It comes with the territory to have the paparazzi after you if you are famous. It is a choice to be famous believe me it is a choice. At any rate the paparazzi are quite good at capturing the true character of whoever they are photographing.Originally Posted by ClaytonB
Agreed. All I'm saying is beware of jumping to conclusions. Maybe I'm way off base, but I smell the potential for a well-laid trap, here.
Jer. 11:18-20. "The Kingdom of God has come upon you." -- Matthew 12:28
Oh, that's certainly false, cf Britney, Miley, and basically every other child star ever.
Also certainly false. The paparazzi are a bunch of predators. As a supporter of laissez-faire, I support their legal right to do what they do (as long as they are standing on ground they have a legal right to stand on, and respect personal space), but I also support the right of bodyguards for Hollywood A-listers to be armed with submachine guns, brass-knuckles and blackjacks... so the root-problem is that there is a legal one-way-street here, and that's typical statist BS. Nevermind that the Hollywood A-listers themselves have mush for brains and cannot understand how it is the State itself that is the root-cause of their woes, but I digress...At any rate the paparazzi are quite good at capturing the true character of whoever they are photographing.
Jer. 11:18-20. "The Kingdom of God has come upon you." -- Matthew 12:28
So, Baldwin said to someone, "If she calls for another take, I'm going to $#@!ing shoot a blank at her"? He didn't mention that in his interview.
Trump said he could shoot people and get away with it. Baldwin isn't Trump, but played him on TV. And he did, and seems to be getting away with it. Celebrity worship is hard on this country.
Last edited by acptulsa; 12-06-2021 at 03:41 PM.
And basically nothing you mentioned here is within the parameters of ordinary reality. More like living in a (really crappy) dream. At some point, people are going to have to wake up and realize that the level of fakery has gone beyond their wildest imaginations....
Jer. 11:18-20. "The Kingdom of God has come upon you." -- Matthew 12:28
No one has jumped to conclusions. Some have expressed opinions about Baldwin's degree of culpability and have given reasons for their assessments. In the very video that prompted this branch of the thread, Viva Frei emphasized that what he was presenting was only his opinion - and he explicitly said that his opinion was subject to change given any new or additional information. There is nothing objectionable or deserving of a warning in any of this.
Last edited by Occam's Banana; 12-06-2021 at 04:30 PM.
I don't understand why you keep responding with a high tone as if I'm out in left field. I'm not "warning" anyone. All I'm saying is -- watch out, judge the facts carefully, beware of allowing others to lead your opinion to certain "obvious" conclusions. That's all. I don't agree that the paparazzi footage tells us anything at all about Baldwin's character. If I were famous like that, I'd probably be 1000x worse and I wouldn't give a damn about the "footage" or what people thought it says about my "character". With perhaps a few exceptions (but I doubt it) paparazzi are fecal bacteria in human form. And I springboarded off of that to share my opinion about rage-baiting and its role in the culture proxy-war, which the right-wing is absolutely losing (because they keep taking the bait). If you don't like my opinions, you don't have to read them.
Jer. 11:18-20. "The Kingdom of God has come upon you." -- Matthew 12:28
Mote, meet beam. Beam, mote ...
Well, I guess we're using "warning" in different ways. I'm not warning as in scolding anyone, or telling them off, or even suggesting that anyone in this thread is off-base or out-of-bounds. I'm simply adding some additional thoughts beyond, "Yeah and Amen, Baldwin is Guilty As Sin and That's the Gospel Truth Guldarnit."Mote, meet beam. Beam, mote ...
Anyway, let me introduce myself... Hi, nice to meet you Occam, I'm Clayton and I have this bad habit of always trying to shoot down what I think is obviously true. Bad habit or not, it's saved my skin more times than I can count...
Jer. 11:18-20. "The Kingdom of God has come upon you." -- Matthew 12:28
Not looking good for Baldwin...
Jer. 11:18-20. "The Kingdom of God has come upon you." -- Matthew 12:28
Alec Baldwin Served with SEARCH WARRANT - Viva Frei Vlawg
It's getting serious for Alec Baldwin.
https://rumble.com/vr0ngr-alec-baldw...=71v3&mc=bp3oa
Is it required for actors to know and understand a weapon that is handed to them? People have said that about Alec Baldwin.
What about these two women? Around the 4:11 mark:
Are those real guns? They look like it.
Do these actresses know enough to check whether it is a real gun or fake prop? If real, do they know how to check to see if it’s loaded? Do they know how to safely handle a gun? I’d have to guess that the answer to those questions are all “no”.
Headline for that skit should be “SNL actress shoots fellow actress in the head.”
