Alec Baldwin Sued by the Family of Halyna Hutchs
Feb 16, 2022 20:48:36 GMT
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Post by no1novice on Feb 16, 2022 20:48:36 GMT
Alec Baldwin Sued by the Family of Slain Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins
The actor is named along with other Rust producers and crew members in a new lawsuit alleging wrongful death.
ANTHONY BREZNICAN
FEBRUARY 15, 2022 3:52 PM
“On October 21, 2021, Defendant Alec Baldwin recklessly shot and killed Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie Rust.”
So begins a lawsuit filed Tuesday by the husband of the cinematographer who died during the making of that Western thriller in New Mexico last fall, when a prop gun the actor was holding—which authorities believe had been loaded with a live round of ammunition—went off and hit her in the chest, passing through her body to wound writer-director Joel Souza.
The lawsuit against Baldwin also names a litany of other producers, companies, and crew workers it alleges were responsible for the fatal accident. As of now, no criminal charges have been filed against anyone involved in the case, although the investigation is ongoing and prosecutors are awaiting crucial information about the weapon and bullet from the FBI’s crime lab.
Defendant Baldwin and the other Defendants in this case failed to perform industry standard safety checks and follow basic gun safety rules while using real guns to produce the movie Rust, with fatal consequences,” the lawsuit states.
“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 document goes on. “This lawsuit seeks justice for the losses of her survivors and to hold responsible those who caused her tragic death.”
Among the claims in the lawsuit, filed by Matthew Hutchins on behalf of his nine-year-old son, Andros, is that the producers should never have allowed actual firearms to be used as props on the project. “A revolver is a deadly weapon. It is designed to inflict severe bodily harm or death. The Defendants chose to use real firearms for the feature film production Rust…despite the danger inherent in any use of real firearms,” the document states.
The lawsuit, filed by the firm of Panish, Shea, Boyle, Ravipudi LLP, lists nine safety points that Hutchins’s family say the makers of Rust failed to follow:
a. Always treat the gun as if it were loaded.
b. Never point the gun at anything the operator of the gun, in this case, Defendant Baldwin, doesn’t intend to destroy.
c. Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction and never at yourself or anyone else.
d. Always keep the gun unloaded unless it is absolutely necessary to load the gun for use on a scene. Then and only then, a qualified person acting as the weapons master or armorer should load the gun.
e. Never place a finger on the trigger unless the operator is ready to shoot.
f. Be sure of the person’s target and what is behind it.
g. Learn the mechanical and handling characteristics of the particular gun being used.
h. Load the gun in front of the actors or crew who may be in the line of fire.
i. Personally perform or observe a visual inspection of the gun to ensure no ammunition is contained in the cartridge.
Aaron Dyer, the attorney representing Baldwin and the consortium of producers, released this statement in response: “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. 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.”
Among the many crew members named in the lawsuit were armorer and assistant prop master Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director Dave Halls, whose alleged actions the day of the incident were singled out.
“Defendant Gutierrez-Reed was an inexperienced weapons master with only one movie production under her belt, unqualified for the degree of skill required on the Rust set,” the lawsuit states. “Defendant Baldwin and the other Producers were aware that Defendant Gutierrez-Reed was unqualified, and they ignored Defendant Gutierrez-Reed’s concerns that performing the dual roles of armorer and assistant prop master would result in lapses in basic firearm safety.”
Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney declined to comment. Halls’s did not immediately respond to a request from Vanity Fair.
“Defendant Halls never verified the revolver was safe before handing it to Defendant Baldwin,” the document says. “Defendant Baldwin accepted the gun from Defendant Halls, rather than the production’s armorer. Defendant Baldwin never verified the gun was safe before operating the gun, nor did he require the armorer or Defendant Halls to demonstrate in his presence that the gun was safe.”
The lawsuit describes the moment of impact in stark terms: “The live bullet discharged from Defendant Baldwin’s revolver struck Ms. Hutchins in the side of her chest, ricocheted through her body, causing grievous injury, and exited Ms. Hutchins’ body with sufficient force to strike director Joel Souza in the shoulder and pass almost entirely through his body. Ms. Hutchins endured enormous pain and suffering and died from her wounds.” Souza was not among those listed as defendants.
