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Original poster

Alex Baldwin

45 replies

Luckytattie · 22/10/2021 14:56

What an absolutely horrific thing to happen. This is like Brandon Lee all over again.
I cannot imagine what Alec is feeling right now :(

Absolutely awful and I feel so sorry for the woman who has tragically died.

what I don't understand is how a prop gun can fire bullets and if it is a prop gun...why are there bullets?

OP posts:

GingerAndTheBiscuits · 22/10/2021 17:10

@CampagVelocet

He appears to have been pointing the gun at a member of the production team - perhaps two members. Not members of the cast or fellow actors. I'm struggling to see how this happened.

I wondered the same but as has been pointed out to me, quite correctly, there are many scenes in films where the actor points their gun at the camera for effect, and the crew will be on the other side of that.

GingerAndTheBiscuits · 22/10/2021 17:11

@pumpkinpal

As the producer of the film, he is going to be held liable for this. Buck stops with the producer

The buck surely stops with whoever’s job it is to check and maintain the props on set and maintain health and safety.

pumpkinpal · 22/10/2021 17:13

But the producer hires that person, sets the rate and agrees all the procedures etc.

The producer is like the owner of the company

TheRealHousewife · 22/10/2021 17:24

I’ve read that it wasn’t a blank, it was a live bullet :(

GingerAndTheBiscuits · 22/10/2021 17:34

A live bullet on set would be criminally negligent. It probably doesn’t do to speculate on circumstances or culpability at this stage.

JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon · 22/10/2021 17:43

The report I heard said that they were filming a close up shot of him shooting the gun, he was firing as part of filming not horseplay or anything, the lady who was killed was standing in the path because she was doing her job. There was a ricochet of debris that injured the other person.

Jeeves93 · 22/10/2021 17:44

A blank is highly unlikely to kill at any kind of range, it would need to touching or almost touching you. What can happen is the pressure could break a bone which could then kill, as has happened before.

What can happen is something gets lodged in the barrel which the blank then forces out, as happened with Brandon Lee. Alec Baldwin may not have even pointed the weapon at the person killed, the projectile can ricochet. We don't know enough to speculate really.

HazelandChacha · 22/10/2021 17:54

@Finfintytint

I think if the gun malfunctioned then the blank casing will shatter and cause injury.

This actor played Russian roulette with blanks not realising the danger. He died a few days after the force of the explosion fractured his skull.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon-Erik_Hexum

mm40 · 22/10/2021 17:54

I have had a blank SA80 shot directly at me and felt the ‘air flow’ go through my hair.

Peggytheredhen · 22/10/2021 18:11

I am shocked and sad about this too but I think we really can't/shouldn't speculate about the circumstances.

For example, to say (above) it was a live bullet I think could be pretty damaging.of not true (which is unlikely). I don't see how anyone could have accurately reported that at this stage.

Mochudubh · 22/10/2021 18:24

@bestcattoyintheworld

Even if you know for sure it's empty, you still don't point it at anyone. It's a blanket rule.

Absolutely! I was brought up on a farm, my Dad had shotgun and a rifle. It was drilled into me and my brothers never to point even a toy gun at anyone.

Unfortunately, people get complacent. One of my oldest friends was killed by his own shotgun when he laid it down for a second without making it safe.

Clocktopus · 22/10/2021 18:27

Thing is, no matter what, if you are holding a gun, you need to be aware what could happen if you pulled the trigger, whether you believe it to be unloaded, prop gun or whatever. There is always a chance that something can go wrong.

Rule No1 of firearms is that there's no such thing as an unloaded gun and you should always act as if it is loaded.

Films would be pretty crap if they couldn’t point guns at each other during fun scenes

There is no need for actual guns though. There are airsoft guns which look and have weight exactly like the real thing but have no firing mechanism, no rounds at all go in them (blank or otherwise) and they don't even make a bang, the bang gets added in post-production.

Original poster

Luckytattie · 22/10/2021 18:33

Yes I am absolutely shocked they use real guns and not props.

OP posts:

Original poster

Luckytattie · 22/10/2021 18:38

Oh this is actually quite interesting explaining normal bullets from blanks

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-59006905

OP posts:

Peggytheredhen · 22/10/2021 18:40

there is an account of what happened. I think the sheriff released a bit about it or it could be false but it said Alex jokingly said something like "how about I shoot the pair of ya"
Before redoing a scene or something

I haven't read anything like that OP so agree it sounds false or not verified

Biancadelrioisback · 22/10/2021 19:01

Tbf, I didn't think he was acting in this film, I thought he was the producer so was very unclear why he even had the gun in his hand. I'm obviously wrong

Peggytheredhen · 22/10/2021 20:13

He was acting in the film, he played a boy's grandfather.

Original poster

Luckytattie · 22/10/2021 22:27

@Peggytheredhen

*there is an account of what happened. I think the sheriff released a bit about it or it could be false but it said Alex jokingly said something like "how about I shoot the pair of ya" Before redoing a scene or something*

I haven't read anything like that OP so agree it sounds false or not verified

Yes I believe that but is actually fake.

OP posts:

MsWalterMitty · 23/10/2021 17:25

@bestcattoyintheworld

Films would be pretty crap if they couldn’t point guns at each other during fun scenes

Well they need to accept that fatal accidents are part of the risk of having firearms on set.

It’s likely that there are many RAs in place. But accidents do happen

Joysutty · 23/10/2021 17:33

Yes, and this woman who died did raise safety "issues" on this particular filming and also wondered why a blank would cause such an injury or death but I listened to professional guy yesterday who said that this can actually happen. More should be done with the props to be made looking like a real gun but not even a "blank" one either then things must be changed. My thoughts are with his woman's husband and son ultimately. Plus lots of security issues from the other members of this particular film. They must have more training on procedures and ways to shoot a prop blank gun thats obvious as I could believe what I had read the other day about all of this and 2nd person injured also. Plus who is it in this case who had the FIREARMS CERTIFICATE as in the UK its got to be the person who's bought/purchased the gun and then its kept under strict conditions in a steel locked cabinet with the police coming into the persons home to check on safety etc. As being in another country who knows of their gun control on safety.

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