I’m sure most people by now have heard about the horrible shooting that recently happened on the set of “Rust” by actor Alec Baldwin. This accident cost the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and injured director Joel Souza. This is something that should not happen, as props on film sets should be realistic, but still safe for the actors to use.
As someone who wants to one day work in the film industry and be a part of a film crew, I don’t think I’d like to risk my life just to get the camera close enough for an incredible shot. However, props are carefully observed by prop masters and often checked to make sure they are safe. The reason why this happened was mostly because Alec Baldwin was handed a “cold” gun, meaning it contained no live ammunition, which turned out to be false.
This mistake ended up taking someone’s life, which is extremely horrible and upsetting. I hope people in the industry learn from this and spend extra time prioritizing safety for everyone on set. I also hope that prop guns on sets are changed to be more safe, even if it takes away from the authenticity. My heart does go out to Alec Baldwin as I’m sure he is dealing with a lot right now. However, I wish more articles and press would talk about Halyna Hutchins, even though I understand the name Alec Baldwin in the title would attract more attention. This was a terrible accident that could have easily been avoided, and hopefully people learn from their mistakes to make safety more of a priority on set.