By: Madelynn Loring, Staff Writer
On October 21, 2021, tragedy struck the set of upcoming Western drama Rust. While rehearsing a scene, Alec Baldwin, the lead actor of the film, fired a live round from a revolver, killing award-winning cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. Since then, Hollywood has been reeling from the shock of this traumatic event. The actor has reportedly been distraught, making only a few public statements about the event and complying completely with law enforcement investigations. Rust Production Studios, responsible for the production of the film, released a statement claiming that, “the safety of the cast and crew is [their] top priority,” yet conflicting stories have emerged from the set concerning the accuracy of this claim.
Before the fatal shooting occurred, there were already safety concerns on the set of Rust, including other incidents with prop guns. Two misfires had occurred previously, in which Baldwin’s stunt double fired two shots from a prop gun which was supposed to be “cold” or unloaded of all ammunition, including blanks. Aside from concerns over arms on the set, six unionized camera crew members walked off the morning of the shooting, citing concerns about the rushed and inconsiderate atmosphere of the set. They alleged that they were told they would need to commute 50 miles from Albuquerque to the set following their 12-hour shifts, or pay for their own lodging in nearby Santa Fe. Citing concerns about safety on the road, they refused to work, and instead of heeding Hutchins’ concerns over the safety of her team, a producer threatened to call security on the union members if they did not leave immediately. They were then replaced nearly instantaneously by non-union camera operators, just six hours before the shooting occurred.
While these concerns are certainly a cause of dismay at what appears to be an avoidable tragedy, these claims have been countered by other crew members and Baldwin himself. On November 3, Baldwin shared the post of crew member Terese Magpal Davis, who staunchly denied the claims that the set of Rust was unsafe in any capacity. She aligned herself with the production studio’s assertion that the set was up to standard, saying that, “they cared about us while we all worked together and they continue to care.” She even went so far as to decry the statements of her fellow workers, saying that, “the story being spun of us being overworked and surrounded by unsafe, chaotic conditions is bullshit,” and that the “ugly, false noise is compounding the hurt.” Baldwin resposted her statement on his Instagram, evidently unconvinced by claims of unsafety.
As this is such a convoluted and chaotic situation, it is unlikely that we will ever know the truth or fully understand what transpired on the set of Rust before the fatal accident, and what, if anything, could’ve been done to prevent it. However, it is worth noting that Alec Baldwin is, without a doubt, a high-budget actor and thus his experience is unlikely to be even remotely similar to that of crew members who, as shown by the actions of the producer the morning before the shooting, were viewed as entirely replaceable. This tragedy is drawing immense attention to the importance of valuing workers, even if they aren’t Golden Globe winners. Had concerns from the crew members over gun and other safety concerns been addressed, or had filming at least been delayed for the unionized workers grievances to be acknowledged, perhaps the untimely death of Hurchins could have been avoided.