"Foreign aid is taking money from the poor people of a rich country, and giving it to the rich people of a poor country." - Ron Paul
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"Debt is the drug, Wall St. Banksters are the dealers, and politicians are the addicts." - B4L
"Totally free immigration? I've never taken that position. I believe in national sovereignty." - Ron Paul
Proponent of real science.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely my own, and do not represent this forum or any other entities or persons.
Finger in trigger Full Pull.
Unloaded.. but still stupid..
No clue as to proper handling .
Pure Propaganda..by actresses (groomed) that have no clue.
These two women would probably take offense to the allusion that thay had been groomed into their particular positions..
I like sex too,, I just don't do that.
Phuck,, Friends, I like my women armed.
Last edited by pcosmar; 12-18-2021 at 08:13 PM.
Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long.
Ron Paul 2004
Registered Ron Paul supporter # 2202
It's all about Freedom
Alec Baldwin needed bleachbit and hammers.
Last edited by Intrepid; 01-16-2022 at 12:54 PM.
Rust Armorer Files Lawsuit! | Says Alec Baldwin And Assistant Director VIOLATED Safety Protocol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqgOPvbGNto
Alec Baldwin UPDATE - Armorer SUES Prop Company! Lawyer Explains
Alec Baldwin shooting of Halyna Hutchins keeps getting wilder. Armorer sues prop company. And the lawsuit is bizarre.
https://rumble.com/vsus2i-alec-baldw...-explains.html
Alec Baldwin sued by family of late ‘Rust’ cinematographer Halyna Hutchins
https://nypost.com/2022/02/15/alec-b...tchins-family/
Marjorie Hernandez (15 February 2022)
Lawyers for Halyna Hutchins’ family filed a wrongful-death suit against actor Alec Baldwin on Tuesday — while releasing a chilling video re-enacting the movie-set shooting that killed the cinematographer.
The eerie animated footage, titled “Killing of Halyna Hutchins on the set of ‘Rust,’ ” uses computer-generated figures of Baldwin and others on the fated film shoot that day.
It includes the moment the star allegedly pulled the trigger of what was supposed to have been a prop gun with blank bullets.
“There are many people culpable, but Mr. Baldwin was the person holding the weapon … that but for him shooting, she would not have died,” said Hutchins family lawyer Brian Panish at a press conference in Los Angeles.
“[Baldwin] has significant portion liability, but there are others, and that’s what this case is going to be about — assessing fair apportionment to whoever’s responsible for the senseless tragedy,” the lawyer said of the suit, which was filed in New Mexico.
Baldwin is accused of firing the single bullet that hit and killed Hutchins, then exited her body and struck director Joel Souza in the clavicle, while filming the Western flick in New Mexico on Oct. 21.
During the press conference, her family’s lawyers showed the nearly 10-minute animation video — which includes a gruesome moment depicting the bullet searing through Hutchins’ chest and skeleton, reddening them with blood amid a bone-crunching sound effect.
VIDEOS (animation) @ LINK: https://nypost.com/2022/02/15/alec-b...tchins-family/
The video has Baldwin sitting in a pew in a makeshift church on the set when he fires the gun, which hits Hutchins from 4 feet away.
“I’m hit,” a dying Hutchins said, according to the suit, while Souza cried out in pain.
The footage explains that there are simple ways to tell whether a bullet is live before it is fired. A dummy bullet would have had a hole in it and rattled when someone shook it, while a real bullet lacks the hole and makes no sound, the narrator said.
The lawyers claimed Baldwin refused weapons training on how to perform the cross-draw, which was the type of action he was supposed to do.
Randi McGinn, a lawyer from Albuquerque who is also representing the Hutchins family, said she is confident that a New Mexico jury will be able to understand the complexities of the case, which could go to trial within two years.
“We’re used to people coming in from out of town to play cowboy who don’t know how to use guns,” McGinn said. “The jury in Santa Fe is used to that and understands that even on a dude ranch, you don’t hand somebody a gun until you’ve given them safety training. … No one should ever die with a real gun on a make-believe set.
“That should never happen, and the people in Santa Fe understand that. They’re used to guns, and they are real cowboys in Santa Fe.”
The Hutchins family lawyers said the industry standard requires a crew to be behind protective glass and have other safety equipment during such a scene.
Panish said while his legal team does not have video to show Baldwin cocked the gun’s hammer before he fired, that would be the only way the single-action revolver would have gone off.
“I think it’s clear what happened,” Panish said. “He had the gun, he says he pulled the hammer back, it fired, and she was killed. … The experts will look at it and make any determinations, but we don’t think this was caused by any defect in the weapon.”
