Hollywood on High Alert About Firearms After 'Rust' Incident

So, there's a bunch of movie folks in a studio near LA, and they're rehearsing a scene where an actor's holding a fake gun. Then, someone notices something off. "Hey, he's pointing it at the crew, just like on 'Rust,'" says Dutch Merrick, who's been around the block when it comes to movie gun safety. He's talking about that really sad thing that went down in October 2021 on Alec Baldwin's indie Western flick "Rust."

You know the deal: Alec thought the gun had blanks, but boom, a real bullet comes out and Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer, gets hurt real bad. Now, Alec's got a big day in court for involuntary manslaughter.

"It hit me hard," says Virginia Brazier, who's at Merrick's gun safety class. She's a production manager who has to hire the right people for the job, like armorers and prop guys. "I wanna know the right things to ask, so I'm hiring safely," she tells AFP.

In the class, Merrick's all about hammering home these safety rules:

Think Every Gun is Loaded: Treat all guns like they're ready to go, even if they're supposed to be empty.
Chat It Up: Make sure everyone's on the same page about gun stuff, especially the boss and the actors.
Learn, Learn, Learn: Keep getting schooled on gun safety so you don't mess up.

Safety's the New Black

This whole "Rust" situation has Hollywood really shaken up. Now, a lot of movie companies are throwing money at safety training and getting the best armorers they can find. They're also making new rules for when and how you can use real guns on set.

"Everyone's more clued in about the dangers," Merrick says. "We gotta build a world where everyone feels safe to speak their mind if something seems off."

What's Next for Movie Safety

Because of what happened, some big-wigs in the industry are changing the way they do things. They're having more talks about safety, checking guns better, and trying to use fewer real bullets. Some are even looking into using computer tricks to make it look like there's a gunshot without the actual gun.

Virginia's all for it. "We gotta make sure this never happens again," she says. "It's for Halyna and everyone else working in the biz."

Staying on Your Toes

As Alec's trial gets closer, everyone's still thinking about what happened on "Rust." Guys like Merrick are working hard to teach people about gun safety. They want every person on a movie set to get it.

"We can't slack off," Merrick says. "We're dealing with life and death here. We all gotta keep our eyes open to make sure everyone's safe."

Hollywood's definitely putting safety first now, so we don't have to worry about more accidents like "Rust." They're making sure the show goes on without putting anyone in danger.