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Left: Image shows American actor Brandon Lee. Jan. 30, 1986. (AP Photo/Lacy Atkins). Center: Alec Baldwin holds a gun on the set of “Rust” in this still frame of a video released by the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office. Right: Cecil B. DeMille is busy on the telephone in his Hollywood office on December 13,1958. (AP Photo).
Earlier this month, a grand jury indicted actor Alec Baldwin on charges of involuntary manslaughter for the shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, after her tragic death sparked a widespread cry for changes to gun safety protocols in the entertainment industry. In October 2021 in New Mexico, Hutchins was working as the director of photography on the set of the film “Rust.” During a rehearsal, Baldwin apparently discharged a revolver which was used as a prop, striking Hutchins, who passed away later that day.
The reactions to this terrible tragedy were immediate: Legal minds began weighing in on the implications, gun safety experts opined on what might have gone wrong, and months later, Baldwin faced his initial set of criminal charges. At the time, Baldwin defended himself, stating he was told the gun was unloaded and that he never pulled the trigger, with his legal team later raising questions about whether the gun was working properly when the shooting occurred. In April 2023, charges against Baldwin were dropped, only to be brought again last week.
Over time, reports have unfolded regarding safety concerns on the “Rust” set that were raised even before the shooting, and industry experts are asking themselves what can be done to avoid such a terrible situation in the future. While attempts at making sets safer have been made over the years, it has proven to be a difficult endeavor, since there is not one uniform set of rules for use of firearms in the film industry. Instead, many states are left to their own devices to create and follow rules, with some being more lenient than others. In New York, for example, guns are prohibited from being fired overnight, whereas in states like Georgia and Louisiana — where many more productions have been shot in the past few years — there are no major specified rules regarding guns.
With such leniency in the legal area, the “Rust” shooting is only just one of several major incidents of gun violence that have occurred on sets over the years. Like many areas of the law, if any improvements are to be made in the future, a look into the past will provide some much-needed insight.
1915: “The Captive”
Sadly, the long-standing history of tragic deaths caused by guns began early, starting with the 1915 film “The Captive,” helmed by legendary director Cecil B. DeMille. A scene required background actors to fire at a door using live ammunition, in order to make the scene more realistic. Then, DeMille ordered the extras to reload their guns with blanks, which are commonly used in the film industry — they consist of shell casings loaded with gunpowder but with cotton or paper wadding replacing the actual bullet, creating the sound of a gunshot when fired but ostensibly avoiding the deadly result.
One of the background actors had accidentally left a live round in his rifle, shooting extra Charles Chandler in the head, killing him instantly. No lawsuits or actions were reported after this incident, yet the actress from the film, Blanche Sweet, revealed DeMille encouraged the actors to use real bullets throughout the films to achieve a more “real” look. This shooting was one of the first reported in the industry, and as the movie world began to evolve in the silent film era, sadly the incidents would only continue as well.
1926: “The General”
Instances involving blanks during the silent film era kept occurring. On the set of this comedy, assistant director Harry Barnes was shot in the face with a blank round. Thankfully, Barnes was not seriously injured, as he was significantly far from the shot when it was fired. While fortunately this film avoided tragic results, unlike its predecessor “The Captive,” it still did not cause any major suits or overhauls for gun safety protocols on movie sets.
1984: “Cover Up”
While many other instances with guns occurred throughout the decades, one of the biggest and most shocking industry deaths occurred on the set of the CBS action television series “Cover Up.” On Oct. 12, 1984, during a break between scenes, actor Jon-Erik Hexum began playing Russian roulette with what he believed was an empty prop gun. Hexum held the gun to his head and pulled the trigger, which caused the paper wadding from the blank cartridge to be released, pushing a bone fragment further into his head. Hexum was declared brain-dead just a week later and was taken off life support.
A year later, Hexum’s mother, Gretha Hexum, sued 20th Century Fox Television and other production companies with wrongful death and negligence, stating that someone on the set should have instructed the individual using the gun of its potential dangerous effects. Gretha Hexum settled for an undisclosed sum out of court with the defendants, and aside from that, no other major legal battles or examinations were initiated.
1994: “The Crow”
One of the most recent and perhaps chilling on-set shootings occurred in 1993, on the set of the cult film “The Crow,” where Brandon Lee, actor and son of famed martial artist and film star Bruce Lee, was fatally shot by a prop gun during a scene.
Similar to “Rust,” which had faced complaints and concerns from crew members and camera operators regarding safety protocols on the set, the set of “The Crow” had been plagued with similar incidents before Lee’s fatal shooting. A carpenter suffered facial burns when live power lines hit the crane he was working with; a construction worker slipped and drove a screwdriver through his hand; and a storm had destroyed some of the sets in the final months of filming, with the film’s crew calling these string of incidents “The Curse of the Crow.”
Yet the worst was yet to come: On March 31, 1993, actor Michael Massee’s character was set to fire a revolver at Lee, and while the revolver was loaded with blanks, the gunpowder in the blank cartridge reportedly ignited, leading Massee to fire a bullet fragment instead. Even though the gun was fired over twenty feet away, it still led to Lee’s death, as the gun was supposed to fire a blank cartridge; instead of the soft wadding that typically ejects, a metallic projectile was released instead.
The tragic death of Lee sparked an outcry from those in the film industry and gun safety experts, with many advocating for an overhaul of precautions that should be taken on set. Lee’s mother filed and eventually settled a negligence lawsuit against the filmmakers, and no criminal charges were filed in relation to the killing, even amid allegations of the gun being improperly prepared.
2003: “Revenge of the Scorpion”
During the filming of a 2003 straight-to-video movie in Cuernavaca, Mexico, background actor Antonio Velasco Gutierrez was shot with a handgun. The gun was supposed to be loaded with harmless blanks, yet Gutierrez was fatally shot twice and died shortly after arriving at a nearby hospital. The actor who shot the gun, Flavio Peniche, was initially charged with negligent homicide at the time, despite his defense that he merely used the gun that was given to him by someone else on set.
Despite a string of these and many other tragedies occurring on sets, the industry has yet to see a massive change in safety precautions. Most of the safety standards that members of the industry have to rely on are distributed by film studios and labor unions, and a federal set of regulations or rules regarding firearms has still not been issued. Yet promise of change may be on the horizon: In 2023, the Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee, a group of representatives from various entertainment guilds, management teams, and unions, issued updated industry guidelines and called for lesser use of live ammunition and more stringent procedures for actors to follow.
While many are hoping these new recommendations will bring some much-needed improvements, the lack of state or federal laws regarding gun safety on sets still leaves room for worry for others in the industry. In the meantime, many will be sure to weigh in on how Baldwin’s case will affect the issue as whole — and it is far from clear what impact the outcome of this case will have on the future of safety protocols on movie sets in the years to come.
