Alec Baldwin: Hollywood's King of Menace

"Next I'm shooting 'Lyme Life', about a character who gets Lyme's Disease, with Jennifer Jason Leigh and Tim Hutton."

And to answer you question, pal, why am I here? I came here because Mitch and Murray asked me to. They asked me for a favor. I said the real favor, follow my advice and fire your fucking ass because a loser is a loser.

You call yourself a salesman, you son of a bitch?

Baldwin would end the night at an arcade warehouse playing "Galaga."

"I would play video games from, like, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and I would wind down. Then I'd go home and go to bed," Baldwin writes.

"This was the only way I could go 'beta' and go into that state I needed to be, where I could calm down and take my mind off everything. I didn't want to see anybody, talk to anybody, deal with anybody."

A "moment of clarity" came when he saw pity in the face of Julian, the person who ran the parlor.

"I was doing a show then ['Knots Landing'], making tens of thousands of dollars a week, which was part of the problem," he writes.

"Julian would put the key in the lock and open the door, and he would just kind of look at me like, 'Wow, I'm glad I'm not you.' "

Baldwin agreed. "You got no idea, Julian. Julian, I need you. I need you to get that key and open the f- - -ing door and let me in. I got to play 'Galaga.' "

Great American or Greatest American?

WOW O_O

i just went 'beta' reading that info

Good choice of game, it was far better than frickin' Galaxian.

i liked centipede - also ive often thought working on a soap opera as an actor or a writer would be pretty amzing

going beta.

i mean that's a pathetic story but it's awesome.

I love him. The way he insulted Seacrest to his face at the Golden Globes was also awesome.

dudes he was high on coke and just needed to chill out and play some galaga - not really such a remarkable story - we all been there

o whatd he say to seacrest i missed that???

Seeing all sorts of reports now about him being hospitalized.

released within an hour?

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2010/02/alec-baldwin-examined-at-hospital-following-misunderstanding-according-to-rep.html

His daughter phoned 911 and Baldwin had to go to hospital to prove he hadn't taken pills?

OK, so he was completely stoned had taken one too many Ambien, and that's how he ended up at hospital. Where presumably he woke up going - where the fuck am I?!?!

Alec Baldwin offers advice to Charlie Sheen

Conan has moved on and his great talent is undiminished by his difficult experiences. I had wanted to say to him back then what I will now offer to Charlie. You can't win. Really. You can't. When executives at studios and networks move up to the highest ranks, they are given a book. The book is called How to Handle Actors. And one principle held dear in that book is that no actor is greater than the show itself when the show is a hit. And, in that regard, they are often right. Add to that the fact that the actor who is torturing their diseased egos is a drug addled, porn star-squiring, near Joycean Internet ranter, and they really want you to go.

Granted, it didn't get real until you insulted them. And your suit may have real grounds.

But you know what you should do? Take a nap. Get a shower. Call Chuck. Go on Letterman and make an apology. Write a huge check to the B'Nai Brith. And then beg for your job back. Your fans demand it. You will never win because when you are as big a douchebag as some of these guys are, they have no choice but to snuff you. (Do you secretly want to get snuffed? So you can go back and make movies?)

Sober up, Charlie. And get back on TV, if it's not too late. This is America. You want to really piss off Chuck and Warner Brothers and CBS? Beg for America's forgiveness. They will give it to you. And then go back. You are a great television star. And you've got the gig. As I learned from closely observing Tony Bennett so I could impersonate him on SNL, this is supposed to be fun.

PS...buy Cryer a really nice car.

haha his "here's the thing" podcast is both pretty good and really hard to take seriously

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/heresthething/

i mean, "so what" as bumper music. dude you're killing me.

lol

ok he just used the phrase "sensuous quotient" when talking to kristen wiig

i mean, "so what" as bumper music. dude you're killing me.

Pink? Miles Davis? Ministry?

haha

listening to the Kristen Wiig episode. alec works in this context, unsurprisingly

This MSNBC show is pretty good.

I missed it last week, but watched it tonight and it's a testament to his interview skills that I didn't flip channels while Chris Matthews was spitting all over the table talking about this and that. Michael Powell's half of the show was a far better read of what levels the show can probably reach.

Looking forward to the 2001 stars next week.

http://pagesix.com/2013/11/26/msnbc-fires-alec-baldwin/

Baldwin really used to be good, I think Lorne michaels ruined what made him good in the first place at some point. Kinda like how hanks' quest to be nu-jimmy stewart buried some of his best qualities.

i've heard AB's public radio show a couple times, lotta theatre folk, he's a decent interviewer. He got Patti LuPone to say she hated the music in Evita at first, humanized her in my eyes.

I hope WNYC doesn't fire him and end Here's The Thing. I really like those interviews: Seinfeld, Billy Joel, especially Elain Stritch.

Baldwin’s dismissal was decided on partly because of his diva-like behavior toward co-workers, a source said.
Besides demanding a humidifier because he claimed the air at 30 Rock was too dry, Baldwin alienated staffers when he demanded a separate makeup room being used by a woman with cancer who is sensitive to hairspray.
When Baldwin was told he couldn’t have his way, he allegedly bellowed at the top of his lungs, “I don’t give a f - - k if she has cancer or not, I want that f - - king makeup room.”

lol

i still love baldwin in miami blues

When Baldwin's character on 30 Rock was told he couldn’t have his way, he allegedly bellowed at the top of his lungs, “I don’t give a f - - k if she has cancer or not, I want that f - - king makeup room.”

fixed, i hope.

he does seem to be a pretty intelligent guy wrapped in a huge ego

:-(

Baldwin also spoke at length with us about MSNBC and the future of his podcast (or rather, the end of his podcast)—we'll have all of that tomorrow.

http://gothamist.com/2013/11/26/msnbc_cancels_alec_baldwins_show.php

i still love baldwin in miami blues

― https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD7PvtbkH0I (Hungry4Ass), Wednesday, November 27, 2013 12:36 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

young Baldwin was one of the all-time greats imo. Malice, Red October, Miami Blues. RIP.

his glengarry cameo is brobait but still top notch. you watch him play that role vs how he plays every role now (or so it seems) and RIP indeed.

yeah hes great in ggr. cant take nothin away from him there. I like him in The Cooler too but i get what you mean about snl ruining him.

love him in the departed but that's the best-case scenario for a post-SNL performance. maybe. didn't see him in blue jasmine, maybe it's different.

