regardless of whether he pulled the trigger or not.
marie999
(3,334 posts)He has no responsibility if the cartridge was defective but not noticeable by a layman.
ForgoTheConsequence
(4,869 posts)He was probably just under the assumption that it was safe.
TheBlackAdder
(28,230 posts).
Same thing as always checking a gun when first handling it to make sure it is empty.
.
Hugh_Lebowski
(33,643 posts)has not only the necessary acumen to accomplish this task but also the responsibility?
If so, why do Union Prop Masters even exist in the first place?
I doubt Clint Eastwood even inspected his prop guns in Dirty Harry, quite frankly.
TheBlackAdder
(28,230 posts).
Movie actors review the harnesses and other dangerous tasks they perform. They don't just trust someone else.
.
Hugh_Lebowski
(33,643 posts)very well may because handling weapons is/was a big part of their lives/upbringings.
But your average actor or actress ... is not Clint Eastwood
Walleye
(31,081 posts)We were brought up that way. We were never even allowed to point toy guns at each other
regnaD kciN
(26,045 posts)If hed just been an actor on someone elses production, hed be completely off-the-hook unless the shooting had been the result of reckless horseplay. But, as producer, he had a responsibility to hire people in critical roles who would protect the rest of the cast and crew. If the propmasters incompetence lead to this tragedy, and there were any signs of that person messing up in the past, Baldwin bears legal responsibility for what happened.
marie999
(3,334 posts)TheBlackAdder
(28,230 posts)regnaD kciN
(26,045 posts)they said there were no members of that particular Local in the position (it was sent to the members of Local 44, to reassure them that the responsibility for the accident didnt lie with someone the knew). It leaves open the possibility that it was a member of a different Local. Im pretty sure no Hollywood production, however low-budget, would put a non-union worker in such an important position; IATSE wouldnt stand for that, and could create lots of problems for the production down the line if they were disregarded.
former9thward
(32,097 posts)It was being filmed in New Mexico. There is a reason companies film in New Mexico, Georgia and Montreal. They don't have to have union workers or union rules.
ForgoTheConsequence
(4,869 posts)Tomconroy
(7,611 posts)to conclusions.
MustLoveBeagles
(11,658 posts)ForgoTheConsequence
(4,869 posts)?
lindysalsagal
(20,747 posts)This was a money decision.