Alec Baldwin Fires Prop Gun on Set, Killing Cinematographer

[AndrewCrossett]

I don't know why all the unions aren't screaming for an industry-wide ban on fireable firearms on movie sets. In light of this all guns used should be fakes that can't fire a bullet or be modified to fire a bullet, and all sound and visual gunshot effects should have to be added in post-production.

[JBatmanFan05]

I don't know why all the unions aren't screaming for an industry-wide ban on fireable firearms on movie sets. In light of this all guns used should be fakes that can't fire a bullet or be modified to fire a bullet, and all sound and visual gunshot effects should have to be added in post-production.

To play devils' advocate (not that I necessarily disagree), but some articles I read cite industry people who swear that fireable arms can be very safe on film sets. And I would suppose they would point out all the innumerable productions worldwide that have ever been made where there were no issues.

[The Cool Thatguy]

To play devils' advocate (not that I necessarily disagree), but some articles I read cite industry people who swear that fireable arms can be very safe on film sets. And I would suppose they would point out all the innumerable productions worldwide that have ever been made where there were no issues.

All of John Wick might attest to that, sure.

But that said, there's no reason why they can't just require modified guns that can only shoot modified blanks.

[AndrewCrossett]

To play devils' advocate (not that I necessarily disagree), but some articles I read cite industry people who swear that fireable arms can be very safe on film sets. And I would suppose they would point out all the innumerable productions worldwide that have ever been made where there were no issues.

They can be... but they aren't, clearly. With stakes like this, I think the industry needs a very clear red line that can't be crossed.

As other actors see what's happening to Alec Baldwin here and realize that it could easily be them in this situation, I think they will start writing such a demand into their contracts, until it's just easier to adopt a no-firearms industrywide policy.

[Brian B]

They can be... but they aren't, clearly. With stakes like this, I think the industry needs a very clear red line that can't be crossed.

As other actors see what's happening to Alec Baldwin here and realize that it could easily be them in this situation, I think they will start writing such a demand into their contracts, until it's just easier to adopt a no-firearms industrywide policy.

I hope Hollywood in all its forms quit using real guns for movies and shows.

I am sure as JBatmanFan05 says, in a devil’s advocate role, that firearms can be safe on a set when handled properly. I have no doubt it can be safe.

But for a movie or TV show, is it really worth the risk of a single life, over a fiction, over entertainment and diversions? I don’t think it’s worth the risk.

I’m sure the risk is extremely low, but the consequences of a failure are so catastrophic for such a silly thing like a movie. Why take those chances? Does anybody really care that much if a gun is a replica, a prop, instead of a real firearm? Who is such a nitpicker that they think it’s worth losing a couple lives for a sense of more realism?

[Kirby101]

All of John Wick might attest to that, sure.

But that said, there's no reason why they can't just require modified guns that can only shoot modified blanks.

All John Wick gun shots are CGI, No gun fire on the sets.

[Scott Taylor]

To play devils' advocate (not that I necessarily disagree), but some articles I read cite industry people who swear that fireable arms can be very safe on film sets. And I would suppose they would point out all the innumerable productions worldwide that have ever been made where there were no issues.

Firearms are all safe unless someone slips up. Its the unless part that is the problem. In a perfect world we could all walk around with AK-47s and grenades, getting angry at this and that and never firing them at other people, dogs, windows, etc. But we know that the world ain't perfect.

[Frobisher]

All John Wick gun shots are CGI, No gun fire on the sets.

It never looks right. There are very particular muzzle flash artefacts you get at 24 frames a second that the CGI people never seem to get quite right.

[thwhtGuardian]

It never looks right. There are very particular muzzle flash artefacts you get at 24 frames a second that the CGI people never seem to get quite right.

Who cares?

[Agent Z]

Who cares?

Yeah, I'll take people not being killed on movie sets by guns over realistic-looking gunfire any day.

[Jokerz79]

Baldwin is no victim he's not a random actor he was a producer and they cut corners.

As for guns on set I don't think mass industry banning rules should be put into effect over an accident no matter how tragic.

If no guns become an industry standard, then the unions will adopt it and if an independent filmmaker can't afford CGI guns, they'll be frozen out from using union talent.

More people have been injured, maimed, and killed by stunts over the last century than prop gun accidents should stunts be banned?

Nolan just recreated a Trinity Nuclear Test using explosives should that have been banned even though he took proper precautions, and no one was hurt.

[bat22]

Yeah, I'll take people not being killed on movie sets by guns over fake-looking gunfire any day.

I'll take realistic portrayals of firearms AND responsible armorers/producers. Countless films have had both.

[Kirby101]

The thing is, blanks are not safe at close range. John-Erik Huxem and Brandon Lee both died from fired blanks.
In John Wick there are so many close up shots, cuns to the head and chest and such, that using live blanks would be dangerous.
And am I to believe that we have no problem with CGI dinosaurs running through Malta and aliens swimming on another planet, but gun fire, that is just unrealistic.

[bat22]

The thing is, blanks are not safe at close range. John-Erik Huxem and Brandon Lee both died from fired blanks.
In John Wick there are so many close up shots, cuns to the head and chest and such, that using live blanks would be dangerous.
And am I to believe that we have no problem with CGI dinosaurs running through Malta and aliens swimming on another planet, but gun fire, that is just unrealistic.

Some CGI stands the test of time whereas others suck from day one.

No one is going to argue that blanks are perfectly safe, which is something that Huxen should have been educated on. And no one is going to argue that blanks should be used for all situations, like those John Wick head shots. But I will argue that blank-firing prop guns can be better alternatives to CGI in terms of cost and authenticity, including the actors' reactions. Yes, there is danger involved, which is why Baldwin is rightfully being taken to task for undermining the safety of his set.

[Jokerz79]

The thing is, blanks are not safe at close range. John-Erik Huxem and Brandon Lee both died from fired blanks.
In John Wick there are so many close up shots, cuns to the head and chest and such, that using live blanks would be dangerous.
And am I to believe that we have no problem with CGI dinosaurs running through Malta and aliens swimming on another planet, but gun fire, that is just unrealistic.

Brandon Lee was a freak accident and while I loved John-Erik Huxem on Voyagers as a kid he died because of his own stupidity. He without permission put a gun loaded with blanks to his temple as a joke and pulled the trigger thinking he couldn't be hurt he was wrong.

What do people say these days "F around and you'll find out" the fact guns are used so much in films in the nearly 40 years since Huxem's death and he's still one of the few examples of firearm death on a set says a lot to the safety records when done properly.

Again live action stunts have in the last 40 years injured and killed way more people in film it's not even close.

I think people are falsely equating and intermingling their feelings for general gun violence and accidents with prop guns.