Film producers defend safety in Alec Baldwin shooting

SAN FRANCISCO

A film production company is contesting sanctions by New Mexico officials for alleged workplace safety violations on the set of “Rust,” where actor and producer Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer in October, according to filings posted on May 12 by state regulators.

Rust Movie Productions is challenging the basis of a $137,000 fine against the company by state occupational safety regulators who say production managers on the set of the Western film failed to follow standard industry protocols for firearms safety.

At a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021, Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins inside a small church during setup for the filming of a scene when it went off, killing Hutchins and wounding the director, Joel Souza.

Baldwin said in a December interview with ABC News that he was pointing the gun at Hutchins at her instruction when it went off without his pulling the trigger.
“The law properly permits producers to delegate such critical functions as firearm safety to experts in that field and does not place such responsibility on producers whose expertise is in arranging financing and contracting for the logistics of filming,” Rust Movie Productions said in its filing. The company “did not ‘willfully’ violate any safety protocol, and in fact enforced all applicable safety protocols.”

In April, New Mexico’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau imposed the maximum fine against Rust Movie Productions and distributed a scathing narrative of safety failures, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires of blank ammunition on set prior to the fatal shooting.
The bureau also documented gun safety complaints from crew members that went unheeded and said weapons specialists were not allowed to make decisions about additional safety training.

Rust Movie Productions responded in its filing by saying that misfires prior to the fatal shooting of Hutchins did not violate safety protocols and that “appropriate corrective actions were taken, including briefings of cast and crew.”
“In fact, a safety meeting was held the morning of the incident,” the company said, apparently referring to the shooting of Hutchins. The filing does not elaborate further.