'Rust' assistant director hopes for film industry changes

SANTA FE, N.M. – The adjunct manager who handed Alec Baldwin the weapon that killed a cinematographer says helium hopes the calamity prompts the movie manufacture to “reevaluate its values and practices” to guarantee nary 1 is harmed again.

David Halls released a connection to the New York Post, breaking his soundlessness pursuing the Oct. 21 fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins and the wounding of manager Joel Souza during accumulation of the Western “Rust” successful New Mexico.

Halls said Hutchins was a person and 1 of the astir talented radical helium has worked with.

“I’m shocked and saddened by her death,” helium said successful the statement. “It’s my anticipation that this calamity prompts the manufacture to reevaluate its values and practices to guarantee nary 1 is harmed done the originative process again.”

Halls didn’t supply immoderate details of what helium thinks mightiness beryllium reformed oregon however changes mightiness person helped debar what happened connected the acceptable of “Rust.”

Concerns person been raised astir Halls’ safety record by colleagues connected 2 erstwhile productions. Halls has not returned telephone calls and email messages seeking comment, and his lawyer did not instantly instrumentality messages near Monday by The Associated Press.

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Court records person provided details astir the decease of Hutchins connected the acceptable of “Rust” adjacent Santa Fe. Authorities person said that Halls handed the limb to Baldwin and announced “cold gun,” indicating that the limb was harmless to use.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said past week determination was “some complacency” successful however weapons were handled connected the set. Investigators recovered astir 500 rounds of ammunition — a premix of blanks, dummy rounds and suspected unrecorded rounds — adjacent though the set’s firearms specialist, armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, said existent ammo should ne'er person been present.

Gutierrez Reed said done her attorneys that she didn’t cognize wherever the unrecorded rounds came from and blamed producers for unsafe moving conditions.

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Souza told detectives that Baldwin was rehearsing a country successful which helium drew a revolver from his holster and pointed it toward the camera, which Hutchins and Souza were behind. Souza said the country did not telephone for the usage of unrecorded rounds.

The probe is ongoing, and authorities person said overmuch enactment needs to beryllium done earlier getting to a constituent wherever charges could beryllium considered.

Hollywood professionals person been baffled by the circumstances of the movie-set shooting. It already has led to different accumulation crews stepping up information measures.

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