Rust (1 Viewer)

[Tino]

and the scene where the three actors lost their lives is in the film.

Definite NOT in the film. Not even a frame of that scene. Thankfully.

 

[TravisR]

From what I heard the Morrow episode was not a remake though it may have been inspired by an episode ("A Quality of Mercy"?) The other three stories were definitely remakes.

Correct. The Landis segment was the only original story used for the movie. And I guess the prologue and epilogues are technically new too.

 

[WillG]

Surprised that it is going to get finished as well.

Certainly not unheard of, they completed “The Crow” and “Twilight Zone” for example. Though I do think Baldwin was incredibly tone deaf on the way he conducted himself after the accident

 

[WillG]

Maybe the backers feel they put too much money into the project to just shelve it.

Though isn’t that why film productions are insured?

 

[Malcolm R]

Though isn’t that why film productions are insured?

That's what I've been thinking, but the insurance company would probably fight the claim arguing that the issue was caused by unsafe on-set practices rather than a true accident.

 

[WillG]

That's what I've been thinking, but the insurance company would probably fight the claim arguing that the issue was caused by unsafe on-set practices rather than a true accident.

Certainly could have been a factor

 

[WillG]

Correct. The Landis segment was the only original story used for the movie. And I guess the prologue and epilogues are technically new too.

I watched the movie somewhat recently (and I did watch the Cursed Films episode on Chiller of it. Pretty messed up because they show the crash in pretty good quality). I definitely notice bow how abruptly that segment kind of ends and reuses Morrow as a WWII Jew (obviously Landis had no choice but to use what was was already in the can with Morrow). And to digress I always wondered If Donner was offered to direct the Nightmare at 20,000 segment since he directed the original episode. Was he, and maybe just was unavailable

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Though isn’t that why film productions are insured?

Yes, but I am uncertain how the insurance was structured for this and the accident was the result of someone violating safety regulations by both bringing real ammo onto the film set and then actually loading a prop gun with it. That may have given them an out to not have to pay the insurance claim because safety policy was blatantly violated.

Also, it would seem that there was a discussion that included Hutchins' husband as to whether they should complete the picture and he wants to have it completed and was made an executive producer on it. Baldwin had said after the accident that he did not think they would resume production on it.

So, they may be finishing it as part of a deal with the Hutchins family.

 

[Alex...]

“After a thorough review of the evidence and the laws of the state of New Mexico, I have determined that there is sufficient evidence to file criminal charges against Alec Baldwin and other members of the ‘Rust’ film crew,” Carmack-Altwies said Thursday. “On my watch, no one is above the law, and everyone deserves justice.”

In charges set to be formally filed by the end of the month, Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed will each be charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins’ death. Assistant director David Halls reached a plea agreement with prosecutors for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. The industry vet faces a suspended sentence and six months of probation, the D.A.’s office said today.

“If any one of these three people—Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed or David Halls—had done their job, Halyna Hutchins would be alive today. It’s that simple,” stated Andrea Reeb, the special prosecutor assigned to the case. “The evidence clearly shows a pattern of criminal disregard for safety on the ‘Rust’ film set. In New Mexico, there is no room for film sets that don’t take our state’s commitment to gun safety and public safety seriously,” Reeb added.

Alec Baldwin & ‘Rust’ Armorer To Face Criminal Charges Over 2021 Fatal Movie Shooting, Santa Fe D.A. Says

The long awaited decision by the Sante Fe DA on the Rust set shooting was finally made public early Thursday

deadline.com

 

[Jeffrey D]

What happens next? Does Alec plea bargain, and a deal worked out? I think so- wouldn’t be a good look for him to plead not guilty to all charges.

 

[Lord Dalek]

What happens next? Does Alec plea bargain, and a deal worked out? I think so- wouldn’t be a good look for him to plead not guilty to all charges.

Its mostly likely he'll take a plea to get out of what would be just an embarassing three years max in minimum security. That would probably mean community service and some higher fines.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

What happens next? Does Alec plea bargain, and a deal worked out? I think so- wouldn’t be a good look for him to plead not guilty to all charges.

Hard to say how it will go. There will be plea deals offered, it basically depends on the type of deals and how the people being offered the deals feel about them. The charge is involuntary manslaughter so the burden of proof in this case will be how negligent they can prove each of these people were. Hall already went the plea deal route, I believe because he was obviously the most responsible because he handed the loaded gun to Baldwin and told him it was safe and there were a whole lot of witnesses to this. So, Hall seemed to be most at risk. The young armorer and the property master, I would assume would also accept plea deals because they were responsible for the loading of the weapons and keeping the weapons safely stowed when not in use. They also would have been responsible for no live ammo being on the set. So, you have clear negligence with these two. With Baldwin, well, the primary thing they would likely charge him with negligence for is not checking the weapon again after it was handed to him. This would be the toughest piece of negligence to prosecute and likely carry the smallest sentence. The charge for involuntary manslaughter can be anything from a fine, to community service, to a small amount of jail time.

