The Rust camera assistant, who quit the night Alec Baldwin accidentally shot him, recalled that only two safety meetings were held on set and that the production didn’t take gun safety seriously.
Lane Luper, the film’s A-camera First Assistant, stated that he quit because of overwork, COVID safety was not being enforced properly, and gun safety was poor.
Rust said, “I think it was the perfect storm of Rust, the armorer, assistant director, culture that was on-set, and the rushing. It was everything,” he said to Good Morning America about the events leading up to the fatal shooting.
‘It wasn’t just one individual. All of the pieces had to come together in order for this one-in a-trillion miracle to occur.
He then disputed the producers’ claim that safety was a top priority on set, saying, ‘I only personally remember two safety meetings that involved the entire crew.’
Luper later accused the film’s production team of violating the fundamental rule of not having guns on set. He said that there was no place for live rounds on a set, studio lot or stage.
He also choked up when he described Halyna Hutchins’ passing, saying that ‘She genuinely wasn’t something special.
Luper Lane has criticized the film’s production as one that created the perfect storm for the tragic shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins
Halyna HUTCHINS, center, was killed when Alec Baldwin, to her right, pulled out a gun from his hand. The gun was meant to only fire blanks and not live rounds.
Baldwin was quiet on set until a coworker posted a message on social media blasting Rust’s production.
FULL INTERVIEW: Former “Rust” first camera assistant Lane Luper speaks out about safety concern claims on the movie set. https://t.co/0czCkzo5Wu
— Good Morning America (@GMA) November 3, 2021
Luper stated that there were two accidental weapons discharges on the set and one sound-effects explosion around the crew.
“There have been no explanations as to how to prepare for these shots. Luper wrote in the note that when production is asked about the shoot, they are often met with the same answers: “We don’t have enough time to finish the day if rehearsals take place” or “this is a 21-day shoot.”
He stated that the crew was tired of long commutes from their set to their lodgings, which can take more than two hours.
Luper stated, “In my 10 years of being a camera assistant, I’ve never worked for a show that cares so much about the safety its crew,”
Luper claimed that there have been two prior accidents involving a weapon discharge and stated that there have only been two safety meetings that involved all crew members.
Luper stated that Rust’s production showed very little concern for the crew and gun safety. With the crew, Halyna Hutchins (circled) and Alec Baldwin (circled).
Much of the blame for the death on set has been directed towards Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, left, the armorer, and David Halls, the assistant director
Hutchins was killed on October 21 when Baldwin pointed and fired a Colt pistol towards her during a scene.
Baldwin was handling the vintage gun on the set of Rust in Santa Fe, New Mexico, when it accidentally discharged – killing the mom-of-one and wounding director Joel Souza.
The gun was provided by Hannah Gutierrez Reed, an armorer. It was then checked by David Halls, the assistant director, who informed Baldwin that it was a cold gun, meaning it had blanks.
Jason Bowles (Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney), told the Today Show that ‘She’s heartbroken, and she’s just devastated by what’s happened. ‘
Bowles previously told NBC News that the young armorer had ‘no idea where the live rounds came from” and never witnessed anyone shooting live ammunition on set.’
While Luper, Rust crew members continue slamming the western production, Baldwin retorted on Tuesday by sharing a Facebook post from one crew member blasting her coworkers and painting a blatantly false image of the set as chaotic and unsafe.
Pictured: Hutchins, just before Baldwin’s gun would fire
Luper said that Hutchins, pictured above, was ‘genuinely something special.
Baldwin shared a screenshot from the post by Terese M. Davis to his Instagram account, with the caption: “Read this.”
Davis wrote in her post: “I am so sick to death of this narrative,” I worked on this movie. The story being spun of us being overworked and surrounded by unsafe, chaotic conditions is bull***t.’
Davis’ post refuted many complaints from crew members, including that they worked longer than 12 hours a day.
“We never worked more that a 12.5-hour shoot day.” Davis wrote that it was once.
‘Most days were under 12. After an 11 hour shoot day, we had completed a 12 hour turnaround on the day Halyna died. We had (including camera) gotten off by 6:30pm.’
Davis continued by stating that the shooting on set that killed Baldwin will haunt her forever. She says she is angry at Dave Hall for handing Baldwin the gun but doesn’t accuse him of not caring about safety.
She wrote that she was ‘heartbroken and furious’. “I will never hear that gunshot or the screams of my director out of my head.”
“My friend is dead. Am I angry at him? Yes. Yes. But I won’t join the bandwagon and pretend he wasn’t concerned about our safety all the way.
Baldwin had previously kept silent about Rust’s incident and shared the post.
He made a public statement on the day following Hutchins’ death in which, among other things, he indicated that authorities were cooperating with him and offered his condolences for her family. He also held an unplanned press conference on Saturday with his wife.
His silence was also reflected on his social media accounts. He appeared to be returning to his online habits on Saturday.
His sharing of Davis’ post is his first public indication that Davis doesn’t agree to the narrative crew’s creations.