Baldwin responded on Tuesday night with an Instagram post that simply included an image of an art installment from the Parrish Art Museum that says: “Everything is going to be alright.”
The actor has claimed in a weepy interview that he had no idea there were real bullets in the weapon and that he “didn’t pull the trigger” — although the film’s script supervisor said in a separate lawsuit the actor “intentionally … cocked and fired” the gun.
The 29-page complaint from Hutchins’ family also names David Halls, the assistant director who handed the gun to Baldwin, armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and other producers as defendants.
According to the document, Baldwin and the producers knew Gutierrez-Reed was “inexperienced” and “unqualified” for the armorer job — and that she was not even inside the church when the crew was lining up their shot, which is an “industry standards” requirement.
Members of the crew and production also were aware of previous safety issues that occurred on the “super unsafe” set, including three accidental gun discharges, according to the suit.
VIDEO (press conference) @ LINK: https://nypost.com/2022/02/15/alec-b...tchins-family/
The lawyers said there were at least 15 industry standards that were violated, including failing to use a rubber prop gun, failing to treat the gun on set as if it were loaded and operating a camera remotely when a firearm is aimed at or near a camera.
Duncan Levin, a former federal prosecutor and New York-based criminal defense attorney, said filing a civil case before prosecutors have even filed criminal charges introduces several complications.
“Victims of crimes should tread carefully, particularly during this critical period when law enforcement is investigating the case,” Levin told The Post. “Criminal investigators are never particularly pleased with a parallel civil case being brought by crime victims. It’s a parallel investigation being conducted by non-law enforcement, who are trying to talk to the same people and trying to collect the same evidence. It’s duplicative, and sometimes confuses people. In certain circumstances, it could appear that victims care more about getting money than about enforcing their rights in court.”
Panish said Hutchins’ husband, Matthew, and their young son, Andros, continue to grieve.
The family has not placed an exact figure on their wrongful-death and punitive-damages claim, but Matthew “understands that a lawsuit is necessary to get answers,” Panish said.
“He wants answers. He wants closure,” the lawyer said. “And people have been respecting his privacy as he and his son deal with this in their own way.
“And I think when you meet Matt, you will see what a resilient, courageous, wonderful person he really is … and a great father, and he was a great husband to Halyna. It’s tragic that this happened to him and his son to go through this senselessness. It never ever should’ve happened.”
Levin said the family’s decision to file the lawsuit could signal they have lost faith in law enforcement since no one has been charged with a crime so far.
“At this point, they’re suing someone who law enforcement hasn’t even decided whether to charge or not,” Levin said. “It gives him (Baldwin) an opening to say, ‘I’m innocent. I’m out here living my life and I haven’t been charged with anything, yet these guys are jumping to the conclusion that I did something wrong. Well, let’s not jump to conclusions, let this process play out. You’ll see that I did nothing wrong.’ It will allow (Baldwin) that kind of opening, strategically speaking.”
Baldwin did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The Hutchins’ family suit is one of now four legal claims filed against Baldwin and “Rust” producers.
Lighting technician Serge Svetnoy, the film’s script supervisor Mamie Mitchell and Gutierrez-Reed previously filed their own lawsuits.
Gutierrez-Reed, who was in charge of checking all firearms on the set, claimed in her suit that ammunition supplier Seth Kenney mixed live rounds in boxes she thought contained only blanks.
Baldwin was told that the gun was “cold,” indicating the weapon contained only dummy bullets, but a live bullet inside the weapon struck and killed Hutchins as she was setting up a close-up shot of the actor, Gutierrez-Reed said.
Last edited by Occam's Banana; 02-16-2022 at 02:23 AM.
Alec Baldwin’s attorney calls claims actor was ‘reckless’ on ‘Rust’ set ‘entirely false’
https://news.yahoo.com/alec-baldwin-...204605210.html
Lauryn Overhultz (15 February 2022)
Alec Baldwin's lawyer called the claim that the actor was "reckless" on the set of "Rust" "entirely false" in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Baldwin was named in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by cinematographer Halyna Hutchins' family Tuesday. Hutchins died on the set of "Rust" on Oct. 21 after a gun Baldwin was holding discharged.
The Hutchins family's lead lawyer Brian Panish claimed "reckless behavior and cost-cutting" led to the death of Hutchins during a press conference regarding the lawsuit.
However, Baldwin's attorney hit back at the claim as he emphasized that the actor is continuing to "cooperate" with authorities on the investigation into Hutchins' death.
