Reply To: A FB repost from a professional armourer overseas (Malta)

[Fred]

Another FB repost from professional director Stephen Savage

A DIRECTOR SPEAKS OUT
I can’t tell you how angered I am over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film, “Rust”. I’m not jumping on some high horse here. I wasn’t on that set so I have no idea what really happened, but to break it down to what is being reported, an assistant director apperently grabbed a “Prop Gun” off a weapons cart and handed it to actor Alec Baldwin, announcing that it was a “Cold” gun, meaning no projectile was in the weapon. Are you kidding me? Where was the armourer all this time, and why was an assistant director handling any weapons at all? A film with this kind of budget should have a full time armorer whenever weapons are anywhere near set. It’s the armourer’s job to give a safety talk each and every day weapons are to be used on set. That armourer (or a qualified assistant armorer) preps the weapon, loads the weapon with pre determined Blank loads or powder, then the armourer (and ONLY the armorer) brings the weapon to the set, and two things occur. The armourer hands the weapon to the actor only moments before the take, then the armourer immediately takes control of the weapon and preps it for the next take. That’s how it’s done… PERIOD. NO assistant director or anyone other than the armourer should be handling the weapon before it’s in the hands of the actor. I keep repeating the word “Weapon” because that’s what it is. If it’s firing blanks or caps or whatever. If it fires at all, it IS a Weapon. The term PROP GUN that’s being used here applies ONLY to replica guns that are not capable of firing. I have directed over a dozen westerns and have never handed a weapon to an actor. EVER! I work with a man named Rick Hodson, and that man takes his responsibilities as an armorer VERY seriously. He would NEVER leave weapons out on a cart for anyone to just grab. It’s not tragic what happened here. It’s criminal. And if people don’t go to prison over this, the industry itself is suspect in my opinion. This game of putting crew members and actors in jeopardy just to get The Shot, has got to stop. And where are the unions in all of this? Nowhere, that’s where. A dog gets injured slightly making a film and all of a sudden, it’s only CG dogs allowed on big projects. But crew members get shot or run over by trains or cut down by helicopter blades and suddenly everyone is silent. This industry is becoming a joke. There are protocols here that have been set up for a reason. FOLLOW THEM! And if everyone is so Anti-Gun in Hollywood, why do they keep making movies with guns? Because they are hypocrites, that’s why. It’s all about money. I for one will continue to be pro gun, and pro safety on all of my films. If you can’t agree here, you are obviously part of the problem.