The production of Rust, a film on the set of which Alec Baldwin accidentally fired a bullet that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, has just been ordered by the State of New Mexico to pay a fine for its ” total inability” to anticipate the “obvious” dangers of filming.
Nearly six months after the tragedy, New Mexico workplace safety regulators on Wednesday fined the production company an amount equivalent to 129,793 euros, the largest conviction ever decreed for breaches of gun safety on a set.
Not enough was done “to ensure that the management of lethal weapons was given the time and attention necessary to ensure the safety of the teams”, is it mentioned in particular in the report of the Office of the health and safety at work which listed numerous failures. “Our investigators found a clear set of dangers to employees regarding the use of firearms,” Bob Genoway, chief of the Office of Workplace Safety, told The Associated Press.
several other complaints filed
On October 21, on a ranch in Santa Fe, actor and producer Alec Baldwin handled a revolver while working on a scene. The weapon he thought harmless, he said, had gone off, fatally wounding the cinematographer and injuring director Joel Souza.
The criminal investigation, unrelated to this decision, is still ongoing. The police have not yet initiated criminal charges but do not rule out doing so, including against Alec Baldwin. Halyna Hutchins’ family has filed suit against him as well as the film’s producers, and other civil suits have been filed.
Alec Baldwin claims that he was told his gun contained no live ammunition, that Halyna Hutchins, the victim, told him to aim in his direction, and that he also did not pull the trigger when moment of the fatal gunshot. “I have a feeling that someone is responsible for what happened, and I don’t know who it is. But it’s not me,” he said last December.