Alec Baldwin fires prop gun on movie set, killing cinematographer

[Chelly]

It's almost as if the thousands of filmcrew people on strike have a point with shit being unsafe and rushed.

All the people celebrating this to "score a point" against Baldwin just because he made fun of Trump are pathetic, but we already knew this about that crowd.

[gondrin]

Blanks =/= no ammo, the blank's casing still fires out some. That's what killed Brandon Lee a long time ago, a prop gun loaded with a blank fire at close range to his head.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/histo...-baldwin-prop/

Also it looks like it will be the prop handler who will be held responsible for negligence. The prop gun was suppose to be a "cold gun", meaning no ammo in it and that was communicated to the director and Alex Baldwin prior to the accident.

On the point of Brandon Lee, it was because they were using the prop gun with dummy rounds(no powder charge) for a close up so that they can show normal looking bullets. Someone fired the gun with the modified ammo and one of the rounds got lodged in the barrel of the gun. When they replaced the dummy ammo with blank rounds, they didn't check the gun beforehand and fired it and since blanks do use powder charges but no actual bullet rounds in them, it was like shooting live ammo.

[Hobb]

Man, the folks doing political victory laps over a tragic accident are all kinda fuckin gross.

That's all.

These are Trump's followers, they crawl closer to the ground than a snake on it's belly. Did you really expect anything more out of them?

[gondrin]

It's almost as if the thousands of filmcrew people on strike have a point with shit being unsafe and rushed.

All the people celebrating this to "score a point" against Baldwin just because he made fun of Trump are pathetic, but we already knew this about that crowd.

They are just upset that his Trump caricature makes a better Trump then Trump. Move over the top, stupid and basically everything.

[Mihalik]

I wonder if he had any firearm training?

Whether he had any firearm training or not has exactly fuck all to do with anything.

You as an actor are handed a gun, told to point it at something or someone and shoot.

There ought to be trained staff on hand whose job is to handle the prop gun, load the relevant ammunition or charge, they are to set the rules and the safety measures.

The only relevant question here is how did the safety measures fail?

If they actually loaded live ammunition into the prop then they broke every imaginable law, rule, regulation and contractual obligation in existence.

[DarkAmbient]

Is it normal to point and fire prop guns at fellow actors or crew? I'm seeing this being reported as a misfire but a misfire isn't the same as an accidental discharge.

[uuuhname]

there is a lot to unpack here; shot during a strike so they hired scabs, said scabs probably weren't the best and allowed a loaded gun on set, Baldwin is a producer so he was well aware of said scabs being on set, but other than that this is a pretty obvious accident. I can imagine how distraught Baldwin is over being the guy who pulled the trigger, ugh....

[gondrin]

Whether he had any firearm training or not has exactly fuck all to do with anything.

You as an actor are handed a gun, told to point it at something or someone and shoot.

There ought to be trained staff on hand whose job is to handle the prop gun, load the relevant ammunition or charge, they are to set the rules and the safety measures.

The only relevant question here is how did the safety measures fail?

If they actually loaded live ammunition into the prop then they broke every imaginable law, rule, regulation and contractual obligation in existence.

Yeah, whoever loaded the gun is the one getting into serious trouble. Most Baldwin will get is probably a fine because he is a producer, not because he fired the gun. This would be no different then if a NASCAR driver was told his car is fine to drive then as soon as he turns, his wheels come off and he wrecks into another driver going full speed.

[Santti]

According to Finnish news I'm reading, it was a real bullet.

Plus, there were 2 accidental discharges, prior to this accident.

https://www.iltalehti.fi/viihdeuutis...2-81251b88e33f

[Mihalik]

sip]

I'm curious. You do understand what a movie is right?

It's supposed to be a believable reenactment of a fictional narrative. In this case the fiction being a Western.... People pointing guns at each other is somewhat important to the "reenactment" bit.

Hell, I've been to Civil Reenactments where hundreds of people were pointing and firing guns at each other at something like 30 yards.

[Kaleredar]

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/al...ay-2021-10-22/



Not sure if it was an accident. It seems like the media is more concerned about the gun than the person who fired it. kek.

The gun is the thing that killed her, so why it was in a lethal state on set is what’s worthy of the discussion.

I wonder if he had any firearm training?

Why would that matter?

I assume the person hit was standing at a distance that would have been safe for the operation of a gun with a blank cartridge, but not safe for one with a live round.

It was not ever anticipated, nor, dare I say, is it ever anticipated, that a gun on a film set would have a live round in it.