He's more of a background character in Blue Jasmine

he really madoff well in that role though.

HI DAYO!

he really madoff well in that role though.

― tɹi.ʃɪp (Treeship), Wednesday, November 27, 2013 12:31 AM (15 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

//celestial hi hat//

http://www.vulture.com/2014/02/alec-baldwin-good-bye-public-life.html

much long, very wind, so not read

lol thats an amazing read

datnng ace

I’ve had people come up to me and say, “You’re a great New Yorker. You’ve given your time and money to so many New York charities. You’re a great supporter of the arts. I like some of your movies—and some of your movies suck, actually.” (It’s New York, so people give you their unvarnished opinion.) But people in general had been very kind to me for years.

I wonder how many times outside of a charity gala someone has actually come up to him and called him a great supporter of the arts.

That is very entertaining.... he's gen OTM about the new New York and MSNBC.

kinda relieved he's given up the running for office thing, cuz let's face it lol temperament

I think he's right to call out the media for fake and exaggerated concern-mongering over isolated uses of slurs. That said I feel like Alec Baldwin expects me to care a little too much about the struggles of Alec Baldwin

i believe that hes not a virulent homophobe or whatever but hes just so un-self aware and bad at making a case for himself lol... also its so cool that he says tranny like 3 paras in while trying to prove how sensitive and cool he is

i did laff at "Mika B. is the Margaret Dumont of cable news"

the arteries of the country are now clogged with hate

It's always amusing to me when rich white dudes discover that people are mean.

his brand of assholism is just so boring

well, he's from Long Island.

also I am sick of the Gay Police calling "cocksucker" etc as the equiv of the N-word. I use "cs" on motorists who swerve in front of my pedestrian ass now and then, but we are all potential cocksuckers, and I think it's a noble thing to aspire to.

some good shia content in this

Since he's not gonna leave town, can we plz just get rid of the bike lanes?

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/alec-baldwin-arrested-flare-up-cops-manhattan-sources-article-1.1790267

You should probably get rid of all the cars instead tbrr

http://observer.com/2014/11/love-ride-the-alec-baldwin-relationship-advice-series/

OH DEAR

that guy is one of my brother's best friends, i've known him since i was... 4? i had no idea about this until he posted it on FB. he was one of corey's groomsmen at the wedding a few months ago. WAU

someone tell me i shd go see Miami Blues for the first time even tho gabbneb and Matt A love it

http://www.bam.org/film/2014/miami-blues

It has a lot of topless Baldwin in it

not my type rlly (mooks from LI)

This easily surpassed my expectations. Three splendid performances, perfectly pitched comic noir. And showcases Miami evilly.

yeah Miami Blues is great. are any of George Armitage's other movies besides Grosse Pointe Blank any good? His first writing credit was this hilarious-sounding Corman flick: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065760/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_10

Nick Pinkerton speaks highly of Vigilante Force.

re MB, never turn away from Shirley Stoler in a pawnshop.

http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/23/55/77/5169134/5/696x696.jpg

interview with George Armitage, director of Miami Blues -- which is out today on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory.

http://www.filmcomment.com/entry/interview-george-armitage

Excellent interview. GPB is as good as Miami Blues; I didn't know the script went thru so many cogs.

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/kindle/merch/2016/ECHO/unicorn/echo-bts-gw-4500x900-v-alt._UX3000_SX3000_CB298136618_.jpg

baldwin really should have played liberace

"Jason, the camera is here. Over here. HERE. JASON. JASON! Oh fuck it, take the picture."

no combination of any two of those people together makes any sense to me let alone four

http://www.amazon.com/Bresciani-Cashmere-Over-Calf-Dress/dp/B001UISDDC

I saw AB at a screening of a George C Scott desert-isle incest movie from the '70s last night, rockin' a black polo shirt and a bag of popcorn.

He also interviewed GCS's son Campbell afterward, did some impressions of Scott and John Huston, and complained about film negotiations where, as opposed to 20 years ago, they won't spend an extra $750 G to shoot an LA story in LA. "Oh, no no, we won't get that. We'll shoot it in Louisville..."

otoh, eff you Alec:

“Don’t dance on Ailes’ grave. He has children. And all men come to the same end.”

