George Clooney stated that it was “insane” and “infuriating” to see live bullets on Alec Baldwin’s Rust film set, leading to the death cinematographer Halyna HUTCHINS.
Hollywood’s star added that he had never heard of the term “cold gun” used to refer to a firearm safe for use on-set. The phrase was used by Baldwin’s assistant director, who allegedly used it before transferring the revolver to Baldwin.
Clooney claimed the shooting that killed director Joel Souza was a terrible accident, but said AD David Halls shouldn’t have been in close proximity to the prop gun. He was also disbelieving it happened after strict safety precautions were implemented following Jon-Erik Hexum’s and Brandon Lee’s deaths.
George Clooney stated that the presence of live bullets on Alec Baldwin’s Rust set was both ‘insane and infuriating.
Halyna HUTCHINS, Cinematographer was struck in the chest by Baldwin while he was rehearsing a scene
Clooney spoke with Marc Maron about the WTF podcast. He said that Alec was not someone he knew well. It’s been a while since I was last on the news. I must say that the media has the wrong guy. He will become the first AD.
‘He may be a d**k, I don’t know the guy at all, but I’ve been on sets for 40 years and the person that hands you the gun, the person that is responsible for the gun is either the prop person or the armourer. Period.
“Every time I get a gun handed to me on set, it’s a look I do. I take it out, open it and show it off to my crew. After each shot, you give it back to your armourer.
“Participation is due to what Brandon did. Everyone does it. It’s something everyone knows.
“Maybe Alec did it, I think so, but dummies can be tricky. They look exactly like real bullets. The back has a small hole where gunpowder was removed.
Concerns have been raised since the New Mexico shooting that resulted in the death of a man in New Mexico. There are also allegations that inexperienced armourers used the gun to practice target shooting.
Clooney stated that Halyna, who was shot to death by Clooney (pictured) was killed and Joel Souza was injured in the accident.
David Halls, assistant director, was presented the gun by Hannah Gutierrez–Reed (24), who declared it to be a “cold gun” before giving it to Baldwin. Court documents indicate that.
Clooney added fuel to the fire, saying: ‘And why for the life of me this low-budget film, with producers who haven’t produced anything, wouldn’t have hired, for the armourer, someone with experience.
“Maybe they were not using the gun for target practice but had live ammunition with dummies in their pack. It’s maddening, insane, and frustrating.
“We must do more to make heads of departments experienced and knowledgeable. It is frustrating. When I am handed a six gun, I point it at ground and fire. Six times you squeeze the gun. Always.’
He added: ‘I’ve never heard of the term ‘cold gun’, they’re just talking about stuff I’ve never heard of. It’s infuriating.’
Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department claims that prop master Sarah Zachary stole the gun from a props truck locked in a garage and handed it over to Hannah Guttierez Reed, an armorer.
The ammunition was apparently loaded from a set of dummies. However, one of these rounds turned out to be live ammunition.
Halls admitted that he didn’t inspect the gun properly before giving it to Baldwin. Baldwin then fired the gun while they were practicing for the scene in the pew of a church (pictured, the one on set).
GuttierezReed claimed she gave the gun to Halls, who admitted that he didn’t inspect it enough before giving it to Baldwin. Baldwin then fired it as he was rehearsing for an upcoming scene in a pew.
Jason Bowles (Gutierrez-Reed lawyer) told The Today Show that ‘She’s heartbroken, and she’s just devastated by what’s happened. ‘
Bowles stated previously to NBC News, that Bowles was a young armourer who had no idea from where the live bullets came. He also never saw anyone shooting live ammunition at the set.
Gutierrez-Reed would have received $8,000 less for her work on the set than the $650,000 they set aside, plus a $350,000 contingency to cover any eventualities.
Baldwin was also slated to earn $150,000 as the lead actor, and his production company, El Dorado, was taking a $100,000 fee, while Hutchins was budgeted to earn $48,945.
The independent movie had a modest overall budget of just $7,279,305, according to a draft of the production budget dated September 8, which was revealed by the Hollywood Reporter.