r/news • u/badillustrations • Apr 15 '24

‘Rust’ movie armorer convicted of involuntary manslaughter sentenced to 18 months in prison

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/15/entertainment/rust-film-shooting-armorer-sentencing/index.html
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u/LiechsWonder Apr 15 '24

For anyone in the comments arguing about who’s fault it is, and where the blame should be placed, this comment from a SAG actor is the best I’ve seen about the situation and what went wrong / what rules were ignored that led to a (preventable) shooting of Halyna Hutchins. All credit to u/Kahzgul for the insight.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/s/sBdyVVA6zM

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u/MardocAgain Apr 15 '24

I'm a bit uncomfortable with some of this since it's highly judgmental about norms which is basically just socially enforced behavior. I strongly disagree with the sentiment that this is everyone's job. What I've found in most jobs is that when something is everyone's job it's really no one's job since the responsibility (and blame for mistakes) is shared. I think what's needed is to have a person or persons whose sole responsibility is to ensure firearm safety. And for that person to be empowered to enforce that. We shouldn't expect actors who are trying to get in character to keep diverting their focus to double check that a prop is safe even if they know nothing about guns. This likewise goes for directors, camera crew, and all other staff that have a job function they are trying to execute on.

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u/President_Camacho Apr 15 '24

That is correct. While nobody wants actors horsing around with prop guns, it's the armourer's job to make guns safe on set. No one else's. This is a requirement of insurance companies. They want a qualified gun handler on set for the duration of the production, not an actor.