Update: Baldwin allegedly had someone holding a parking spot for him as he went to move his car, and someone swooped in and took the spot https://t.co/5XWh6EImZ5

— Gothamist (@Gothamist) November 2, 2018

gtfo 'holding a parking spot' in the village

maybe they can prosecute him for the DJT impression too

maybe his arrest will mean he can't do his trump on snl this week, a boon for people who still watch that fucking show

baldwin is great, obv

if you forget Jack Donaghy he's done little of note this century

podcast surprisingly excellent tbh

seinfeld coffee things excellent

ah right I'm not a terrible man for the podcasts myself so haven't heard it.

the seinfeld thing is good but it's an interview. he's personable and witty when he's with pals, and not with folk who have the temerity not to respect a pedestrian "holding" a parking space

my friend's mother-in-law was a teacher on Long Island, and she had all the Baldwins in class

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/alec-baldwin-rust-incident-santa-fe-1235094931/

Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on a set in New Mexico on Thursday, accidentally killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

!

what the fuck

Holy shit

I wonder how it must feel to wrongfully kill someone...https://t.co/WE6QsAAXGI

— AlecBaldwin (@AlecBaldwln____) September 23, 2017

people making Curb Yout Enthusiasm jokes under that tweet can fuck right off

I have questions about why the gun was pointing where it was pointing

FYI the (predictable) question I had was answered here: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/prop-gun-using-blanks-still-052227936.html

also, what is wrong with the dickheads who are like "this is karma for making fun of Trump on SNL" - like WTF ?

I have questions about why the gun was pointing where it was pointing

I suppose it was a subjective "shot" where the actor is pointing at the camera... and all the people behind it.

xp Well we can start with the fact that these are trump fans on twitter, well I guess no need to explain further than that.

Man

https://www.tasteofcinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Lady-in-the-Lake.png

AFP otm

I'd guess yeah, feels like an unusual shot in the modern era

https://external-preview.redd.it/Khes6FDY0AljEXbDDlXZOXtiIKt9d-4sT5Pld8696-w.jpg?auto=webp&s=b9a56ae363501cfc026d7cfd8826f1e249bc63f0

Thinking about it, these subjective angles may well be in most movies with gun fights !

Oh sure, I was just rambling. I definitely associate them more with Noir and the 30s to 50s tho

http://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/d59e0e92-3bce-49b8-806a-e20649c7e3da_1.ab250b0f979bf172374ebaceea014ba7.jpeg

wtf!
how can a gun be a "prop" gun if it can kill someone?!

FYI the (predictable) question I had was answered here: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/prop-gun-using-blanks-still-052227936.html

― StanM, Friday, October 22, 2021 5:48 AM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

the only previous cases of firearms deaths on movie sets the bbc correspondent could come up with was Brandon Lee and some 1915 silent western. I would guess there are probably strict H+S protocols in place that are why this doesn't happen very often.

I just don't get it. If you're making a movie, with guns, with prop guns, with toy guns, whatever, there is literally no reason there should be live ammo anywhere near the set, let alone close to the blanks or pretend rounds. Maybe that's why this apparently has not happened much before?

read the yahoo article, it explains how blanks work

we may need to post that link a few more times

in fairness Stan (not blaming him just saying) didn't say what the predictable question was: it explains how prop guns are often real guns, what blanks are, and how this setup is still a hazard

oh it seems blanks are quite dangerously unpredictable at close range.

Yeah, I kind of knew how blanks work, but that mostly explains how someone can still be seriously injured by shooting blanks. Of the two examples given, one involved a guy literally sticking the gun *to his head* at point blank and fatally hurting himself. The other, Brandon Lee, involved a projectile (that is, bullet) that had been accidentally jammed in the barrel. But think of the literally millions and millions of blank rounds shot in action movies over the years. This almost never happens, because it really shouldn't happen. There should be no projectile in or near the gun, and if there is it should be caught well in advance and removed. And it of course usually is, because this really doesn't happen, relative to the number of guns in movies.

I'd do a bit on risk assessment here but fuck it

feel like josh knows something we don't

All I know is that we can rule out Brian Laundrie.

the only time I had a real firearm shot at the ceiling above me I did the classic duck and cover (and almost shit yourself) move.

sorry about that

Apparently this was a Western, which means they were most likely using prop revolvers, which need <something> in the visible chambers that'll show up on camera.

ah good point.

I saw a props person quoted as saying that since the weapon seriously injured the director in addition to killing the cinematographer, it was likely a shotgun

that was my first thought as well. also if they were filming in rugged terrain, not out of the question that small rocks or debris could have gotten into the barrel

vfx artist here, to everyone saying muzzle flashes added in post are as good as the real deal: yes, of course they are, it’s the easiest thing, what the fuck

— Nick Sinnott (@ndsinnott) October 22, 2021

There’s no reason to have guns loaded with blanks or anything on set anymore. Should just be fully outlawed. There’s computers now. The gunshots on Mare of Easttown are all digital. You can probably tell, but who cares? It’s an unnecessary risk. https://t.co/pVWJp766EY

— craig zobel (@craigzobel) October 22, 2021

I could swear there was some kind of bad incident on set during Mike Figgis’s Internal Affairs; a prop gun not working properly or something. Figgis writes about Gere being horrified by the incident in the accompanying script book. Can’t find anything about it online.

There was also this from the filming of At Close Range; on IMDB

When Christopher Walken works with guns in film, he checks them himself before each scene for safety reasons and his own personal ease. During the scene when Sean Penn sticks a gun in Walken's face, Walken checked the gun before the scene started. Before the director had the chance to say "Action", Penn ran off camera and shouted, "Give me the other gun!" He immediately returned to Walken and started the scene. This is the cut that made it into the movie, and Walken was really terrified.

There's probably an argument for some people who want to have authenticity and things "feeling real" instead of all movies being all CGI but I don't know, personally I don't care...

I've seen this posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCzDQvX0hAY

There's probably an argument for some people who want to have authenticity and things "feeling real" instead of all movies being all CGI but I don't know, personally I don't care...

― AlXTC from Paris, Friday, October 22, 2021 9:50 AM (three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I will stan for practical effects over digital in every instance where someone is not potentially in physical danger. There's no valid argument in favor of risking people's well-being to make a movie, especially in this day and age. The first thing I thought when I read about this is: isn't this what CGI is for?

the first thing I thought was "WTF? That Brandon Lee thing happened in 1993 and they haven't changed things yet?"

