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Alec Baldwin Indicted on Involuntary Manslaughter Charge in 'Rust' Shooting


https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/alec-baldwin-indicted-manslaughter-charge-rust-shooting-rcna134564

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Excellent!

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Justice

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Why? Did he do something that he shouldn't?

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You never point a gun at anyone on a movie set. Since movies are two-dimensional, you as an audience can't tell that they are actually aiming off to the side of another person. I have seen a making-of-movie documentary from two decades ago where a cinematographer was livid that a cast member very momentarily pointed the gun towards the camera as he was movie the gun from one side to another. Also, see what happened with Brandon Lee, where the other actor pointed the gun at Lee. Even if you have blanks, as you should, in the gun, it still fires a wad of material at muzzle velocity. And, that has the potential to wound of kill.

It has also been argued that, since Baldwin was a Producer on the film, he should have been more knowledgeable about what was going on. Personally, I think that Reckless Endangerment should have been a charge considered instead of Manslaughter. Manslaughter should be charged against the Armorer, who was supposed to be in charge of gun safety on that set.

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Pointing the gun is not the issue. And yes, there are times when they point a gun at someone in the movies.

There is a strict protocol involved.

A lot of times in order to game the system they over-charge someone with a charge they know can be lost to placate public opinion.

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If you ever pointed a gun at anyone, you certainly wouldn't have anything but dummy bullets in the gun.

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Yes, or not even a real gun.

But, some camera shots you cannot fake. That is why they have a very strict protocol for handling guns. The armorer is responsible for checking out every gun, and before the scene going through and making sure every actor knows what they are doing, and that their guns are safe.

That is why it is so annoying to hear gun nut know-it-alls talking about how you always check a gun before you pull the trigger. Once the armorer checks it off you do not do anything to the gun - anything.

According to news reports at the time there was almost mayhem on the set. Actors and workers were not being paid, and set up in crappy housing. Finally there was a walk-out of the union professional staff, including the armorer.

Here is the first place where Baldwin who as a producer was partially responsible for shutting down the set - but he did not. Then a non-qualified person was acting as armorer, and gave him the loaded gun, somehow.

Baldwin is off my list. Totally low character and integrity. Not to say he is any better or worse than anyone else in that business, but for me that guy makes me sick.

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>You never point a gun at anyone on a movie set.

Actually you do, all the time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvEKvJGTzeU&t=32s

The difference is there's a properly functioning chain of safety, and those weapons likely can't even shoot live rounds even if they tried

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Well, you can shoot movies, or endorse how movies are shot, however you want to. Everything I have seen or read states that pointing any gun at anyone is never done, unless there is a dummy bullet in the gun.

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I linked you to it. 32s. An entire group of guys with blank-shooting guns pointing at, you know, the entire crew, including the directors, camera operators, etc.

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That was shot in Australia. Might have made a difference.

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The issue wasn't the pointing of the gun -- which he also shouldn't have done. They didn't charge him before, and now they are, because they spent time looking into what would make the gun go off as it did. Baldwin repeatedly said he did nothing wrong and felt no guilt, and most definitely did NOT pull the trigger.

In looking into how the gun could have possibly gone off, they discovered that the hammer had to be cocked and the trigger had to be pulled. It was reckless endangerment at least.

And why he didn't check the gun after it had been handed to him is beyond me. Say it was your loved one you were pointing the gun at. Would you just take someone's word for it that the gun wasn't loaded? You'd look yourself, wouldn't you? And if you had handled plenty of guns in action movies, if you saw it was loaded, wouldn't you check to see if the load was blanks, which are easily distinguishable from live bullets? It was outrageous, reckless disregard for human life.

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Some behind the scenes "gossip" regarding what went on the Rust set:

https://www.datalounge.com/thread/33900896-alec-baldwin-charged-with-involuntary-manslaughter

I have some friends that were working on another shoot nearby. That set was a shit show. They were cutting costs on the crew to save money. A bunch quit before the shooting because they wanted them to work 14 hours days and wouldn’t even pay for a cheap motel so they wouldn’t have to drive back and forth. When Alec shot the gun, He never walked over to her to see if she was okay. A few months after he wanted to finish shooting. That’s what happens when you are fucking cheap asses. Accidents are going to happen. Overworked and underpaid crew.

by Anonymous reply 29 January 19, 2024 10:15 PM

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Jail for alec?

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That profile picture of his was probably taken 10 minutes after he "accidentally" shot those people.

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No. That's around the time he made Mercury Rising with Bruce Willis.

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This dude can't stop shooting people!

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Lock him up for the rest of his life.

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You're clear proof of the total uselessness of many people on this planet. Thanks for proving that to everyone.

Not lol. Good news article.

Indicted does not mean convicted. Just sayin'.

Let's wait and see what happens.

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Did he ever publicly apologize for his role in that woman's death?

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“I feel that someone is responsible for what happened, and I can’t say who that is, but I know it’s not me,”

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Lawyers tell people not to apologize because it could be seen as an admission of guilt

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Exactly. Even if he'd wanted to (and that's a big IF), he'd have been told 'Don't'.

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But I would respect him more if he did it anyway. Not much more.

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Don't they also tell them not to do television interviews during the investigation and to keep their mouths shut?

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Have no idea since I am not a celebrity.
I would have respected Baldwin had he not tried to weasel his way through this.
That is what America is missing almost completely ... integrity.
He is not fully to blame, and it was obviously (99%) an accident he would share
the blame with other producers, the fake armorer, and whoever was mixing live ammo with the special effects. But a lot of that was under the control of whoever was managing the set and the production. Baldwin might deserve the majority of blame, but probably not by much.

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