"Everyone’s hearts and thoughts remain with Halyna’s family as they continue to process this unspeakable tragedy. We continue to cooperate with the authorities to determine how live ammunition arrived on the ‘Rust’ set in the first place. Any claim that Alec was reckless is entirely false," attorney Aaron Dyer said on behalf of Baldwin in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"He, Halyna and the rest of the crew relied on the statement by the two professionals responsible for checking the gun that it was a ‘cold gun’ — meaning there is no possibility of a discharge, blank or otherwise. This protocol has worked on thousands of films, with millions of discharges, as there has never before been an incident on a set where an actual bullet harmed anyone. Actors should be able to rely on armorers and prop department professionals, as well as assistant directors, rather than deciding on their own when a gun is safe to use."
Baldwin, armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, assistant director David Halls, production companies and producers were named in the lawsuit filed on behalf of Halyna's husband Matthew Hutchins and their son Andros on Tuesday in New Mexico.
Representatives for Gutierrez Reed and Halls did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff's office, which is conducting the investigation into Hutchins' death, had no comment on the lawsuit filed.
"The investigation remains open and ongoing," Juan Rios, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office, told Fox News Digital.
Despite naming others in the lawsuit, the Hutchins family's lawyer pointed most blame on Baldwin himself.
"I think it's clear what happened," Panish told reporters Tuesday. "Alec had the gun in his hand. He shot it. Halyna was killed."
He also claimed that Baldwin had refused weapons training on how to cross-draw a revolver. Per Panish, Baldwin and production had "disregarded at least 15 industry standards" on the set of "Rust."
Hutchins' family is suing for punitive damages, funeral and burial expenses, among other things to be determined at trial.
"Halyna Hutchins deserved to live, and the Defendants had the power to prevent her death if they had only held sacrosanct their duty to protect the safety of every individual on a set where firearms were present instead of cutting corners on safety procedures where human lives were at stake, rushing to stay on schedule and ignoring numerous complaints of safety violations," the lawsuit reads.
"This lawsuit seeks justice for the losses of her survivors and to hold responsible those who caused her tragic death."
Baldwin was spotted running errands in New York City on Tuesday morning ahead of the wrongful death lawsuit announcement.
Alec Baldwin Now Denies Pointing Gun and Firing at ‘Rust’ Crew Member, Blames Trump Supporters for the Fallout
https://beckernews.com/77-baldwin-no...fallout-46477/
Kyle Becker (19 August 2022)
Alec Baldwin was using a prop gun on the set of “Rust” in New Mexico in October, when he allegedly accidentally fired the weapon and killed the film’s cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded its director Joel Souza.
Now, the Hollywood actor is denying that he ever pointed the gun at anyone and fired it, and he has now blaming Trump supporters for the entire incident. Watch:
Alec Baldwin Denies Shooting and Killing 'Rust' Cast Member Halyna Hutchins
https://rumble.com/v1gku7d-alec-bald...-hutchins.html
“I never once said, never, that the gun went off in my hand automatically,” he said. “I always said I pulled the hammer back and I pulled it back as far as I could. I never took a gun and pointed it at somebody and clicked the thing.”
Now, Baldwin is even claiming that Trump supporters are behind the fatal shooting, in an accusation worthy of Jussie Smollett. Baldwin referred to Trump’s comment that “He [Baldwin] probably shot her [Halyna Hutchins] on purpose.”
“Alec Baldwin says Donald Trump incited his January 6th mob to murder him … by falsely claiming the actor intentionally fired the shot that killed the cinematographer on the ‘Rust’ set,” TMZ reported.
“Baldwin told CNN Trump’s comment — that ‘He [Baldwin] probably shot her [Halyna Hutchins] on purpose’ was itself a trigger for his mob to put a target on his head,” the report added.
“Here was Trump who instructed people to commit acts of violence and he was pointing the finger at me and saying I was responsible for the death,” he added.
He also said the stress from the incident has “taken years off my life,” and added, “If I didn’t have my wife, I don’t know where I would be right now … If I didn’t have her, I probably would have quit, retired, gone off, you know sold everything I owned, got a house in the middle of nowhere and just you know did find something else to do, sell real estate.”
No one has been charged for the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of ‘Rust’ and investigators are seeking out whoever put the live round in the chamber.
According to a L.A. Times report, Baldwin was ‘preparing for a shootout scene inside a church’ when he attempted a cross draw with an FD Pietta .45-caliber Colt revolver, the newspaper reported.
“So, I guess I’m gonna take this out, pull it and go, ‘Bang!’” he said before firing the prop gun, which was supposed to be loaded with dummy rounds. Instead, it had a live round, which ended Hutchins’ life.