I note that BBC Headlines posted a news headline regarding this, and helpfully and tastefully the illustrative photo was a gun being loaded with ammunition.

I have questions about why the gun was pointing where it was pointing

― look on my guacs, ye mighty, and dis pear (Noodle Vague), Friday, October 22, 2021 5:42 AM bookmarkflaglink

considering my fight choreographer used to have a (rightful) apoplectic fit any time we would point a gun directly at anybody during stage combat, I also have this question.

I will stan for practical effects over digital in every instance where someone is not potentially in physical danger. There's no valid argument in favor of risking people's well-being to make a movie, especially in this day and age. The first thing I thought when I read about this is: isn't this what CGI is for?

― (a picture of a defecating pig) (Old Lunch), Friday, October 22, 2021 10:58 AM (nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

100%

And it shouldn’t be lost on anyone that Baldwin is also a producer on the film, meaning he is responsible for the safety and wellbeing of the crew.

it explains how prop guns are often real guns

yes, this. we did a live production of Reservoir Dogs once and we were using real guns with blanks/no live ammunition, and our fight choreographer kept getting angry every night as the director who did the curtain speech assured the audience that "these aren't real guns". to which he'd tell us YES THEY'RE REAL GUNS, that's WHY WE HAVE THE SAFETY MECHANISMS WE DO.

a prop gun can kill. any gun that is designed to propel something at high speeds CAN kill, but there are proper handling procedures even when shooting blanks/non-live ammunition to prevent it from happening. get reckless or careless and your prop gun can kill your entire directorial staff and cast and crew.

i did read that article, thanks. i guess I'm asking how real guns that kill people are considered prop guns and allowed to be fired at people on set. the only explanation given in the article is that real guns feel/ look real but not any analysis of what the alternatives are and why they aren't used.

guns aren't commonplace where I live so perhaps that makes it more inexplicable to me.

I get the "real guns feel/look more real" (since they ARE real, duh) but couldn't they use "real" guns with the firing mechanics removed or something so they still weigh/feel/look real and then add CGI ?
Maybe there's something with "real" recoil ? I have no idea what blanks feel like on that aspect...

Movies/TV have been using slightly off-looking fake money for decades and it has somehow not been a problem for anyone

Prop guns are used ten thousands of time on film sets around the world each year; it’s perfectly reasonable to be shooting a film thinking the use of a prop gun will lead to no accidents. A lot of things on a film set are as dangerous as a prop gun.

Not so coincidentally, the film technicians union voted to go on strike recently and all I’m hearing is that sets are ever increasingly dangerous with producers willing to cut corners to save money.

it’s perfectly reasonable to be shooting a film thinking the use of a prop gun will lead to no accidents

i think the actual answer is that this isn't going to be allowed anymore after the union has their say

sorry kinder, i wasn't trying to be rude with my reply i just wasn't sure you had seen it given the way it was posted

Not being facetious - this seems like it's acceptable risk?

― kinder, Friday, October 22, 2021 11:46 AM (six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

There is only a risk involved if people don’t do their jobs properly. On that very same film set, there’s a decent chance a 65 kg tungsten light was hung above film technicians in order for the director and dop to have their artistic desires fufilled. Film sets simply are dangerous spaces with risks involved. Heck, filmming during a pandemic is a massive risk unto itself.

Do CGI when you can, of course, but the only way you’ll have a risk free film set is by hiring properly trained professionals working decent hours and to give them the time to properly do their jobs.

When movies need guns, you're supposed to hire a firearms expert to be on set supervising said weapons (these people are frequently retired cops, ex-military etc.). But corners do get cut.

I was an extra in a tv advert once as a favour to a friend and I ended up being promoted to a non speaking acting role mainly, I think, because my costume looked so good - Anyway I had to carry a rifle - the only one that ended up being used as a prop rather than set dressing- and the arms supervisor or whatever you’d call him would take the gun off me and painstakingly inspect it after every take. It drove me crazy since we were shooting all day in rain (fake rain but real water). At the time I thought he was an arse who was trying to give himself more prestige in the process by being so ruthlessly pedantic. Now I realise why he was doing that... in the end you didn’t really see me or my costume or really see the gun but it comes on tv from time to time and I shout “that’s me!” Before anyone registers my fleeting presence.

Yeah I was thinking about the big lights since in most murder movies located on a film set or in a theater that's usually the "weapon" !
And then of course, all movie sets including cars or other vehicles are also very dangerous, I guess.

Per this story:

https://www.indiewire.com/2021/10/alec-baldwin-fires-gun-kills-cinematographer-wounds-director-on-rust-set-1234673555/

IATSE Local 44, which covers prop masters, sent an email to its members early Friday morning that said the gun used in the scene contained “a live round” and the production’s propmaster was not a member of Local 44.

Chatting to a friend of mine who's an ex-pig with firearms training who also has questions. Still think this is likely a horrible health and safety failure but still

a live round?? uh

xpost

i believe they mean it had one and was not supposed to

I’m hearing the union camera crew walked because they were upset about gun safety on the film up to that point.