Man, the folks doing political victory laps over a tragic accident are all kinda fuckin gross.

That's all.

They’re clucking their tongues about a lack of gun safety knowledge and firearm accountability on the part of a movie star.

I wonder if they would transfer that sentiment to all gun owners in the United States.

[beanman12345]

Question is why's it got live rounds instead of blanks [Went through the cinematographer hitting another behind]?

Blanks on a movie set, are considered live rounds.

- - - Updated - - -

I must be missing the part of the article that says the gun had live ammunition in it since so many of you are mentioning it. You guys are aware that blanks can also be dangerous and have been responsible for accidental deaths in the past, right?

As far as Baldwin goes, the article also doesn't say whether or not he was discharging the gun as part of a scene as directed or if he was just "goofing off" in-between takes or something. I dislike Baldwin for some of the things he's said/done in the past, but I sincerely doubt he meant to actually cause harm to anyone here and doubt the fault is his so much as it's a freak accident. I'll reserve judgement until more facts come out. Either way, I feel bad for everyone on that set, Baldwin included. I can't imagine how horrible they must all feel.

As I just mentioned, blanks are considered live rounds on movie/tv sets. Since there was a projectile, of some sort, it's considered live, regardless of what projectile is in it. But as you said, blanks are dangerous. Guy in the 80's killed himself on a movie set by shooting himself in the head with a blank. Safety is utmost care on sets, which is why threshold for what is considered live ammunition is so low.

[Daedius]

Blanks on a movie set, are considered live rounds.

Obviously I was talking about one with a BULLET...

[beanman12345]

Obviously I was talking about one with a BULLET...

There is no evidence that he was given a gun with a bullet.

[Citizen T]

They’re clucking their tongues about a lack of gun safety knowledge and firearm accountability on the part of a movie star.

I wonder if they would transfer that sentiment to all gun owners in the United States.

I will. Anyone that points a weapon at another and pulls the trigger is responsible for all harm caused by that action. Ignorance of safety precautions is not an excuse.

[Daedius]

There is no evidence that he was given a gun with a bullet.

A blank is only lethal near the opening due to its explosive force, there's no projectile... the accident here involves a projectile going through one person striking another behind. A blank sure as hell can't do that unless there was some obstruction in the gun's barrel to act as a projectile... which was the case with Brandon Lee iirc.

[Cosmic Janitor]

It's almost as if the thousands of filmcrew people on strike have a point with shit being unsafe and rushed.

Problem here is that these people have probably the biggest motive to smuggle in a live round to make a point, as there is literally no reason to have live rounds on set. Unless they hired complete hicks to circumvent unions that went to the next gas station and bought a box because they ran out of blanks, I don't see how it normally could have gotten on set other than to sabotage the movie shoot.

[Santti]

A blank is only lethal near the opening due to its explosive force, there's no projectile... the accident here involves a projectile going through one person striking another behind. A blank sure as hell can't do that unless there was some obstruction in the gun's barrel to act as a projectile.

Yeah. Could be the same situation that happened with Brandon Lee. A dummy round had lodged unnoticed in the barrel of a prop gun, which later got loaded with blanks, which then propelled the dummy round, effectively creating an actual bullet being fired. But just a blank? Seems unlikely.

[Mihalik]

I will. Anyone that points a weapon at another and pulls the trigger is responsible for all harm caused by that action. Ignorance of safety precautions is not an excuse.

Let's try this one more time.

It.was.a.movie.set.

Actors are not firearm experts nor are they safety inspectors. They are handed a "prepared" firearm. Told to do X with it and pretend they are doing it for real.

The storage, handling, loading, chain of custody around firearms is handled by specialized firms contracted for that specific purpose.

If an actor is handed a loaded gun and he kills someone with it it is literally not his responsibility.

On the other hand if the actor happened to also be the producer, he might be liable for failing to contract the right professionals. But that's an entirely different discussion.

I know ya'll wanna pile on Alec Baldwin cuz he made fun of your Fuhrer, but assuming he is somehow responsible you are all piling on him for the wrong fucking thing.

Literally not seeing the forest.

[Wezmon]

There is no evidence that he was given a gun with a bullet.

Something was projected from the weapon into the victim. So it wasn't just a blank. The guy that died from the blank shot himself at point blank range in the head and died (3 days later) from the trauma of the air fracturing his skull. It wasn't over any distance.

This is either brandon lee style thing where there was a something left in the barrel, or it was a situation where live (as in bullets) rounds were used. I cannot fathom why you would have live ammo anywhere near a movie set.