A fatal accident on the set of the Western "Rust" shocked the world on October 21st,
as the movie's director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, was fatally shot on location at
Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The movie's director, Joel Souza also received injuries.
Hutchins died at the University of New Mexico Hospital, while actress Frances Fisher has
confirmed on Twitter that Souza is now out of CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Center.
The news story is still developing and many of the details surrounding the accident are
still unknown, but Hutchins and Souza received their injuries after the movie's star and
producer, Alec Baldwin, "discharged" a prop firearm, which caused the incident in a yet-unconfirmed
way.
A representative of Santa Fe Sheriff's Department has stated.
"Mr. Baldwin was questioned by investigators and released.
No arrests or charges have been filed."
Early on October 22nd, Baldwin tweeted a statement on the tragedy:
“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 I
am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family.
My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”
So what, exactly, has happened?
Since the investigation is still ongoing and many details of the incident are still unknown,
it's too early to determine with certainty what went wrong at Bonanza Creek Ranch.
However, Alec Baldwin's spokesman has confirmed that the weapon involved was a prop gun loaded
with blank rounds.
It is easy to assume that a blank round is completely safe, but as BBC News notes, that
couldn't be further from the truth.
Blanks are essentially regular rounds with the projectile part at the tip removed and
replaced with a comparatively harmless material, like cotton.
However, the rest of the round still remains, so when the gun is fired, the blank round
still gives the same sonic and visual effect as a live one — and even without a bullet
flying out, this means that the cartridge still packs the kind of force that can send
bullets flying.
If proper safety measurements aren't paid attention to, this means a blank round could
very well be fatal.
Accidents with prop guns have killed people before.
On March 31st, 1993, Bruce Lee's son Brandon Lee died while filming "The Crow," when he
was shot in the abdomen with a prop gun that had a dummy bullet stuck in front of the blank.
On October 12th, 1984, "Cover Up" star Jon-Erik Hexum's intended joke went terribly wrong
when he shot himself in the temple with a prop gun, not realizing that the blank round
was fatal at such a short distance.
Because of the potential danger they pose, prop guns should always be treated like real
ones.
Prop department supervisor Kevin Williams of UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
told NPR,
"When I'm doing a training session with a performer, my main guideline, the heartbeat
of the conversation, is to make sure that they are treating any weapon — whether it's
a bladed weapon or a firearm — as if it could potentially kill somebody.
And those are usually the words I use.
It's a serious situation and everyone's got to be on their game."
It's still unclear what circumstances led to the events of the "Rust" accident, so it's
too early to say what the exact situation was and whether all requisite preparations
and precautions were followed.
For now, the production of "Rust" has stopped, as everyone involved is dealing with the tragedy.
One life lost needlessly from a firearm is one too many.
Halyna Hutchins's life was cut tragically short from the incident, and as more information
comes out regarding the incident, some are already looking to take steps to ensure another
prop gun misfire never happens on a film set ever again.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, a Change.org petition started with the goal of banning
prop firearms from movie shoots.
The mission statement for the petition reads as follows:
"We need to make sure this never happens again.
There is no excuse for something like this to happen in the 21st century.
Real guns are no longer needed on film production sets."
Others hope this tragedy serves as a teachable lesson to other film productions planning
on using prop guns with blanks.
Craig Zobel, a director known for his work on "Mare of Easttown" and "The Leftovers,"
took to Twitter to exclaim,
"There's no reason to have guns loaded with blanks or anything on set anymore.
Should just be fully outlawed.
There's computers now.
The gunshots on Mare of Easttown are all digital.
You can probably tell, but who cares?
It's an unnecessary risk."
As all involved deal with the fallout, here's hoping another tragedy like this never happens
again.