Assistant Director Dave Halls, who was partly responsible for checking the gun, argued that Baldwin has blamed everyone but himself for the incident.
“Baldwin is pointing the finger at others because the evidence is pointing at him,” Halls’ attorney said.
While Alec Baldwin maintains that he couldn’t have fired the shot that killed Hutchins, the FBI has determined that it is impossible for the incident to have happened without Baldwin pulling the trigger.
Last edited by Occam's Banana; 08-19-2022 at 10:44 AM.
Still hasn't been Perp Walked.
and his defense is Blame Trump.
Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long.
Ron Paul 2004
Registered Ron Paul supporter # 2202
It's all about Freedom
I assume the author meant to say, "Baldwin is even claiming that Trump supporters are behind [blaming him for] the fatal shooting", rather than that Baldwin is claiming that Trump supporters killed Halyna Hutchins (which is what the author's infelicitous wording makes it sound like).
Alec Baldwin: I Was Afraid Trump Supporters Would Kill Me ... After Rust Shooting
Alec Baldwin Says He Was Afraid Trump Supporters Would Kill Him After Rust Shooting
https://www.tmz.com/2022/08/19/alec-...ooting-trigger
TMZ (19 August 2022)
Alec Baldwin says Donald Trump incited his January 6th mob to murder him ... by falsely claiming the actor intentionally fired the shot that killed the cinematographer on the "Rust" set.
Baldwin told CNN Trump's comment -- that "He [Baldwin] probably shot her [Halyna Hutchins] on purpose" was itself a trigger for his mob to put a target on his head.
As Baldwin put it, "Here was Trump who instructed people to commit acts of violence and he was pointing the finger at me and saying I was responsible for the death."
Baldwin had lots to say ... CNN says the interview lasted 2 hours, although only a small portion has been aired. He reportedly said the stress from the shooting has "taken years off my life," adding, "If I didn't have my wife, I don't know where I would be right now ... If I didn't have her, I probably would have quit, retired, gone off, you know sold everything I owned, got a house in the middle of nowhere and just you know did find something else to do, sell real estate."
Baldwin also says he hired a P.I. and got recon that he almost certainly would not be prosecuted, nor does he think anyone else will be as well. He does, however, lay the blame squarely at the feet of Chief Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and Assistant Director Dave Halls, for allowing him to handle a gun with live ammo. Baldwin didn't know the gun was loaded with a live round and says it was their responsibility to check it.
Halls' lawyer says Baldwin is trying to deflect blame, saying "Baldwin is pointing the finger at others because the evidence is pointing at him."
As we reported, Baldwin has maintained he didn't pull the trigger, but the FBI reportedly begs to differ, saying the gun couldn't discharge a bullet without pulling the trigger.
A defense that we will see being used for years to come.
"Perhaps one of the most important accomplishments of my administration is minding my own business."
Calvin Coolidge
Up to 4 people, including Alec Baldwin, might end up facing [criminal homicide] charges in "Rust" shooting [...]
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alec-ba...rged-homicide/
Caitlin O'Kane (26 September 2022)
A district attorney in New Mexico said she could be close to charging up to four people, including actor Alec Baldwin, in the "Rust" film set shooting that occurred in Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021. During the shooting, Baldwin's prop gun was discharged, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies made an emergency funding request for $635,500 to continue to fund the investigation of the high-profile case.
"We are within weeks, if not days, of receiving the final report from the sheriff's office," Carmack-Altwies said during a New Mexico Board of Finance meeting on Sept. 20. She said while they are still awaiting reports "it's become apparent that we will be potentially charging between one and four people with criminal charges and each of those charges will probably include some variation of our homicide statute."
In a letter to the board of finance, the district attorney's office specified that Baldwin could be one of the possible defendants and that "this case could require up to four separate jury trials."
During the meeting, Carmack-Altwies said homicide cases are the most complex and litigious and that her office would use the money to hire more people to work on the case.
"These cases look to be too big for just my office to handle," Carmack-Altwies said, adding that she and two other attorneys from her office will remain on the case, but they also need to focus on others. "We need an almost full-time attorney and someone who is very experienced on complex cases and very experienced with litigation," she said.
The funds could also go to that new attorney's support staff, like paralegals, as well as experts who can aid in the investigation – like a firearm expert, an armorer who has worked on movies before and potentially a movie set safety expert. She also requested a public information officer because her office was overwhelmed with media attention over the case.
"The report coming in in October means we will be under the gun – no pun intended – to get moving on these cases and to get these cases charged if that is what the facts warrant," she said, adding that any money she doesn't spend will be returned. "It's merely that we need it starting in October to start retaining people."