The document also included this comment on the immediate aftermath: “The steadicam operator and the gaffer moved quickly to help Ms. Hutchins. Defendant Baldwin did not offer to help any [of] the victims.”
www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/02/halyna-hutchins-lawsuit-alec-baldwin-rust/amp
The actor is named along with other Rust producers and crew members in a new lawsuit alleging wrongful death.
ANTHONY BREZNICAN
FEBRUARY 15, 2022 3:52 PM
“On October 21, 2021, Defendant Alec Baldwin recklessly shot and killed Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie Rust.”
So begins a lawsuit filed Tuesday by the husband of the cinematographer who died during the making of that Western thriller in New Mexico last fall, when a prop gun the actor was holding—which authorities believe had been loaded with a live round of ammunition—went off and hit her in the chest, passing through her body to wound writer-director Joel Souza.
The lawsuit against Baldwin also names a litany of other producers, companies, and crew workers it alleges were responsible for the fatal accident. As of now, no criminal charges have been filed against anyone involved in the case, although the investigation is ongoing and prosecutors are awaiting crucial information about the weapon and bullet from the FBI’s crime lab.
Defendant Baldwin and the other Defendants in this case failed to perform industry standard safety checks and follow basic gun safety rules while using real guns to produce the movie Rust, with fatal consequences,” the lawsuit states.
“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 document goes on. “This lawsuit seeks justice for the losses of her survivors and to hold responsible those who caused her tragic death.”
Among the claims in the lawsuit, filed by Matthew Hutchins on behalf of his nine-year-old son, Andros, is that the producers should never have allowed actual firearms to be used as props on the project. “A revolver is a deadly weapon. It is designed to inflict severe bodily harm or death. The Defendants chose to use real firearms for the feature film production Rust…despite the danger inherent in any use of real firearms,” the document states.
The lawsuit, filed by the firm of Panish, Shea, Boyle, Ravipudi LLP, lists nine safety points that Hutchins’s family say the makers of Rust failed to follow:
a. Always treat the gun as if it were loaded.
b. Never point the gun at anything the operator of the gun, in this case, Defendant Baldwin, doesn’t intend to destroy.
c. Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction and never at yourself or anyone else.
d. Always keep the gun unloaded unless it is absolutely necessary to load the gun for use on a scene. Then and only then, a qualified person acting as the weapons master or armorer should load the gun.
e. Never place a finger on the trigger unless the operator is ready to shoot.
f. Be sure of the person’s target and what is behind it.
g. Learn the mechanical and handling characteristics of the particular gun being used.
h. Load the gun in front of the actors or crew who may be in the line of fire.
i. Personally perform or observe a visual inspection of the gun to ensure no ammunition is contained in the cartridge.
Aaron Dyer, the attorney representing Baldwin and the consortium of producers, released this statement in response: “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. 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.”
Among the many crew members named in the lawsuit were armorer and assistant prop master Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director Dave Halls, whose alleged actions the day of the incident were singled out.
“Defendant Gutierrez-Reed was an inexperienced weapons master with only one movie production under her belt, unqualified for the degree of skill required on the Rust set,” the lawsuit states. “Defendant Baldwin and the other Producers were aware that Defendant Gutierrez-Reed was unqualified, and they ignored Defendant Gutierrez-Reed’s concerns that performing the dual roles of armorer and assistant prop master would result in lapses in basic firearm safety.”
Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney declined to comment. Halls’s did not immediately respond to a request from Vanity Fair.
“Defendant Halls never verified the revolver was safe before handing it to Defendant Baldwin,” the document says. “Defendant Baldwin accepted the gun from Defendant Halls, rather than the production’s armorer. Defendant Baldwin never verified the gun was safe before operating the gun, nor did he require the armorer or Defendant Halls to demonstrate in his presence that the gun was safe.”
The lawsuit describes the moment of impact in stark terms: “The live bullet discharged from Defendant Baldwin’s revolver struck Ms. Hutchins in the side of her chest, ricocheted through her body, causing grievous injury, and exited Ms. Hutchins’ body with sufficient force to strike director Joel Souza in the shoulder and pass almost entirely through his body. Ms. Hutchins endured enormous pain and suffering and died from her wounds.” Souza was not among those listed as defendants.
The document also included this comment on the immediate aftermath: “The steadicam operator and the gaffer moved quickly to help Ms. Hutchins. Defendant Baldwin did not offer to help any [of] the victims.”
www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/02/halyna-hutchins-lawsuit-alec-baldwin-rust/amp
