Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died after Alec Baldwin discharged a prop gun on set. Now, her family is suing the actor.
Here's why people in the industry say the fatal accident could have been avoided ...
Here's why people in the industry say the fatal accident could have been avoided ...
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00:00What happened was that someone had this in the gun instead of having this in the gun,
00:09which is a blank bullet with a projectile blank with no projectile.
00:27I think it's clear what happened.
00:30Alec had the gun in his hand.
00:32He shot it.
00:33Helena was killed.
00:34There's no reason why a simulated firearm or that a simulated firearm should be
00:39pointed at any person in a room at any time.
00:42This was a totally avoidable incident and should never happen again.
00:46When they say prop gun, what they really are not really properly naming it is it's
01:01not it was not a prop gun.
01:03It was literally a real gun with blanks in it.
01:16The difference between a blank and an actual bullet is that a blank isn't a
01:37projectile, but it still creates combustion, which is why you have the sound.
01:43But there is still a lot of force.
01:46When you go on a set, the last five I've been on where I was a cop or a cowboy,
02:11they check your guns, the armorer, that's their job to make sure that you get the
02:15gun for the scene.
02:17When you're using a firearm on a set as an actor, what should happen is a prop
02:22master. Really, there are very few people who can come in contact with the weapon.
02:27And that's a rule. They start with a safety meeting for the entire crew whenever
02:30you're going to do any sort of stunt, but also specifically like with a firearm.
02:35And then when they bring it to you, only you and the prop master are the ones who
02:38handle it. They open it up and then you hold on to it and you don't touch it unless
02:43you're in the scene using it.
02:44Once the simulated firearm is out of its lockbox in the space, it's announced that
02:51it is there. It is also announced whether or not it is charged, which means that it
02:57does or does not have blanks in it.
02:59And then it is known to the entire cast and crew or taught ahead of time that only
03:07the people who are in that type of choreography, they're the only ones who are
03:12allowed to touch it at any point in time.
03:15And the people who are instructed to or are a part of that combat are told not to
03:23point it at anyone at any time unless it is in choreographed combat.
03:28So then I said to her, now, in this scene, I'm going to cock the gun.
03:43I said, do you want to see that?
03:44And she said, yes, I cocked the gun and I let go of the hammer of the gun and the gun
03:47goes off.
03:58The lawsuit, as you can see, names Alec Baldwin and others who are responsible for
04:17the safety on the set and whose reckless behavior and cost cutting led to the
04:25senseless and tragic death of Helena Hutchins.
04:39You want to have people who are in the union who know all the protocols and who are
04:45following all the protocols rather than somebody who isn't as experienced, hasn't
04:51done this on a set and doesn't follow the rules that are guidelines for everybody's
04:56safety. And it can come down to budget to hire those more expensive people with that
05:01experience. But I think if you're doing something with a weapon, that's a priority.
05:21Twenty seven year old Brandon Lee was killed during a movie set accident today.
05:27He was filming a scene for the movie The Crow when he was hit by a projectile fired
05:32from a gun loaded with blank.
05:52Technology, as it is now, you know, I don't know that it's necessary to have blanks when
05:59you have a visual effects budget, you can do that and get the same effect and have zero
06:04risk of something going wrong.
06:05Seeing something of this scale and proportion that's so unnecessary and could have been
06:10avoided is just tragic on so many levels.