Prosecutors: Baldwin Was ‘Reckless’ With Guns on Set
The armorer in the Rust shooting case has been convicted and sentenced for involuntary manslaughter, but she’s filing an appeal. Some of those arguments might have a bearing on Alec Baldwin’s upcoming case on the same charges.
Now, Baldwin is a well-known anti-gunner, and this incident is going to follow him no matter what happens in court. He could be acquitted of all charges, but every time he opens his trap on guns, someone will bring up this incident.
But I’m not entirely sure he’s going to walk away from this one.
See, while Hannah Gutierrez Reed may have some points regarding the charges against her, there are some things about Baldwin’s situation that are very, very different.
In a filing on Monday, prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Erlinda Johnson alleged that Baldwin fired a blank round at a crew member while using the crew member to establish a line of sight. The prosecutors also accuse Baldwin of engaging in “horseplay” with a revolver during training, and allege that he was “erratic and aggressive” during filming, which raised safety concerns.
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Much of that evidence was made public during the trial in February of Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the “Rust” armorer who loaded a live bullet into Baldwin’s gun, and who is now serving an 18-month sentence.
The jury in that trial was shown videos of Baldwin pointing his revolver in the general direction of the crew to direct them on where to position themselves, and firing a blank round after “cut” was yelled.
In another video, he could be seen rushing the crew to reload in order to quickly do another take. Another video showed Baldwin with his finger on the trigger of his revolver, in apparent violation of industry rules. Prosecutors also allege that in some videos, Baldwin would cock and un-cock his gun for no reason.
Prosecutors have previously alleged that Baldwin’s hot-headed behavior on set contributed to lapses in safety protocols.
Baldwin has long claimed that he never pulled the trigger on that gun, that it “just went off.” The FBI lab that examined the gun argued that no, it couldn’t have done that, which is likely going to work against him.
It should be remembered that Baldwin is a producer on the film. People actually do answer to him and so if he starts yelling at the crew to get him reloaded, they’re going to jump and do it.
Then we have the old booger hook on the bang switch. That’s a no-no at any time you have a gun in your hand and you’re not ready to fire. Either Baldwin was never taught that or he ignored it. Since this isn’t his first movie involving guns, there’s no chance he’d never been told not to do such a stupid thing. Regardless, it shows a disregard for firearm safety.
Gutierrez Reed may have made mistakes, but Baldwin arguably made some just as bad, if not worse, than a first-time armorer who was reportedly in over her head.
Balwin was an old hand on a movie set. While he might not be able to do other people’s jobs, he should at least know how to do his, especially when it’s something as inherently risky as handling a gun.
After all, actor Brandon Lee died while filming The Crow in 1993. Baldwin was already an established actor who had turned in legendary performances in movies like The Hunt for Red October and Glengarry Glen Ross. There’s no chance he doesn’t remember the incident well, which means he had to have some understanding of how dangerous handling even a prop gun can be.
Yet based on what we’ve seen of his actions on that set, Brandon Lee’s unfortunate death made absolutely no impact on the actor.
That may well bite in him the posterior.
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