A year and a half after the tragedy, shooting resumed. The teams have redoubled their vigilance to avoid any risk.
The shooting of the American film Rust resumed last week, under special conditions. A year and a half after the death on set of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, caused by an accidental shooting by Alec Baldwin, every precaution has been taken to avoid a new tragedy.
“I’ve said it and I’ll say it again and again: there are no weapons on set,” first assistant director Gerard DiNardi told the team, according to a report by the New York Times relayed by Variety.
“There’s nothing that can shoot,” he continued. “There are many fake weapons, plastic or replicas.”
A new gunsmith, Andrew Wert, was hired. All the weapons brought to the set have been tampered with by him so that they cannot be fired, and he keeps them in a safe protected by a secret code between takes.
Budget revised upwards
Filming has resumed at the Yellowstone Film Ranch in Montana, approximately 2,000 miles from the original filming location in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This new filming location has been assessed by security specialists beforehand, and representatives of film industry unions supervise the scenes considered dangerous.
Finally, still according to the New York Timesthe budget of 6.5 million dollars was increased to 8 million and the 22 days of filming planned became 24, in order to leave more room for precaution.
Director Joel de Suza, injured in the accident, took over the cameras for this second part of filming. The husband of Halyna Hutchins officiates as executive producer thanks to an agreement signed with Alec Baldwin, against which he withdrew his civil lawsuits. A new director of photography, Bianca Cline, has been hired.
Ongoing investigation
Since this rare incident, which shocked Hollywood and prompted calls to ban firearms on set, an investigation is trying to determine who was responsible for the presence of a real bullet in the weapon used as a prop by Alec Baldwin . Manslaughter charges against him were dropped last week. The 65-year-old actor has always maintained that he was assured that his weapon was harmless and also denies having pulled the trigger.
According to Los Angeles Times, this twist is due to new elements brought to justice concerning the weapon of the drama. The gun would have been modified before it was delivered to the film crew, thus increasing the chances of an untimely shot occurring, three sources familiar with the matter explained to the daily. The proceedings against the gunsmith of the film, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, also accused of manslaughter, are however maintained.
A first conviction took place at the end of March. Former first assistant Dave Halls received a six-month suspended probation for negligent use of a deadly weapon. It was this first assistant, Dave Halls, who handed Alec Baldwin the gun supposedly loaded with blanks.