This accident occurred the very next day. #rust #iasolidarity #iatse https://t.co/eMHy5xPXJG

— Darwin Brandis (@dtbbythesea) October 22, 2021

Saw this on twitter just now. Downthread claims his source is one of the people who left the set.

this is bad

it's about what I expected

not a 'random accident', more a 'safety was being treated as optional' scenario

If you’re doing a play which climaxes with a 15-minute “mexican standoff” in which the participants keep changing who they’re standing off against, without moving their feet/stage position (and then a direct held-to-temple killing), wouldn’t it make more sense to use fake guns that you can point at people (and hold against their temples) anyway? The realism gained from using real guns has to be drastically undermined by swinging them from pointing at nobody to pointing at nobody somewhere else, without ever even crossing any of the other three actors that you’re facing

xp oh shit

normally yes, this show was in a tiny black box so fakey guns would have looked worse up close (or I guess that's the reason we made that decision). some of the guns that were given to characters that didn't fire weaopns or do anything but show them for a few seconds were indeed props in the sense that they could not fire anything.

many xps Harbl I wasn't intending to be arsey either, it was a good article!

we also used real guns in a live production of Annie Get Your Gun in high school, and there was several days of training done, but a) the guns were pieces of garbage and b) Annie and Frank weren't good at using them, so they jammed all the time.

this is of course during the "Pull! Hit!" scenes, where they're shooting at clay pigeons, so one would assume good actors, if the gun didn't go off, would simply pretend it did, and the actor that confirms "Hit!" or "Miss!" would do so accordingly, but instead, they kept trying to fire, and a few times the one actor went to the other and said "gimme your gun", while the audience was lead to believe that gravity stopped working and the clay pigeon was still somehow airborne, 2 minutes later.

In conclusion, all of this would have been avoided if we simply hadn't done the terrible and racist show Annie Get Your Gun.

I directed a play with a prop gun (never fired in the show but used extensively), and it was a real gun whose chambers had been filled in, in some way, so it couldn’t fire or take a cartridge.

the clay pigeon was still somehow airborne, 2 minutes later.

ha ha

re Dogs, “STOP POINTING THAT GUN AT THE CEILING SEVERAL METRES AWAY FROM MY DAD!!!”

lol

Public intellectual JD Vance chimes in:

Today in the Ohio GOP Senate Primary. pic.twitter.com/x8HQIiTiLg

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) October 22, 2021

if only there was a good guy with a prop gun

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-10-22/alec-baldwin-rust-camera-crew-walked-off-set?fbclid=IwAR2BUqsbGwYxgovgAwBYSmmPrnUjYlejkvdLVTuCqo-P69dxsUqqhOjz8L8

More details

Ugh

actually felt pretty bad for Alec at first but yeah this does not look good

(As publicists start crafting a narrative, remember that of course firing the prop gun wasn't the error, being the producer on a movie and hiring a nonunion propmaster and not having safety meetings after 2 misfires from the same gun on set was the error and she should be alive.)

— Bess Kalb (@bessbell) October 22, 2021

he was very fucking quick releasing the "tragic accident" statement. More like a politician or a corporate spokesperson doing damage limitation than a human being.

its weird how many celebrities have actually killed people

it's tragic, but it wasn't an accident, and Alec is in fuckin' trouble

then again, Jonathan Landis never saw a cell so....who knows if he'll ever be held accountable other than settlements he issues

When I got shot at during a robbery at work the company gave me and my co-workers a £100 each on the strict condition we didn't start thinking about putting any "silly claims" that might affect their liability insurance or something. We were joking in the pub later: could have got a grand if we got shot!

I have a buddy who works at a factory and they have very specific dollar amounts they pay out depending on what parts of your body get maimed...one dude lost 2 fingers and was bummed he didn't lose his index since that was like six grand more

I'm really hoping this doesn't turn into a "I looooove 30 Rock, poor Alec" thing amongst my friends.

I mean A) he *is* a dick IRL but b) this is the big guy fucking the little guy to a tee.

well, KILLING the little guy

Relieved Joel Souza is alive.

i don't know what it's like everywhere else on social media but on the movies subreddit (home of the dumbest and most impressionable posters alive) baldwin is the main character of this story..... the two big threads on this are just packed with posts about how traumatized he must feel, how he's "a victim too", just openly fantasizing about his state of mind and his actions going forward. the PR works.

barf.

That's gross, though I'd argue he kind of is the main character?

I mean gtfo with the hand-wringing over his "feels" when someone is dead, but as the guy who not only pulled the trigger but was also the one responsible for the failed safety measures and requirements on set, he is pretty much the central character here - though decidedly not in the manner his PR team and those folks are trying to spin it. Sometimes the main character is the villain.

Rightfully the narrative is going to have to spiral around him, if for nothing else to get some fucking accountability.

I saw tweets last night scolding media outlets for the usual headlines that use passive voice or otherwise minimize human agency in a shooting death ("did the gun fire itself???"). At the time, I thought it was actually one of the few times when the person firing the gun mattered less than the people who failed to prevent the accident from happening. But yeah, seeing now that Baldwin seems to have been closely involved as a producer, he seems more responsible than most.

That's gross, though I'd argue he kind of is the main character?

I mean gtfo with the hand-wringing over his "feels" when someone is dead, but as the guy who not only pulled the trigger but was also the one responsible for the failed safety measures and requirements on set, he is pretty much the central character here - though decidedly not in the manner his PR team and those folks are trying to spin it. Sometimes the main character is the villain.

― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, October 22, 2021 6:22 PM (fifteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

otm

sure, the narrative is going to default to be about him but he isn't being treated as the villain is my point - he is garnering more sympathy than the actual woman who died

aaand just came across this
https://i.postimg.cc/nr3fXkKY/image.png

Who are ye all posting about then

a 16 yo thread about alec baldwin tbf

Tru, tru

just talking about how low budget Bruce Willis movies are good now because they only have the budget for 3d printer shells of sawn-off Winchesters.

Before reviving this, I did check to see if we had any "celebs who have killed ppl" threads. Just "US presidents...," tho.