The board of finance approved $317,750 for her emergency request fund.
Last month, New Mexico's Office of the Medical Investigator finished an autopsy and review of law enforcement reports and determined the shooting was an accident.
The FBI also completed its forensics investigation last month, and the case was handed over to the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office. At the time, Carmack-Altwies' office was also waiting for a report from Suffolk County Police Department in New York, which was working to obtain Baldwin's phone records.
"To date, my office has received portions of the Rust investigation from SFSO but is still awaiting the balance of supplemental reports including, but not limited to, the following: FBI firearm and tool mark analyses, forensic testing on the firearm itself, the forensic download from Suffolk County PD of Mr. Baldwin's phone, and the pathology report from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator," Carmack-Altwies said in a statement at the time.
She said once she receives all necessary reports, she and her team will make a charging decision. CBS News has reached out to Carmack-Altwies for more information and is awaiting response.
Baldwin's attorney criticized the implication that his client could be charged in a statement to CBS News, writing that Carmack-Altwies "has made clear that she has not received the sheriff's report or made any decisions about who, if anyone, might be charged in this case."
Baldwin, 64, has called the shooting "a tragic accident." A single live round was discharged from a Pietta Colt .45 revolver as Baldwin was rehearsing for the film, according to a previous search warrant. The gun was pointed at the camera and struck and killed Hutchins, 42, and wounded Souza, 48.
In an emotional interview with ABC News in December, Baldwin said he had no idea there was a live round in the gun and that he didn't realize it had killed Hutchins and injured Souza until hours after the shooting.
Bodycam footage released in April by the Santa Fe Sheriff's Office shows Baldwin holding the gun before the incident, and Hutchins and Souza on the ground surrounded by first responders after they were shot. The video also shows Baldwin telling two officers that he did not pull the trigger. He is seen telling the officers he didn't know who put a live round in the weapon.
In addition to the criminal investigation, there are several other lawsuits over the shooting. Hutchins' family is suing Baldwin and the movie's producers for wrongful death. The armorer on the film, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, has sued the ammunition and guns supplier for the movie, accusing him and his company of providing a combination of dummy and live rounds.
Baldwin, Reed and assistant director David Halls, who handed Baldwin the gun, are also being sued for alleged negligence by dozens of crew members.
Last edited by Occam's Banana; 09-28-2022 at 05:54 AM.
INSANE Alec Baldwin Update! | Rust To Start Filming Again, With Husband Of Halyna Hutchins Producing
https://odysee.com/@RKOutpost:9/insa...ate!-rust-to:8
Alec Baldwin and weapons handler charged with manslaughter in deadly ‘Rust’ shooting
https://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...y-manslaughter
[archive link: https://archive.ph/FjEY1]
Meg James (19 January 2023)
New Mexico prosecutors have filed felony criminal charges against actor Alec Baldwin and the armorer of the low-budget western “Rust,” following the fatal shooting of the film’s cinematographer.
The charges represent a dramatic culmination of more than a year of speculation over who, if anyone, would be held accountable for the tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, a rising star in the film industry. Hutchins was shot in the chest Oct. 21, 2021, as she rehearsed a scene with Baldwin and the film’s director, Joel Souza, who was also wounded.
Baldwin was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins’ death.
Prosecutors also brought involuntary manslaughter charges against weapons handler Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who loaded the gun. The assistant director David Halls, who investigators said gave the loaded revolver to Baldwin just before a rehearsal in an old wooden church at Bonanza Creek Ranch, a popular movie location near Santa Fe, accepted a misdemeanor charge in a plea deal.
New Mexico’s First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced the charges Thursday, nearly 15 months after Baldwin fired the live round from his prop gun, unaware that the Colt .45 revolver contained live ammunition. Actual bullets are forbidden from film sets, however, investigators later found several other lead bullets mingled with inert dummy rounds.
A cascading series of lapses on the low-budget production led to the shooting, which ignited calls in Hollywood for producers to improve safety conditions for film crew members who have felt stretched to their limits amid a boom in production.
Baldwin was one of the producers of “Rust.” With Carmack-Altwies’ decision, the 64-year-old Hollywood star — who achieved acclaim for performances on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” and “30 Rock,” as well as such as movies as “Glengarry Glen Ross,” and “The Hunt for Red October” — could face a criminal trial or accept a plea bargain.
The decision comes three months after Baldwin and the film’s other producers struck a proposed settlement agreement with Hutchins’ family to end the wrongful death civil lawsuit they filed early last year. The family initially blamed Hutchins’ death on cost-cutting measures and reckless behavior by Baldwin and others.
