For quite a few days, Alex Baldwin made headlines for accidentally killing Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins with a prop gun. It seems the production was already VERY CHAOTIC before the incident. To make things worse, even the head armorer had doubts of her own capabilities...
The reason I've been avoiding this rant was because this accident has turned political. Fanatics of former president Donald Trump have used this incident to mock Baldwin... while inadvertently making sound arguments for gun control. But that's heading into a topic I want to avoid: Politics.
The main culprit here is negligence. Corners were being cut left and right and according to former crew members safety protocol we're being disregarded for the sake of saving money... one of the many problems of unchecked capitalism... sorry! Safety should have always been the number one priority...
Especially when dealing with guns. This reminds me of the good old college days when I helped some friends in a less than $100 student film where painted cap guns were used. The scene was filmed private property with full permission of the owner. Neighbors were notified about the filming and the usage of prop weaponry for the scene. An off-duty cop acted as the armorer and verified that the weapons were indeed toys and only loaded with caps. I mean, the guy took the guns from the actors every time the director or an actor yelled "cut!" Super-duper serious stuff. I asked him wahy he did that if we all knew that these are cap toy guns. He simply said that following protocol avoids accidents, which didn't answer my question. He then said that prop guns in low budget productions tend to be old BB guns or airsoft guns, which if used improperly, they can hurt people. So, he was teaching the Director the proper protocol for handling firearms. Now it made sense.
Treat the guns with respect. Even if the guns can't be loaded, all guns must be treated as live guns. Failing to do so leads to Brandon Lee style incidents.
Sadly, with an easily replaced crew, an armorer who has had weapon issues, in addition to self-doubt created the recipe for this disaster. Cutting corners with stunts and anything that could potentially endanger an actor's life is a big No-No. We can ride the chain of command up and down looking for people to blame, but that won't solve the issue. Nothing will bring back Ms. Hutchins. The only thing that can be done is follow the existing protocols and maybe tightening up any loose areas that could allow for accidents to happen.
No comments:
Post a Comment