Would Baldwin accept a plea deal? I don't know, he may to put it behind him. If the plea deal is acceptable to him, or even something he may want to do, like some sort of community service, well, he probably would take it. There is one complication, I think, in Baldwin accepting a plea deal right now. Baldwin has filed his own lawsuit against the other people they are charging here. If he accepted a plea deal, I think that would impact Baldwin's lawsuit because accepting a plea deal is accepting you were responsible. I believe his lawsuit is based on him not being responsible and that is why he is suing these other people. Of course, he could drop his suit and accept a plea deal to get this all behind him.

 

[Chris Will]

I guess throws a kink in the finishing of the film. Not that it really matters at this point.

 

[Malcolm R]

With Baldwin, well, the primary thing they would likely charge him with negligence for is not checking the weapon again after it was handed to him.

Would Baldwin have any knowledge of how to "check" it? My perception is that most actors wouldn't know a loaded gun from a potato. I don't believe most of them have had any firearms training, though I could be wrong.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I guess throws a kink in the finishing of the film. Not that it really matters at this point.

I would at this point assume they won't finish the film.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Would Baldwin have any knowledge of how to "check" it? My perception is that most actors wouldn't know a loaded gun from a potato. I don't believe most of them have had any firearms training, though I could be wrong.

Well, as I understand it, they are primarily going to go after Baldwin as a producer that was on set. So, the negligence they actually are going to attempt to get him on is knowing there had been guns that misfired on the shoot before things ended in Baldwin shooting Hutchins and he did nothing about it. So, as a producer he was responsible for safety on the set, and being that he was on the set every day, they believe they will get him on that. Which is where he may actually end up taking the plea deal.

I think they believe on the checking the gun part they won't really be able to get anywhere, but on the producer part, it sounds like they may have a case.

 

[John Sparks]

As a Uniformed Fire Safety Officer on hundreds of film sets, I observed many actions that were unsafe. If no one is around and they can get away with it, they do it sometimes. This time, it as a luck of the draw and they lost...and cost a life.

 

[jayembee]

Would Baldwin have any knowledge of how to "check" it? My perception is that most actors wouldn't know a loaded gun from a potato. I don't believe most of them have had any firearms training, though I could be wrong.

It doesn't (or shouldn't) take any specialized knowledge to understand that you don't point a gun at anyone for anyone reason other than an intent to shoot them, or that if you're handling a gun, it's your responsibility to make sure that the gun is not a danger to anyone around you. Part of that responsibility should be to not just take anyone else's word for it that the gun is not a danger to anyone around you. Further, if his job as an actor is to hold and fire a gun, he should make sure he knows all the ins and outs of operating it. And as a [co-]producer on the film, he should be accountable for any safety issues on the set, and as such, should know what they are. That the armorer should've known if she was loading the gun with a live cartridge rather than a blank shouldn't absolve the handler of the gun from responsibility.

Quite frankly, there shouldn't have been any live ammunition anywhere on set. There shouldn't be any situation on a movie set where live cartridges would be needed. If for any reason live cartridges are needed, they should be handled by specialized professional crew members, and only them, and not handed off to anyone else.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

What happens next? Does Alec plea bargain, and a deal worked out? I think so- wouldn’t be a good look for him to plead not guilty to all charges.

It all depends. If the prosecutor is looking to make a name for himself, he might want to take it to trial. Conversely, given the unique circumstances of this incident, Baldwin might want to take it to trial in hopes of getting a hung jury or even an acquittal.

New Mexico has a very specific definition of "involuntary manslaughter". If the manslaughter isn't committed in the commission of an unlawful act, the death must have resulted from actions taken "without due caution and circumspection."

Under normal circumstances, pointing a firearm at another person and pulling the trigger without checking to see if it's loaded first would satisfy that requirement. But there's an argument to be made that on a film set where blanks are regularly used and an armorer is responsible for ensuring weapons safety, Baldwin had reason to be confident that the weapon wasn't loaded -- especially if he was told that it was safe by the AD.

His legal team would undoubtedly call both other a-list actors to testify that they wouldn't have checked the weapon either, and other veteran armorers to testify to the fact that Baldwin should never have been handed a loaded weapon. It only takes one juror to buy that argument to avoid conviction.

Would Baldwin have any knowledge of how to "check" it? My perception is that most actors wouldn't know a loaded gun from a potato. I don't believe most of them have had any firearms training, though I could be wrong.

I have to imagine that procedures will change as a result of this tragedy; either the actors will be taught to check the weapons themselves, or the weapons expert will check the weapon in the actor's presence immediately before the actor takes possession of the weapon.

And as a [co-]producer on the film, he should be accountable for any safety issues on the set, and as such, should know what they are.

I don't know that I'd find him guilty of a criminal act in his capacity as an actor, but I think I would definitely find him liable as a producer who didn't establish a safe working environment.

 

[JoeStemme]

I've worked on sets for over 3 decades. I'm sorry anybody who says that it's the actor's responsibility to check every single round in their gun has to watch this scene from T2. Anybody, really believe that Arnold and the other actors and stunt persons should have had to sit down and check every bullet? They'd STILL be shooting that scene a month later.
Of course, safety is job one when handling weapons, but, the true blame here is on the Armorer and the A.D.. You can pin a bit of the blame on Baldwin as a PRODUCER, but, as a Performer? I don't agree.