Under the proposed deal, which must be approved by a judge, the movie’s production would resume this year. With the settlement agreement, the family’s tenor also changed. The cinematographer’s widow, Matthew Hutchins, said: “Halyna’s death was a terrible accident.”
After news of the family’s proposed settlement, Carmack-Altwies’ office released a statement saying: “No one is above the law.”
Baldwin has long maintained his innocence, saying in televised interviews that gun safety wasn’t his responsibility and that he did not pull the trigger.
Reports prepared by FBI analysts in Virginia, however, cast doubt on that claim. While the FBI did not conclude where live ammunition came from, agents said in an August report that the pistol, a replica of a vintage Pietta Colt .45, “functioned normally when tested in the laboratory.”
The FBI report also noted that, in order for the revolver to fire, the trigger would have been pulled.
“This is problematic for Baldwin because he has insisted that he did not pull the trigger,” said Beverly Hills entertainment attorney Mitra Ahouraian. “Those types of inconsistencies are not helpful to his case.”
Baldwin has placed blame on Gutierrez Reed and Halls, saying he was relying on expectations that they were professionals and should have done their jobs to ensure safety on the set. Entertainment industry protocols typically task the responsibility for gun safety with the armorer, property master and assistant director.
“All my career, without incident, I’ve relied on the safety experts [on set] to declare the gun safe and never had a problem,” Baldwin said in 2022 at the Boulder International Film Festival. “And [then,] this happened.”
That defense might fall short, experts said.
“Regardless of what the practice may be in the entertainment industry, and regardless of what the protocols are on Hollywood sets, that’s not the law,” Ahouraian said. “The gun was in his hands. And if there’s any possibility that you are handling something that could harm someone, then you have an obligation to handle it safely.”
Joshua Kastenberg, a law professor at the University of New Mexico, noted Carmack-Altwies approached the case by scrutinizing the actions of everyone who handled the weapon and the live ammunition.
“Everyone in that chain of custody had some responsibility,” Kastenberg said. “When considering bringing criminal charges, the ‘it’s not my job’ defense just doesn’t fly. If you are holding a gun in your hand, you implicitly have a responsibility to make safety your business.”
The October 2021 killing shook the film industry and renewed calls by rank-and-file film workers, including members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, and other guilds to better emphasize safety amid a rush by producers to crank out movies and TV shows following COVID-19 pandemic-related production shut-downs. Filming of “Rust,” which had a $7 million production budget, was supposed to span 21 days — an ambitious timeline for a period piece, film experts have said.
Baldwin was playing a grizzled outlaw, Harland Rust, who was on the run with his grandson who accidentally shot a rancher dead in 1880s Kansas.
After lunch on that fateful day, Souza and Hutchins were lining up camera angles as Baldwin practiced a cross-draw maneuver inside the old wooden church at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, a popular location for movie productions. Cameras were not rolling at the time.
Sitting in a makeshift pew about four feet from Hutchins and Souza, Baldwin allegedly pulled the replica Colt .45 pistol from his holster, pointed it in the direction of the camera and the gun went off. Hutchins was standing next to the camera; and Souza behind her.
According to Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office documents released last year, Halls — who was the “Rust” safety officer on set — had told Baldwin the gun was “cold,” meaning that it did not contain live ammunition.
The gun contained at least one live bullet and dummy rounds, which contained no gunpowder. Such bullets are inert, but look nearly identical to a real bullet when a camera peers down the barrel of a revolver.
If the rounds had been thoroughly checked, Gutierrez Reed, Halls or others should have seen that at least one lacked the small hole or indentation that differentiates so-called “dummies” from actual lead bullets.
They would have also noticed that the live round didn’t make the signature rattling sound that reveals that only a BB — and no gunpowder — was contained inside.
Gutierrez Reed, who cooperated with investigators, previously had acknowledged that she had loaded the gun that day. She told sheriff’s detectives that she didn’t realize actual bullets were contained in a new box of ammunition that arrived on set that morning. The box contained seven live rounds mixed in with 43 dummies, according to a civil suit that Gutierrez Reed has filed.
Following the shooting, she told sheriff’s detectives that although she checked Baldwin’s gun that day before the unscheduled rehearsal in the wooden church, she “didn’t really check it too much after lunch” because the weapon had been locked in a safe during the crew’s lunch break.
Much of the camera crew had walked off the job hours before the fatal shooting after complaining to producers about alleged inattention to safety and a refusal to pay for nearby lodging for cameramen who lived 50 miles away in Albuquerque.