Vince Neil 2 thred

Phil Spector

Gig Young

Keith Moon

Claudine Longet

Matthew Broderick

("In 1987, Broderick accidentally killed two people when he steered his car across the centerline of a road in Ireland; he was convicted of causing death by reckless driving.")

Spade Cooley

Jack Kirby

LA Times wouldn't let me past subscription sign-up, but think this goes w that:
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/alec-baldwin-fired-prop-gun-that-killed-crew-member-movie-set-authorities-2021-10-22/ Re conditions on set etc

Not absolving him, but I'm sure we'll get a clearer sense if he was a producer in any hands-on/managerial sense vs. being a primary funder of a movie he wanted to make.

Was wondering about that, too. I guess I feel like, with the misfiring incidents that preceded the fatal one and union crew members walking off the set, Baldwin was in a position to put a pause on production in either case. But maybe I'm assuming too much.

From that Reuters article:

Cano said the incident took place at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, south of Santa Fe, during a rehearsal and it was not clear whether it had been filmed.

He said the prop gun was one of three on a cart outside a building. One of them was taken by the assistant director on the movie who went inside and handed it to Baldwin.

"As the assistant director handed the gun to the actor Alec Baldwin, (he) yelled 'cold gun', indicating the prop gun did not have any live rounds," the affidavit said.

As the investigation proceeded, questions were raised about working conditions on the set of "Rust", a small budget Western movie of which Baldwin was both star and a co-producer.
Cano said the incident took place at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, south of Santa Fe, during a rehearsal and it was not clear whether it had been filmed.

He said the prop gun was one of three on a cart outside a building. One of them was taken by the assistant director on the movie who went inside and handed it to Baldwin.

"As the assistant director handed the gun to the actor Alec Baldwin, (he) yelled 'cold gun', indicating the prop gun did not have any live rounds," the affidavit said.

As the investigation proceeded, questions were raised about working conditions on the set of "Rust", a small budget Western movie of which Baldwin was both star and a co-producer.
"We cited everything from lack of payment for three weeks, taking our hotels away despite asking for them in our deals, lack of Covid safety, and on top of that, poor gun safety! Poor on-set safety period!" one camera crew member wrote on a private Facebook page, according to Deadline.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the accounts. Rust Movie Productions did not respond to a request for comment on Friday but said in a statement it was investigating.

"Though we were not made aware of any official complaints concerning weapon or prop safety on set, we will be conducting an internal review of our procedures while production is shut down," the company said in its statement.

..."I don't understand why we would still use blank rounds in a day when you could simulate them," indie film director and producer Ben Rock told Reuters on Friday.

Sorry to post that bit twice; ads kept jumping out. That's my alibi!

fbclid=IwAR2BUqsbGwYxgovgAwBYSmmPrnUjYlejkvdLVTuCqo-P69dxsUqqhOjz8L8

I saw Alec Baldwin at a high end Japanese restaurant in Santa Fe two nights before the shooting. Meanwhile, they were making crew members drive 50+ miles from ABQ each day after promising them they’d have lodging in town. https://t.co/I7xHpCsaSc

— Jason Paladino (@jason_paladino) October 22, 2021

Only a day before the tragic shooting on the set of #RustMovie, a crew member on the film commented on a pro-IATSE Instagram video by actor and producer @AlecBaldwin Baldwin complaining of unsafe work hours.

Link to the original post: https://t.co/su0jdHjBrm pic.twitter.com/Bipfncrnpy

— Marta Evry (@venice4change) October 22, 2021

I’m not sure how the description of what the redditors are talking about isn’t true either way. How traumatized he must feel and his state of mind going forward are very much a central part of the drama of this story, ESPECIALLY now that he may be responsible for the dangerous circumstances. It’s very hard to not wonder about the state of mind of someone in that highly melodramatic situation. Being the “main character” doesn’t mean being the good guy, and if he is indeed the bad guy it would be similarly silly to go as far as to assume he is evil like cliche bad guys in fiction and isn’t going through some real shit atm. Understandable to imagine people focusing on that speculation.

*So far*, seems like assistant director who brought the gun to Baldwin didn't check it first, and why bring that one? Maybe because it was checked? Gun consultant to productions said this morning on CNN that there might have been three for different purposes, like a total prop gun just to show on screen, and a rubber gun for characters to struggle over.

Since they'd already had some kind of accident, at least one, involving misfire...

Oh man, she did a lot--despite headline, this is more about her: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/rust-filmmaker-joel-souza-breaks-silence-after-colleague-halyna-hutchins-n1282208

Yeah when I first heard a bit of this story yesterday the news piece I'd picked up halfway thru was talking about how well regarded she was by her peers

received no less than five texts from out-of-town friends asking if i knew anything about the guy that went to the hospital here -- nice try, losers!!!!

anyway, just a huge bummer all around

in awe pic.twitter.com/p1NNdtgScP

— saying 'yacht' when it is CLEARLY a houseboat 😤 (@ChrisCaesar) October 22, 2021

B-b-but people love...oh wait.

10 paces then we turn and run at eachother with these bats

re: the discussion upthread about the general danger of film sets. It's actually insane how many people die or are seriously injured shooting movies and most of them you don't even hear about

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_film_and_television_accidents

so it's starting to sound like "why was the gun pointing at people?" is a pertinent question

On the final night of shooting in Nova Scotia, 80 cast and crew members were hospitalized after pranksters spiked the clam chowder at the catering area with PCP.[183]

wtf
On Titanic

Unidentified Henry Lehrman comedy (1919). Comedian Billie Ritchie, while working on a short comedy film, was kicked in the stomach by an ostrich and sustained internal injuries, which eventually caused his death.

