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https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ale...-rcna71484
NYT Link (sorry could be behind paywall)
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/20/arts/...-rust.html
TL/DR: The actor’s lawyers had argued that a firearm law included by the prosecutors was not in effect at the time of the fatal shooting. It would have carried a mandatory five-year sentence.
How can a prosector be so incompetent to try to charge someone with a law that was not in effect at the time of the event?
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“Art is how we decorate space.
Music is how we decorate time.”
Jean-Michel Basquiat
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Fritz wrote:
the whole case stinks to me.
why the hell would there even be live rounds on any set?
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/30/movie...-rust.html
https://variety.com/2022/film/news/rust-...235243228/
Technically speaking, I don't think the case is whether something stinks or not, but who farted.
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I agree. I think the ammo supplier or his employees, if he has any, farted.
He is the "expert". The set armorer, to me, is a job without much training.
"In some areas the weapons master must be a licensed armorer when firearms are used as props"
https://www.careersinfilm.com/armorer/
Seems like the low budget film was fraught with problems.
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-ar...ed-off-set
In this day and age, why even have blanks? Just do it with CGI in post.
Like James Cameron.
This will certainly not help the low budget part of the film industry, especially where there is weapons as part of the script.
Perhaps the majors should be gather their cheap asses and pony up the CGI for these situations with low budget films. It's not like they don't have a few bucks to spare that would promote their biz in general.
I for one, would never get near a film or TV project that has weapons involved, the way things stand today.
“Art is how we decorate space.
Music is how we decorate time.”
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IIRC, there are commercial dummy rounds sold that have a steel BB inside so you can check them by listening for the rattle.
Cheap-skates try and make their own by pulling the bullet, dumping the powder, removing the primer, then re-seating the bullet, so they end up practically indistinguishable from live rounds.
The latter were already on-set since some of the crew were using the prop guns for target practice.
I bet I can guess what this production did...
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Bill in NC wrote: ...some of the crew were using the prop guns for target practice....
What could possibly go wrong? Whoever permitted that to happen is a complete moron.
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How can a prosector be so incompetent to try to charge someone with a law that was not in effect at the time of the event?
The DA thought she had a case that would make her famous and wanted to go full OJ on Baldwin.
Gil Garcetti screwed up the OJ case, and it was doomed from the beginning.
This particular set armorer didn't have much training and I believe this was her first solo gig.
She was wholly incompetent.
I don't know it's been established that the ammo supplier sent live rounds, unsolicited.
I read one report that some of the live rounds had been reloaded into the company's brass, and that's seems odd to me.
This whole thing was a case of gross incompetence and neglegence before the firearm ever got to Baldwin.
Cheap-skates try and make their own by pulling the bullet, dumping the powder, removing the primer, then re-seating the bullet, so they end up practically indistinguishable from live rounds.
Anybody authorized to handle the ammo and firearm would have easily seen that these were either dummy rounds or at least suspect.
The missing primer would be a clue.
If the primer were replaced, then that's a live round, even without powder in the cartridge, and that's directly what lead to Brandon Lee being killed.
Making dummy rounds, ammo that's supposed to resemble live ammo, would be done so that a scene showing the front of a revolver could show the bullets in the cylinder.
Blanks, ammo intended to discharge to give the look and sound actual ammo, wouldn't look anything like a live round when viewed from that camera angle.
To look like the gun was actually loaded in the scene the cinematographer was pre-flighting, there had to be bullets in the brass.
Rounds that are to be seen in close ups (dummy rounds) have to show bullet (lead or jacket), brass (cartridge), and primer (silver dot at the bottom of the brass) and no powder.
The primer is non-functional, and the BB, as mentioned, provides the rattle to signify there's no powder, and that this is a dummy or inert round.
This is the job of the armorer to have the gun loaded with appropriate ammo for a given scene.
The AD verifies the gun is loaded appropriately.
The actor does what he or she is told.
The first two failed at their job.
Actual live ammo isn't needed to make a movie or TV show, but I can understand that a director might want a particular scene shot with live rounds for realism.
Obviously, this would demand additional awareness and care.
But even blanks can be dangerous or even deadly, as in Jon-Erik Hexum's case.
So scenes with firearms demand a competent experienced armorer and AD.
If Baldwin is convicted, it will be because the jury doesn't like him, not because of actual evidence.
He's made several public appearances since the shooting that show him completely uncaring and sympathetic, and I can see a jury deciding — 'yeah, he's a dick', with the DA's help.
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What could possibly go wrong? Whoever permitted that to happen is a complete moron.
Absolutely.
A huge role of the armorer is secure firearms when not in use.
When the scened is cut and it's not longer needed, it's collected and under the security of the armorer.
In this case, Gutierrez claimed she was told not to be on scene, and maybe that she was directed to be elsewhere.
And nobody has the authority to tell an armorer 'hey, let us have a couple of guns, the lads and I want to do some plinkin'.
It's their job so say 'No, not only no but fsck NO'.
Sure Production can fire the armorer, but let word get out why.
Her father is an armorer and supposedly trained her.
But she lacked the competency and confidence to do the job properly, and got someone killed.
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RAMd®d wrote:
Her father is an armorer and supposedly trained her.
But she lacked the competency and confidence to do the job properly, and got someone killed.
As I understand it, her father is one of the best and most experienced armorers in the business - it would be interesting to know his take on what happened.
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Baldwin should never have been charged to begin with since actors aren’t responsible for gun safety. Production companies employ armorers for that, but he wasn’t charged for hiring a bad one.
And instead of investigating the armorer’s decision or approval to use a supplier who showed up with live ammo, she’s also being charged as if pulled the trigger.
And now this rookie mistake of the initial, elevated charge? Meanwhile, Baldwin’s lawyer is trying to get rid of the prosecuting attorney, who was assigned after winning an election to the NM House of Representatives … and the lawyer is reminding everyone she can’t be both an elected official to state gov AND a prosecuting attorney.
The whole thing is nutty, and the DA is a moron, who has doubled down on idiocy by hiring a PR firm to say tough-sounding platitudes like justice is all that matters yada yada.
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