adb, sggSource: BELGA, CNN, TMZ, Daily Beast, Deadline
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Halls was taken off the movie set of in 2019 Freedom’s Path fired after an accident with a gun, the production company of that film reports. When a firearm used as a prop “went off unexpectedly,” a crew member was injured. The sound assistant sustained damage to the inner ear, resulting in hearing and balance problems. A written record of the incident is said to have been made at the time, and both Halls and the film’s weapons expert were replaced.
Three crew members tell CNN that they were already concerned about safety before the incident, partly because regular safety meetings were not held. “He was a person with enough red flags that his career should have been over by now. But he was still there and put the crew in scandalous situations.” Before the incident during Freedom’s Path the weapon was announced as “cold” – it should not have been loaded – the crew members say.
There have already been multiple incidents involving assistant director Dave Halls. — © Dave Halls Twitter
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Also during another production in 2019, the Hulu series Into the dark, there were already complaints about the experienced assistant director who allegedly did not take safety seriously. For example, employees stated that Halls more than once failed to announce that there were firearms on set and once refused to stop recordings after a pyrotechnician was seriously injured. Halls is also said to have reacted annoyed that a weapon had to be double checked on set before an actress had to aim it at her own head and pull the trigger.
Incidents during ‘Rest’
On the set of Rust there were also previous problems. On October 16, five days before the fatal accident, a firearm wielded by employees is said to have gone off twice accidentally after being said to be “cold”. No one was injured in the process.
The morning of the deadly incident, several crew members resigned in protest at working conditions and because certain safety regulations were not clearly followed. Entertainment site The Wrap also learned from anonymous sources that crew members had shot tin cans with the deadly weapon in question a few hours before the incident. In addition, they would not have respected the strict sector rules about real ammunition on a film set. TMZ had also previously written that crew members shot recreationally with the weapon after hours, with real bullets.
Also nonchalant weapons expert
The film gunsmith, 24-year-old Hannah Gutierrez Reed, is also under investigation. She stood during Rust only for the second time as a gunsmith on a film set. Earlier this year she was responsible for the weapons on the set of another western, The old way, with Nicholas Cage. There, Gutierrez-Reed would have been quite careless with the weapons and not always loaded them safely.
–Young weapons expert Hannah Gutierrez Reed is said to have been nonchalant. — © rr, Reuters
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During the day Rust Gutierrez Reed and Halls would have been responsible for making the weapon ‘cold’: making sure there are no real bullets in it. But the gun, which served as a prop, would have contained one real bullet and some blanks. Director Joel Souza told investigators that there should never be ammunition on or around the set, according to court documents.
Weapon went off during practice
Gutierrez Reed is said to have checked the weapons and prepared a cart before the incident, after which Halls took the weapon in question and gave it to Baldwin. Halls would have said that it was “cold”. Director Souza later confirmed to the investigators that he had indeed heard “cold weapon”. Halls should have checked the weapon one last time.
According to Souza, Baldwin sat on a bench in a church building on set and practiced a “cross draw,” in which a shooter takes a gun from the holster on the opposite side of his body from the hand he’s firing with. He allegedly tried to explain how he would draw the weapon and where his arm would be, according to cameraman Reid Russell, who said he was not sure why the weapon went off.
–Alec Baldwin (left) was rehearsing a scene in a church building. Hutchins and Souza watched. — © AP
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Souza was over the shoulder of director of photography Halyna was watching Hutchins when he heard a bang. Hutchins “complained about her stomach and clutched at her middle,” according to Souza. The director was also touched. The cameraman, who was standing next to them at the time, stated that Hutchins said she couldn’t feel her legs. Nurses treated her as she lay bleeding on the floor.
During the emergency call, assistant director Halls was immediately pointed to the finger. Script supervisor Mamie Mitchell, who said that two people had been hit, cursed Halls: “That fucking assistant director yelling at me at lunch, asking questions about revisions, that motherfucker. He has to check the guns. He is responsible.”
–Alec Baldwin na het incident. — © AP
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Hutchins died of her injuries, Souza suffered non-life-threatening injuries. No charges have been filed against Baldwin. Cameraman Russell told investigators that Baldwin was very careful and had previously assured that it was safe and that a child was not near him when they fired a weapon.
Recordings may still resume
Filming has been temporarily halted. In a letter to employees, the production team stated: “As we go through this crisis, we have decided to shut down the set at least until the investigations are completed. While our hearts are broken and it’s hard to see beyond the horizon, this is – right now – a pause rather than an end.”
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