Entertainment
Director says it’s ‘unusual’ for guns on film set to be able to fire anything after Halyna Hutchins accidentally killed by Alec Baldwin
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Adam Egypt Mortimer, a director and friend of Halyna Hutchins, has revealed it is ‘unusual’ for guns on movie sets to be able to fire at all, after she was killed in a tragic accident involving Alec Baldwin.
Hutchins, 42, was killed on the set of Rust on Thursday when a prop gun Baldwin, 63, was holding misfired, also injuring director Joel Souza, 48.
Mortimer appeared on Good Morning Britain, where he revealed to Kate Garraway and Adil Ray that it is rare for productions to use guns that even fire blanks any more due to safety concerns.
He explained: ‘Normally it’s unusual for somebody to be handed a gun that has the capability of firing at all, anything, and if it is going to fire something, it’s only handled by a very specific chain of people.
‘I did a movie with Halyna just last year that had a lot of gun play in it and honestly, we didn’t even use guns that fired anything. They didn’t even fire blanks because it’s possible to replace everything with CGI and just use guns that make noises.
‘So, at this point, especially with all the concern we have had for the safety of people on sets, it’s really bizarre that they would have been in a situation where a gun is being fired unexpectedly with a projectile in it.’
Filmmaker Halyna Hutchins was killed in a tragic accident on the set of Rust (Picture: Mat Hayward/Getty Images for AMC Networks)
News of the tragedy on set was revealed in a statement by a rep for Rust Movies Productions LLC reading: ‘The entire cast and crew has been absolutely devastated by today’s tragedy, and we send our deepest condolences to Halyna’s family and loved ones.
‘We have halted production on the film for an undetermined period of time and are fully cooperating with the Santa Fe Police Department’s investigation.’
They added: ‘We will be providing counselling services to everyone connected to the film as we work to process this awful event.’
Alec Baldwin was holding the gun when it misfired (Picture: Mark Sagliocco/Getty Images for National Geographic)
The Sante Fe Sheriff’s Department also confirmed to Deadline that Baldwin was the person to discharge the prop, with a statement explaining: ’Mr Baldwin was questioned by investigators and released. No arrests or charges have been filed.
‘This investigation remains open and active. No charges have been filed in regard to this incident. Witnesses continue to be interviewed by detectives.’
Perez Hilton, who also appeared on the show, believes that there needs to be a ban on guns that have the ability to fire anything at all on set.
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He explained: ‘As a union member [of the Screen Actors Guild] I don’t think that any actor should be holding a real gun any more.
‘This is just another reminder, I think, that reform is needed. The director that was just speaking [Mortimer] mentioned it can be achieved in different ways to get something realistic on film. Or even rubber guns I’ve had director friends use, that look realistic on camera.
More: Good Morning Britain
‘We need to change how things work going forward so that a preventable death like this doesn’t happen again.’
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV.
Who is Halyna Hutchins?
Halyna Hutchins, a mother of one, was born in the Ukraine and grew up on a Soviet military base in the Arctic Circle before attending Kyiv National University.
After graduating with a degree in international journalism, she worked as an investigative journalist for British documentaries in Eastern Europe.
However, Hutchins’ true passion lay in filmmaking, and she moved to Los Angeles, where she got work as a production assistant and a grip electric.
She also shot her own short films, inspired by cinematographers including Christopher Doyle and Sergey Urusevskiy.
On the advice of cinematographer Robert Primes, Hutchins enrolled the filmmaking MFA programme at the American Film Institute Conservatory in 2013 and graduated two years later.
In 2018, Hutchins was one of eight female cinematographers selected for the inaugural 21st Century Fox DP Lab, and in 2019, she was chosen as a Rising Star by American Cinematographer magazine.
Hutchins went on to work on films including horrors The Mad Hatter and Darlin’ and police drama Blindfire, and the BET+ series A Luv Tale: The Series.
She also worked on the Joe Mangianello mystery thriller Archenemy, which premiered at Beyond Fest 2020 and received a nomination at the Sitges International Film Festival.
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MORE : What is Alec Baldwin’s movie Rust about and who is in the cast as actor fatally shoots woman on set?
