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Original poster

Tragedy on Alec Baldwin's film set

210 replies

Gingernaut · 22/10/2021 07:34

Alec Baldwin has shot two people with what was thought to be a prop gun.

One person, he cinematographer is dead and the second has been hospitalised.

Absolutely stunning news.

www.nytimes.com/2021/10/21/us/alec-baldwin-shooting-rust-movie.html

OP posts:
Marelle · 22/10/2021 08:01

It won’t have been a real gun. A prop gun still fires blanks containing gunpowder and can hurt you if you’re too close. Props can also malfunction and expel bits of shrapnel. When Brandon Lee died it was because a prop gun malfunctioned. I imagine they asked Baldwin to fire towards the camera so they could capture a particular angle, and the prop gun malfunctioned and expelled shrapnel that hit two people. A terrible tragic accident.

rushedruined · 22/10/2021 08:02

Christ that's awful. You don't expect that these days.

notimagain · 22/10/2021 08:02

It was supposed to be a prop gun but somehow must’ve been real and loaded.

Not necessarily, as a pp has mentioned prop guns can suffer failures, and even if there isn’t a weapon failure blank rounds can in certain circumstance be hazardous.

Noeuf · 22/10/2021 08:02

It’s shocking. You would think this couldn’t happen with modern technology and sfx. I hope they find a solution for this so it can’t happen again that doesn’t rely on humans checking. And I hope their families get justice.

WhereIsMumHiding3 · 22/10/2021 08:05

This is horrific

Everyone must be so shocked, such a tragic death of a young woman on film set.

I guess we'll find out how it happened in time as authorities will be all over this

user1471517095 · 22/10/2021 08:05

Some of the posters on Social Media all know exactly how it happened, and it's all Alex's fault. ConfusedObviously that will save the Sheriff's department a costly investigation.

JollyAndBright · 22/10/2021 08:09

It was supposed to be a prop gun but somehow must’ve been real and loaded.

This is a common misconception.
There is no such thing as a ‘prop gun’, they are always real guns, they are just loaded with blanks, which are shell casing with the explosive material but no bullet inside, so it makes the bank but nothing is fired out.

What has likely happens is that the gun was previously fired in another take and part of the blank rounds she’ll casing broke off and lodged in the barrel of the gun, on the next take it was fired and the piece of casing was ‘shot’ out of the gun.

It’s already been stated he was ‘firing at the camera in the scene’ the director and cinematographer would have been sat behind the camera so it makes sense.

P0ntiacBandit · 22/10/2021 08:11

@user1471517095

Some of the posters on Social Media all know exactly how it happened, and it's all Alex's fault. ConfusedObviously that will save the Sheriff's department a costly investigation.
Who is Alex?
Yogawankonobi · 22/10/2021 08:11

It’s really sad news. Imagine having to live with that.

LizBennet · 22/10/2021 08:14

Who is Alex?

Alec's real name actually 🤔

How awful, and what a thing for him to have to live with.

JollyAndBright · 22/10/2021 08:14

The only person ‘at fault’ for this tragedy is the prop master who’s job it is to ensure the gun is safe, loaded with the correct rounds and checked between each take.

amusedbush · 22/10/2021 08:16

@P0ntiacBandit

Is now the time to be deliberately obtuse to make a point?

HoardingSamphireSaurus · 22/10/2021 08:18

@StormyTeacups

Why was he pointing a gun at them in the first place? I could understand slightly more if they were fellow actors shooting a scene etc. And how two people? Shoot once, reaim, shoot again?
It is likely tit was a camera rehearsal, not shooting a scene, So they would have been stand ins, probably discussing how it would best be set up and filmed. Cinematographers do this all the time. It's how they work out how best to frame a scene, they stand in for the actors and rehearse a scene from all angles.

As JollyAndBright said, the likelihood is that a pervious casing was jammed in the barrel. So sloppy cleaning and another reason for the fake 'realism' of guns in movies to be removed, replaced.

GCAcademic · 22/10/2021 08:19

@SylvanasWindrunner

Twitter is full of right-wing gun nuts crowing about it. Gross.

Really horrible. He must be absolutely devastated. How on earth did it happen?!

Sorry to be dense, but what on earth do they have to crow about?
HoardingSamphireSaurus · 22/10/2021 08:19

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

LizBennet · 22/10/2021 08:21

Fucking obtuse is right, their only comment on the thread was to be a smart arse 🙄

Elderflower14 · 22/10/2021 08:23

@P0ntiacBandit.. 🍪 AngryThere is always one!!! 🤔 🤔 🤔

SylvanasWindrunner · 22/10/2021 08:24

@GCAcademic He's been very vocal about being anti-firearms and critical of 'accidental' shootings by police, etc. so the fact he has now accidentally shot someone has got them all frothed up about how he didn't respect firearms and sharing tweets of him blasting accidental shootings, blah blah blah.

Hemingwayscats · 22/10/2021 08:25

Poor, poor woman but also poor Alec having to live with this for the rest of his life, he must be devastated.

YouJustFoldItIn · 22/10/2021 08:25

This is absolutely tragic. Terrible for the poor woman killed and the other person injured and their families, but also beyond awful for Alec Baldwin. He must feel absolutely devastated.

There is going to one one hell of a corporate negligence law suit against this film production company.

Elderflower14 · 22/10/2021 08:25

My Mum's just said she thinks the plot of the film was about someone being shot on a filmset..
If that is true then its really spooky...

TheYearOfSmallThings · 22/10/2021 08:26

I think the headlines are appalling. "Alec Baldwin fatally shoots woman" may be factually correct, but I strongly feel "tragic accident" should be in there too.

ImustLearn2Cook · 22/10/2021 08:26

I am so shocked! I saw this thread and thought it must be fake news then googled it. I thought with technology and cgi this wouldn’t happen. Why do they need blanks to make the gun look realistically fired when we have cgi?

RIP Halyna Hutchins and hope Joel Souza makes a good recovery. I feel for Alec Baldwin too, he must be traumatised.

notimagain · 22/10/2021 08:26

@JollyAndBright

It was supposed to be a prop gun but somehow must’ve been real and loaded.

This is a common misconception.
There is no such thing as a ‘prop gun’, they are always real guns, they are just loaded with blanks, which are shell casing with the explosive material but no bullet inside, so it makes the bank but nothing is fired out.

What has likely happens is that the gun was previously fired in another take and part of the blank rounds she’ll casing broke off and lodged in the barrel of the gun, on the next take it was fired and the piece of casing was ‘shot’ out of the gun.

It’s already been stated he was ‘firing at the camera in the scene’ the director and cinematographer would have been sat behind the camera so it makes sense.

There is no such thing as a ‘prop gun’, they are always real guns, they are just loaded with blanks, which are shell casing with the explosive material but no bullet inside, so it makes the bank but nothing is fired out.

FWIW I’ve seen a hole punched/burnt through some quite heavy weight military clothing as a consequence of the products expelled when a blank round was fired from a rifle at too close a range...(maybe a metre)…

WheelieBinPrincess · 22/10/2021 08:27

@Elderflower14 please warn your mum of the pitfalls of buying into fake news.