Hannah Gutierrez-Reed
has finally released a statement to the public after the D.A. and local law
enforcement said that no one is off the table when it comes to being charged.
The statement, released by her lawyers, says
that she is devastated with what happened and that she admired Halyna Hutchins,
the director of photography who passed. Then it changes the subject so that she
can “address some untruths that have been told to the media.
In part: “Safety is Hannah’s number one
priority on set. Ultimately this set would never have been compromised if live
ammo were not introduced. Hannah has no idea where their live rounds came from.
[Her and the prop master] gained control over the guns and she never witnessed
anyone shoot live rounds with these guns and nor would she permit that. She
fought for training, days to maintain weapons and proper time to prepare for
gunfire but ultimately was overruled by production and her department. The
whole production set became unsafe due to various factors, including lack of
safety meetings.”
What People
Say:
Richard
Cownie
We don’t know what happened yet. I think it
would be convenient for the more powerful people involved in the production to
pin as much blame as possible on a single not-very-powerful individual.
Official investigations and legal proceedings will find the facts. As far as
I’m concerned until those investigations are carried out it isn’t clear that
Gutierrez-Reed did anything wrong; nor is it clear that she did *not* do
anything wrong. We just don’t know.
Angie Varrecchio
I agree. Seems like she admitted on the
podcast that she was in over her head even before this film started shooting. I
believe this was only her 2nd film in the armory role. Too many errors, cut
costs, and inexperienced players.
Joseph
Fulginiti
What a load of crap. Why was the Asst.
Director handing Baldwin a weapon and claiming it was a “cold gun”? Even if
live ammo was on set, all he had to do (or her) is check the gun before
claiming it was “cold”.
Gregg
Eshelman
And even with all of that, it is still the
responsibility of the person holding the gun to not point it directly at
another person and to keep their finger off the trigger until the gun is aimed
where it needs to be. After Brandon Lee, the movie and TV business wrote very
strict rules for handling firearms on set. Doesn’t matter if they’re real guns
or plastic sci-fi props, treat them all like loaded weapons and nobody is going
to get shot – even if there’s a series of screw-ups like lead to Lee’s death,
or if someone loads a rea gun with real ammunition.
Jona Arkenson
Her dad is a well-known Hollywood armorer, so
it’s very likely she got hooked up with jobs because of her dad’s connections.
She once gave her drunk boyfriend keys to her motorcycle and he crashed. She
once gave a prop gun to an 11-year-old girl without checking it. It appears as
if the production company of the movie Rust was trying to cut corners and avoid
paying for better experts, that’s why most of the crew walked offset due to
safety concerns after the prop gun went off 3 times. So they hired this girl
because it was cheaper. She does not seem very responsible.
Mauricio Alas
Update: It is worth noting that Alec Balwin
is not just an actor but a *Producer* in the movie Rust. So it is safe to say
that he is at fault there as much as the rest of the management team filming
the movie is at fault.
Without knowing the exact details, it is safe
however to say that it is Alec Baldwin’s responsibility to check the gun he
is given —was he given the gun or did he take it from somewhere? — Either way,
he has to check to know its status before wildly pointing at things that he
should not have been pointing at. I was under the impression that Rule #1 of
gun handling was to never point at something that you do not mean to shoot at unless you knew the gun was 100% not loaded, and safe. Which clearly, he did
not do. Actors are supposed to be trained in gun handling. This is a known fact
if working in a set about a movie with guns. Therefore, he is liable. How much
he is going to be, will be an issue his lawyers and possibly the studio may
argue very strongly on his behalf. I mean, he is a multi-million-dollar asset,
in the end.
There seems to have been issues with gun
firing before Hannah took over the position, however, but she definitely comes
off as young and perhaps a bit immature on her social media, and the news media
is repeating quotes from her where she questions her ability to do the job, as
she felt that she was, “not ready” for it. So the optics are not good for her.
In fairness, how factual that statement is in practice and onset, remains
unknown to us, and may not be reflective of the facts on the ground. We will
have to see. But I do feel that it would be in the actor’s and the studio’s best
interest for her to take all, if not at least the lion’s share of the liability
and blame. Close attention should be paid to see if she is not going to be
merely thrown under the bus. After all, Alec is a multi-million-dollar asset.
She is not.
One way or another the studio/management will
be liable. The question is simply a matter of how much. Since it is their
responsibility to make sure to have and maintain a safe environment on set when
using guns. So that is given. The issue is not about liability but if criminal
charges may be due.
What do you think of what she has to say?
Send in your comments.
