In case you haven’t read the story, Alec Baldwin discharged a prop gun on the set of a new movie he’s making called Rust, killing the director of photography and injuring the director.
First things first, this is a really sad story so thoughts and prayers to the family of Halyna Hutchins and anyone involved in this story. Also…
WHAT THE FUCK? Am I the only one who didn’t realize that in Hollywood, the term “prop gun” means “actual real gun that can kill people”? Call me crazy, but on the list of objects to be used as a prop gun, I’d put deadly weapon somewhere towards the middle/bottom. It’s 2021 for Christ’s sake, we’re shooting regular people up into fucking space and you’re telling me we can’t make a fake gun look real? I’m almost positive that James Cameron didn’t stick Leo on a life-sized model of the Titanic and crash it into a fucking ice berg, but we still ate that up – and that was in the 90’s! The more I learn about Hollywood, the clearer it becomes that the people are just winging it, but hey - I bet that scene would have looked awesome if the DOPE hadn’t died!
Also, you gotta feel for Baldwin here. He has done a good job rebuilding his image from “unhinged maniac” to “actually pretty normal for a movie star”, but he still always seems like he’s one incident away from losing it. I always figured that incident would be a waiter getting his order wrong or something, but I suppose accidental murder works too. Let’s just hope he doesn’t use a prop knife to take care of the guy who is in charge of making the props for this movie. I’ve always been curious about the “prop guys” on a movie set -- what an interesting career. They have to be super crafty and artistic, but I feel like they in cahoots with the stunt doubles who are nuts. This story confirms my suspicion that they’re deranged zealots. I imagine a conversation going like this on the set of Rust:
Producer: So next week we’re filming the scene where Baldwin shoots the other guy, so please make sure we have that fake gun that is 100% indistinguishable from a real gun is ready to go
Prop Guy: Ehh, that’s pussy shit. Let’s use a real gun
Producer: Um… that’s a very bad idea. I
Prop Guy: (silently stares blankly)
Producer: …I guess we can do that, we just need to make sure it’s not loaded.
Prop Guy: Nah, let’s put something in the chamber. Maybe not a real bullet, but something that can still kill a person. I’ll take care of it
END OF MEETING.
Anyway, this is a crazy story and you have to think major changes are coming in Hollywood to prevent this type of thing form happening again. Or not.