Before even discussing the the reasons that this horrible event happened, it’s important to point out that a human being lost their life. Halyna Hutchins, the directory of cinematography was killed on set. All discussion of what happened or how it happened should bear in mind that a person, a real person with a life and a family, is gone. My heart goes out to her family and friends. No matter how this happened, it is horrible.
With the news being everywhere about Alec Baldwin accidentally shooting a live round killing Halyna Hutchins and injuring the films director Joel Souza, there has been a bunch of discussion on what exactly happened and how it happened.
In short, someone accidentally placed a live round in a firearm. That firearm was then placed in Baldwin’s hand, he was assured it was safe and ready to go (actors do not inspect firearms, the set armorer does that), and he carried out the scene firing the deadly shot. There is an ongoing investigation to trace down and uncover all the facts that build up to this unfortunate result.
The best breakdown I’ve seen of this event, and how it is wildly different from others (Brandon Lee for example) comes from “Props To History” on TikTok.
@propstohistory
Here you can hear the breakdown of the accident. As you’d expect, there were tons of commenters asking why Baldwin didn’t do a safety check of the firearm. Again, Props To History answers this question fairly thoroughly.
@propstohistory
This story is still ongoing. Facts are being released and, in typical fashion, there are incorrect facts floating around as well.
I have no idea what this will mean for practical handguns on set. It could change things forever. There are reasons that we still use firearms that explode gunpowder. There’s a visible kick, and the flames out of the barrel look better that most CGI can attain. This might be a good time for a few crafty prop makers to come up with very convincing and safe alternatives that don’t use real or simulated real rounds at all.
[Photo by Jens Lelie on Unsplash ]