There also were tensions about two accidental weapons discharges less than a week before Hutchins’ death, including when property master Sarah Zachry accidentally fired a weapon to be used by one of the actors, although she was not injured in the incident.
Additionally, rifts had developed within the movie’s small props crew over issues of workload.
Gutierrez Reed acknowledged that she was struggling to perform two jobs — armorer and props assistant. In addition to serving as the armorer in charge of guns and gun safety, she was supposed to assist Zachry with the other props. In text message exchanges with production managers about before the fatal shooting, Gutierrez Reed protested her workload, saying she was being stretched too thin.
A production manager had scolded Gutierrez Reed for not paying sufficient attention to her props role.
“Since we’ve started, I’ve had a lot of days where my job should only be to focus on the guns and everyone’s safety,” Gutierrez Reed responded in an Oct. 14, 2021 email viewed by The Times. In that email, sent one week before the shooting, Gutierrez Reed noted that on gun-heavy film days, the assistant props role “has to take a back seat. Live fire arms on set is absolutely my priority.”
Gutierrez Reed is the daughter of a legendary Hollywood armorer, Thell Reed. While she grew up visiting film sets, “Rust” was only her second film as head armorer.
The accident happened on the 12th day of filming for the scheduled 21-day production.
“There were multiple breaks in the chain of responsibility and if any one of these individuals who are facing criminal charges had exercised more caution, this tragedy could have been avoided,” Ahouraian said.
The Times has previously revealed a struggle to find qualified crew members to work on “Rust.”
A tough case?
The prosecution could be complicated by the case’s notoriety — most everyone in Santa Fe is familiar with the case, increasing the challenges of finding an impartial jury. What’s more, the defendants could bring a spirited defense.
“This is a huge case for a smaller population county,” Kastenberg, a former prosecutor, said. “Whenever you go up against a powerful entity — like a Hollywood star who has a tremendous media reach — you want to get it right and you don’t want to look like a fool.”
The media spotlight adds to the pressure facing Carmack-Altwies and her office.
“The D.A. wants to show their constituency that they are not afraid to take any case, and that they will handle it ethically, and rightly,” Kastenberg said. “This one might become politicized. But, as the D.A., you can only bring charges that the evidence supports.”
In addition to the criminal cases, several civil negligence suits are pending.
Two film crew members inside the church when the shooting occurred — lighting technician Serge Svetnoy, who was nearly hit by the bullet, and script supervisor Mamie Mitchell — sued.
Gutierrez Reed last year sued the weapons provider, Seth Kenney of PDQ Arm & Prop, alleging that he supplied a mismarked box of ammunition containing live rounds to the set, contributing to the deadly accident. Kenney has said he did not provide live ammunition to the ‘Rust’ set.
Hutchins was killed just as her career was beginning to take off in a largely male-dominated field. She graduated from the American Film Institute Conservatory in 2015 and had been selected as one of American Cinematographer’s Rising Stars of 2019.
The movie’s producers have denied responsibility for the tragedy.
In a filing to the New Mexico Environment Department’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau, Rust Movie Productions LLC said that it was not responsible for Hutchins’ death, maintaining that the producers did not serve as the on-set employers. The filing came in response to the workplace health and safety bureau’s decision, last April, to impose the maximum penalty, $136,793 fine, on Rust Movie Productions.
The New Mexico agency accused production managers of “plain indifference” to employee safety and said management knew firearm safety procedures were not being followed on set. Rust Movie Productions LLC appealed the finding, saying the fine was not warranted.
Rust Movie Productions has denied wrongdoing, and the case is going through an appeals process. New Mexico’s Occupational Health and Safety Review Commission has scheduled an eight-day hearing on the matter in April. Each side will have four days to present their case.
Meanwhile, producers hope to resume production of the movie “Rust” this spring near Los Angeles.
“It is not true that all creeds and cultures are equally assimilable in a First World nation born of England, Christianity, and Western civilization. Race, faith, ethnicity and history leave genetic fingerprints no ‘proposition nation’ can erase." -- Pat Buchanan
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood...g-charged-rustIn addition to the bullet that killed Hutchins, investigators found five additional live rounds of ammunition mingled among the movie’s props and costumes. Two loose .45 bullets were discovered on top of a prop cart, a third was in a bandolier worn by actor Jensen Ackles, a fourth was in a gun belt worn by Baldwin, and a fifth was found in a box of dummy ammunition with Gutierrez Reed’s fingerprints on it. (Dummy rounds are fake bullets that look real, but are completely inert and have no gunpowder in them.)
"He's talkin' to his gut like it's a person!!" -me
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Doubt Baldwin will be serving any time in jail. He'll probably end up getting probation.
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