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Hitting the headlines tonight:
Renowned film producer and actor Alec Baldwin fired a loaded prop gun unwittingly while on set in Santa Fe in New Mexico.
The accident culminated in the death of film director, Halyna Hutchins, and wounding of another director.
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You might be blase about this kind of behind-the-scenes footage and general mise-en-scene, but it was where a distraught Alec Baldwin shot a film director of the movie "Rust."
It was on Thursday local time when an assistant film director of the movie "Rust" unwittingly handed legendary actor Alec Baldwin a loaded prop gun.
Told it's safe to use prior to the tragedy, Baldwin discharged the stage firearm, only to find out that he ended up shooting the film's director of photography, 42-year-old Halyna Hutchins, to death. Director Joel Souza, though didn't suffer the brunt of it, failed to dodge the bullet and was consequently wounded.
Right away, Hutchins was flown by helicopter to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Dispatcher: Were they loaded with a real bullet?
Caller: I cannot tell you that. We have two injuries...
It is unclear as of now how many rounds were fired.
What came to light is that prior to the tragedy, some set members walked off the set over safety concerns, in part due to multiple misfires of the prop gun earlier.
The illustrious Baldwin expressed remorse. He tweeted, there are no words to articulate my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours. I'm fully cooperating with the police investigation. He also sent his condolences and commiserated with the bereaved over their loss of such a great figure in the movie industry.
This accident may have given everyone a bizarre feeling of deja vu, since it is indeed a carbon copy of an on-set tragic accident back in 1993. Actor Brandon Lee was killed after a bullet was left in a prop gun. And similar shootings have occurred in history involving stage weapons that were loaded with live rounds.
This accident came notwithstanding revamped gun-safety protocols on sets in the U.S.
An incredible legend and dexterous filmmaker, Hutchins is well-known for partaking in the production of the 2020 action film "Archenemy" starring Joe Manganiello. She graduated from the American Film Institute back in 2015, and indeed has protean talents.
Consequent to the shooting is a hiatus - screeching halt in production of the movie "Rust", which revolves around a 13-year-old boy who is left to fend for himself and his little brother following the demise of their parents in 1880s in Kansas. Baldwin is cast as the boy's long-estranged grandfather.
Despite with a view to averting an accident similar to the accidental killing of Brandon Lee, the gun-safety protocols on sets in the U.S. have proven to be ineffective. And it's not long odds that a carbon copy of this accident will occur again.
As such, safety concerns are engendered as authorities begin a formal and comprehensive investigation into this accidental and deadly killing.
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