son of witless wrote:
Isn't this similar to whoever is your stunt coordinator ? Their job is ensuring the safety of everyone on the set. Speaking of ensuring and insuring, wouldn't the insurance company, insuring this movie production, have requirements or standards that have to be met ?
I think a safety audit likely will be done to see if there were violations of the law.
The assistant director is responsible for safety on the set. A stunt coordinator is involved only when an action requires a stunt expert, not an actor.
The armorer (weapons master) is responsible for the condition and safe status of all guns used in a scene. The assistant director is next, he is the safety net between the armorer and the actor.
Hanna Gutierrez, the armorer, put three guns on a cart. Obviously, she did not check them thoroughly. She is inexperienced and was quite nervous about her responsibilities.
The scene was a rehearsal in which the guns were not supposed be loaded even with blanks.
When Baldwin was given the pistol (a "Cold Gun"), he was to rehearse a cross draw while sitting on a church bench and aim toward the camera for a fake shot.
When David Halls picked it up the pistol, he did not check to insure the pistol was not loaded. This was not just a brain fart, it follows a pattern of his past performances as an assistant director.
Whether the pistol was a prop gun or a real gun is irrelevant, it wasn't supposed to be loaded with any ammo.
Somebody really fkd up, and it wasn't Alec Baldwin.
Regarding safety standards on movie sets, they have set the bar quite high. Firearms instructors are hired to train actors in need of training, and the use of any type of weapon capable of injuring or killing is subject to to all kinds of scrutiny and safety regimens, not to mention choreographing and rehearsing a scene in which weapons are used.
About a month ago, at the library, I came across Charlton Heston's autobiography,
In the Arena It is a wonderful and quite educational story of an actor's life, one whom we all know had considerable experience with guns, both on and off screen.
Heston's discussion of the chariot race in
Ben Hur, is truly fascinating.