“Are we rehearsing? Because ‘fire in the hole’ wasn’t called.” The set of “Rust,” where Alec Baldwin shot and killed the cinematographer, was beset by labor unrest, inexperienced personnel and the lingering frustrations of an industry slowed by Covid-19.
SANTA FE, N.M— Alec Baldwin drew the black revolver from his holster as he sat in the pew of an Old West church, dressed as an aging cowboy from the late 1800s.
That moment—painstakingly detailed in sheriff’s affidavits—and the events leading up to it, have gripped the film industry. Many questions remain unanswered, most importantly how one of Hollywood’s most recognizable stars ended up with a loaded gun in his hands on a movie set, killing the cinematographer and injuring the director.
Both Mr. Halls and Ms. Gutierrez Reed had drawn complaints for incidents involving guns on previous film shoots, according to a production company and interviews with co-workers. Neither Mr. Halls nor his lawyer responded to requests for comment. “I think there was some complacency on this set, and I think there are some safety issues that need to be addressed by the industry and possibly by the state of New Mexico,” Sheriff Mendoza said.
Santa Fe area District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said she has yet to make a determination on whether to file criminal charges. The day before the shooting, a camera crew walked out to protest what they said were unsafe working conditions. Producers, scrambling to assemble a new crew, brought in some nonunion workers. And filming was running further behind because there was only one camera available.
Sometimes the job’s responsibilities can be in conflict. The AD has to maintain a brisk pace on set, but be careful not to allow safety lapses. Rust’s AD, Mr. Halls, sometimes drew criticism for his handling of these tasks in previous movies. In another incident on set, Ms. Leach said she witnessed Mr. Halls repeatedly ordering three women wearing bikinis to shoot a scene, despite a medic warning that one of the women was becoming hypothermic. Ms. Leach said she tried to intervene, but Mr. Halls “yells at me with piercing eyes, ‘safety is not your job on this set.’ ”“I walked off that set, I drove away and I never went back,” Ms. Leach said.
“Every movie I’m, like, learning new and new things,” Ms. Gutierrez Reed said in a podcast interview released in September. “It’s all very quick.”In any movie, actors and crew are supposed to be warned whenever a gun is to be discharged because of the loud noise. On “The Old Way” set there were two incidents of unannounced discharges, including one near Mr. Cage, who yelled at Ms. Gutierrez Reed and grabbed his ears seemingly in pain, members of the crew said.
“She was not experienced enough and did not have enough help. This is what happens when you start cutting corners,” said Mr. Gabriel. A dummy is a cartridge that has a bullet and looks like a live round, but it has no gunpowder or primer and can’t be fired. Dummies are often used in close-up shots. A blank round has no bullet and doesn’t look like a live round, but has gunpowder and a primer and is fired to create a realistic bang and flash.
After the fatal shot was fired, Mr. Halls picked up the gun from the pew, and brought it to Ms. Gutierrez Reed, according to the sheriff’s affidavit.Jim Weber/Santa Fe New Mexican/Associated Press “Are we rehearsing? Because ‘fire in the hole’ wasn’t called,” Ms. Schaefer said, according to the report, referring to a term used on set when special effects are being used for an explosion.
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