Super Mario Bros. (1993). Bob Hoskins was stabbed four times, electrocuted, and was nearly drowned. During one scene, Hoskins broke a finger when the door of a van slammed on his hand.

During the filming of Public Enemy Number One Bobby Davro suffered a broken nose when the pillory he was placed in, not being secured vertically, toppled over projecting him face-first onto the studio's concrete floor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxYBpZ70y70

With this guy being a HUGE celebrity, I went to his filmography to try to recollect what movies I had seen him in, and there has only been one role that wasn't a voice-over/voice actor part: Beetlejuice. Apparently he was the dead husband? It was shocking to me because that really doesn't look like Alec Baldwin to me.

Voice roles that I have seen Baldwin in:

The Royal Tenenbaums Narrator (voice)
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Dennis the Hitman (voice)
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Makunga the Lion (voice)
The Boss Baby Boss Baby (voice)

And of those, I don't actively recall any of the performances except Boss Baby.

Bob Hoskins as Rasputin

just being pedantic here, but Bob wasn't electrocuted

Citation needed

Unidentified Henry Lehrman comedy (1919). Comedian Billie Ritchie, while working on a short comedy film, was kicked in the stomach by an ostrich and sustained internal injuries, which eventually caused his death.

― Gardyloominati (Neanderthal), Sunday, October 24, 2021 6:13 AM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

That's a myth. Ritchie died of cancer, but because that was so taboo the ostrich story stuck.

Among the reasons for the creation of the Screen Actors Guild: the firearms handlers were using standard "live" ammo. James Cagney and his peers understandably objected.

xp

I'm not disputing that he might have got a tickle, but electrocution.. no that's when it kills you!

Weird detail that I just came across: Francis Fisher being in the cast of Rust and tweeting about it.

calz, understood, just doing wikihumor

many xps Hunt For Red October is his best movie IIRC

I wonder how often he, Vincent D’Onofrio and Liev Schreiber compete for roles.

don't get the drive to blame baldwin for this, unless I'm misreading the comments above

Hunt For Red October is his best movie IIRC

you are misrecalling his best movie in 1990 alone

my vote for glengarry

Miami Blues
Glengarry Glen Ross
Malice
The Edge
The Shadow

all the producers, including Baldwin, deserve blame for responding to a crew walkout over safety practices by hiring scabs and continuing to shoot. many union crew members rely on uninterrupted set days to pay for the rest of their year, have pretty high risk tolerance, and tend to make excellent, well-informed technical assessments, so when they say shit is unsafe, shit is unsafe.

that he pulled the trigger on a gun that was called cold by the AD is significantly less relevant to his culpability than that

^

otm.

It’s what the media cares about though.

damned “the media”

A lot can be said about the Nicholas Cage vehicle Mandy, which was almost freakishly hyper-violent; however, I don't believe there was a single firearm in the film. Crossbow, hand-forged battleaxe, etc., but it didn't rely on guns. If we have a gun problem in this country (we do), then maybe Hollywood can start to leave them out of the picture, like cigarettes in every scene.

If you take away the guns from good actors, only the bad actors will carry guns

A lot of people are messaging me about yesterday's tragedy that was an on-set firearms death (because I am a film armorer, for those who don't know).

As both a human and a professional, it is extremely upsetting. My thoughts are with Halyna Hutchins' loved ones

— SL Huang 黄士芬 (@sl_huang) October 23, 2021

detailed thread with lots of info about gun safety on set

that was a great thread, thanks for that.

particularly the clarifications on how real guns are used vs props

Wow, very well done, thanks

supposedly an assistant director shouldn't be the one handing the gun to an actor. it makes sense. the armorer had three guns on a cart, who's to say if the assistant director merely picked up the wrong one.

also I imagine it should have been shown to the assistant director first by the armorer to prove it was not loaded.

even eerier is this movie is about an accidental killing. ick

That was a great thread. It does sort of broach a different debate, especially in the CG age: when or why should *anything* dangerous be done in a movie? Car or motorcycle stunts (which have injured or killed people), helicopter stunts (which have injured or killed people), horse stunts (which have injured or killed people), explosions, guns, and so on. I just learned about this, re: Sam Fuller's "Shark!:"

During production, one of the film's stuntmen, Jose Marco, was attacked and killed on camera by a white shark that broke through protective netting. The attack was captured on film and prompted a photo spread in Life magazine. The title was changed to Shark! to cash in on the controversy

Not only did they change the name to "Shark!" they allegedly moved the alleged scene to the start of the movie. I say "allege" because I also read this, which introduces several layers of questions:

Marco was allegedly a stunt double for Burt Reynolds who was brutally attacked by a shark in 1967 while shooting an underwater scene near Manzanillo, Mexico, for a film appropriately titled Shark. According to Life Magazine, which did a story in 1968 on the filming, Marco was in the water in scuba gear alongside a subdued bull shark when a great white managed to make it through the nets protecting the area from the rest of the sea. It charged at the camera crew before launching at Marco and disemboweling the actor where he swam. Crew members tried to steer the shark away from Marco with spears, but the animal was undeterred, and the stuntman's resulting injuries were so severe that he later died at a hospital. Producers allegedly used the footage of Marcos' death in the opening scene in the movie, along with publicizing the incident as a marketing push. Director Samuel Fuller unsuccessfully attempted to have his name removed from its credits because he was dissatisfied with the editing of the film. However, a detailed investigation revealed that there was no official record of the attack, no record of a stuntman named Jose Marco, and no hospital records of the incident, although Marco was allegedly in a hospital for two days before he died. LIFE magazine had no comment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resident_Evil:_The_Final_Chapter#Stuntwoman_injury_and_crew_fatality

i love this movie and this still lurks in the back of my mind when i watch it

Exclusive reporting: Before the incident, a number of crew members had taken prop guns, including the gun that killed Hutchins to go “plinking" - shooting at beer cans with live ammo to pass the timehttps://t.co/TMYy00xZzv

— TheWrap (@TheWrap) October 25, 2021

there it is. answers a lot of questions.

