24 Time November 8/November 15, 2021
Guns have dominaTed american
movies for decades, with millions of
fake rounds of ammunition fired off
by John Wayne, Sly Stallone, Keanu
Reeves, Linda Hamilton and many
other action stars. But this penchant
for onscreen violence has ended in real-
life tragedy several times throughout
Hollywood history—and did so once
again on Oct. 21, when cinematogra-
pher Halyna Hutchins was killed after
actor Alec Baldwin discharged a prop
firearm while filming the movie Rust
in New Mexico. According to police re-
ports, Baldwin was rehearsing a scene
in which he aimed a revolver at the
camera; he had been told the gun did
not contain live rounds. Hutchins, be-
hind the camera, was hit in the chest,
while director Joel Souza was hit in the
shoulder and treated for injuries at the
hospital.
Many film workers in Hollywood see
this tragedy as a breaking point not only
for the way guns are used on sets, but
also for larger safety disputes. “Across
the board, this industry is filled with red
flags,” film worker Paul Rodriguez tells
TIME. “Every day, there’s something
where you could die.”
Although some guns used on movie
sets are rubber replicas, many are ac-
tual weapons, either empty
or loaded with blanks—some
directors or actors prefer the
visceral authenticity of a real
gun and the way it recoils or
ejects a cartridge. Blanks,
however, can still be danger-
ous. (The wad that holds the
gunpowder—which can be
made of paper, plastic, felt
or cotton—can be ejected
with such force as to be lethal at close
range.) In 1984, actor Jon-Erik Hexum
accidentally killed himself with a pistol
loaded with blanks on the set of Cover
Up when, joking around, he held the
gun to his temple and pulled the trig-
ger. In 1993, actor Brandon Lee, the son
Halyna Hutchins’
death could be a
turning point for
Hollywood
By Andrew R. Chow
to protest working conditions and had
expressed concerns about the set’s fire-
arms protocols in the weeks prior.
It is likely that the usage of real guns
on Hollywood sets will be dramatically
stripped back. On Oct. 22, the ABC cop
show The Rookie announced it would
stop using “live” guns during shoots
and instead rely on postproduction spe-
cial effects. On social media, the direc-
tors Paul Feig and Rian Johnson have
endorsed similar measures.
And the incident also threatens to
upend a fragile agreement between the
union IATSE (International Alliance of
Theatrical Stage Employees) and Hol-
lywood media companies, who had just
negotiated a new contract to avoid a
massive strike. Many IATSE members
now say they will vote “no” on the new
deal, citing the pervasiveness of 16-hour
days and unsafe working conditions
like the ones that seem to have led to
Hutchins’ death. “This is a highly dra-
matic incident in which a young woman
was killed. But you don’t hear about
all the fender benders and traffic acci-
dents [with] people that fell asleep be-
hind the wheel,” says Stephen Lighthill,
president of the American Society of
Cinematographers. “I think it’s time to
sit down and say, ‘We’re not going to do
this anymore.’ ” TheBrief Nation
of Bruce Lee, was killed while filming
The Crow by a gun that, while supposed
to be loaded with blanks, had a bullet
lodged in its barrel.When film creWs Work with real
guns on set, there are many established
protocols in place to prevent accidents.
Property masters obtain guns and
make sure they’re properly
stowed; armorers handle
them and give strict instruc-
tions to the cast and crew
about their usage. Firing
pins are often removed, and
bullets are not supposed to
be anywhere near a set.
The fact that Baldwin was
handed a live gun reveals a
“breakdown in the chain of
responsibility,” explains Bob Primes, a
cinematographer who has worked many
times with guns. “Somewhere along the
line, someone got rushed.” The police
and other news outlets have reported
turmoil on set prior to the shooting:
crew members walked out that morning‘Across the
board, this
industry is
filled with
red flags.’
PAUL RODRIGUEZ,
film workerCHRIS PIZZELLO—AP
△
A candlelight vigil for
Halyna Hutchins, in
Burbank, Calif., on Oct. 24