I have seen that headline a few times now and I still can't wrap my head around it because how fucking STUPID do you have to be to do this

I was figuring something like that might have happened.

If true, I can't think of anything more irresponsible on a movie set. That's actually infuriating.

Yeah.

You'd think that blank firing guns for films could just be reserved exclusively for that use. i.e. NEVER EVER put real bullets in them. It’s not like there’s a shortage of guns out there.

Was gonna speculate that some of those crew members were gonna wind up doing time for this but it sounds like there should've been so many redundancies in place to prevent this that it's hard to know how many people are ultimately to blame. This is like a full-blown systemic collapse.

There needs to be a system in place in order for it to collapse

Ugh

Weapons handler defense doesn't seem like a particularly good defense:

https://deadline.com/2021/10/alec-baldwin-shooting-rust-hannah-gutierrez-armorer-statement-halyna-hutchins-1234864743/

It's tantamount to saying "this is not my fault, because I didn't always know what was going on."

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/alec-baldwin-charged-manslaughter-fatal-shooting-set-rust-d-says-rcna7189

thread title looking prophetic

Charges against Baldwin were dismissed and production is resuming on the movie. Sooooo looking forward to when this thing hits Redbox.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/18/entertainment/alec-baldwin-rust-filming-to-resume/index.html

if i had shot and killed someone on the set of a movie i would simply not resume production under any circumstances

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/alec-baldwin-indicted-manslaughter-charge-rust-shooting-rcna134564

SANTA FE, N.M. — Alec Baldwin is headed to trial over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was killed in 2021 after the actor's prop gun fired a live round of ammunition on the "Rust" film set.

The decision to indict Baldwin was announced Friday after a New Mexico grand jury heard evidence presented by special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis. He was charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter.

---

If convicted, Baldwin could face up to 18 months in prison. A trial date has not been set.

The grand jury's indictment comes after the same New Mexico prosecutors dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin in April.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/rust-prosecutors-allege-armorer-hannah-211536642.html

yeah, it's kind of shocking that there was even a single round of live ammo on set

Baldwin can probably share some blame for running a shoddy production, but I honestly don't see how he could've known there was a live round in the chamber

Hannah Gutierrez found guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/06/rust-shooting-hannah-gutierrez-reed-verdict

The state also claimed that she was using marijuana during the production. Gutierrez-Reed’s defense said that the prosecution had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she brought live rounds on to the set and argued that Hutchins’ death was the result of Baldwin pointing the weapon at the cinematographer.

“It was not in the script for Mr Baldwin to point the weapon,” defense attorney Jason Bowles said. “She didn’t know that Mr Baldwin was going to do what he did.”

...

look I definitely think more than just Gutierrez-Reed is responsible here, and Baldwin likely lied about not pulling the trigger, but she really needed some better defense attorneys.

such a weird case.. why in the hell were there live rounds on a movie set to begin with? Though Brandon Lee was killed by a blank I think, or at least that was the story at the time

it was a dummy cartridge that was made from a live round and got lodged in the barrel and essentially pushed out and into Lee by the blank when fired

xp
The most believable story is that some of the cast/crew would go out shooting with live ammo when the movie was not being made, using the production's guns, and that the separation of live ammo from blanks was done poorly.

this was a very good interview with Chad Stahleski and he talks a bit about guns on movie sets.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/john-wick-filmmaker-chad-stahelski-sequels-oscar-stunt-snubs-firearms-1235343132/

So much of your job is about safety, and you started your career in 1994 doubling for Brandon Lee after he died in an on-set accident with a gun while filming The Crow. How did you process the Rust shooting?

What happened on Rust … I wasn’t there, but the accidents that I’ve been around, seen or been part of have always been human error. It’s never mechanical. So, let’s just talk about firearms. Back in the day, when it all started, they came up with blanks. A blank is a bullet without the projectile, but they couldn’t put you and me in the same shot, 5 feet apart, and one of us pull the trigger. The concussive force coming out at the end of the barrel would be enough to shatter your skull. Accidents like that did happen and people died because of it. But in the past 10 years, they’ve come out with electronic guns, plug guns where it is impossible for anything to come out of the barrel and total CG. That’s the way we do it. That technology is out there for everybody.

Why isn’t everybody using it?

My feeling is that there’s no reason to have a live firearm on set. We can create cities and spaceships and Godzilla and all these things. We have the technology to do the same with firearms. But, for the last 100 years, Hollywood’s been using real firearms. And for prop houses, armorers or supply houses to switch over, it would make their entire stock of real firearms useless. It comes down to the fact that it would cost certain people a great deal of money to switch over. No one wants to say that, but that’s the real reason. You don’t need firearms. The alternative is just going to cost you more money

Sentenced to 18 months

https://deadline.com/2024/04/hannah-guitierrez-reed-sentenced-rust-shooting-1235885923/

i'd be a lot more sympathetic if she hadn't been reported as reckless and aloof on the set and continued to double down that it wasn't her fault even days before sentencing

otoh, that doesn't mean she's wrong that working conditions were awful and that it didn't play a role.

Baldwin saying he didn't pull the trigger was gross, esp since it's now been proven that he obviously did