ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Conversations around prop guns have started swirling around the entertainment industry after news broke that cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza injured after actor Alec Baldwin reportedly fired a prop gun on the set of the movie "Rust."
While investigators are still working to figure out what went wrong, firearms experts, Hollywood insiders and movie fans alike are left questioning how an incident like this could happen on the set of a major studio production. And, if any, which safety protocols are in place surrounding the use of prop weapons on set.
This isn’t the first time it’s happened
Actor Brandon Lee, the son of martial arts icon Bruce Lee, died at age 28 on the set of the movie “The Crow” in 1993.
According to reports from the Los Angeles Times, the actor was killed by a .44-caliber bullet when co-star Michael Massee fired a prop gun believed to be loaded with blanks.
No criminal charges would be filed over Lee’s death after a district attorney determined, although negligence was a factor, there was no evidence of wrongdoing, the New York Times reported in 1993.
Brandon Lee’s sister, who runs a Twitter account in his name, expressed condolences to the families of Halyna Hutchins, Joel Souza, and everyone involved in the incident on “Rust.”
“No one should ever be killed by a gun on a film set. Period,” the tweet read.
In another incident in 1984, actor Jon-Erik Hexum pointed a prop gun to his head as a joke on the set of a television show and pulled the trigger.
While no projectile was fired, the force of the blast of the blank was strong enough to fracture his skull, according to a New York Times report from the year of the incident. He died days later.
What is a prop gun?
A prop forearm can be a few different things. Sometimes, entirely fake weapons are created specifically for the film. Other times, real weapons are modified and used as props.
Yale's Undergraduate Production program refers to prop guns as rubber, non-firing, and toy guns. But as described by Sonoma State University, prop guns also include functional firearms that discharge blank ammunition.
With a cartridge in a real gun, the propellant powder inside the shell is ignited which activates the metal projectile, or bullet. With a blank cartridge, materials such as paper, cotton or wax are attached to the front of the shell instead.
The Actors' Equity Association calls blanks "extremely dangerous" as they can still produce a powerful blast.
Are there prop gun safety protocols in place?
The Actors' Equity Association has an extensive list of safety tips for the use of firearms.
They include using "simulated or dummy weapons whenever possible" and treating "all guns as if they are loaded and deadly."
"There's basic safety measures on every set," Mike Tristano, an armorer who has worked with Alec Baldwin in the past, told the BBC.
"You never point a gun, even if it is not a firing gun, at anyone else. I'm at a loss how this could have happened and how it could have done that much damage."
Karl Weschta, the vice president of weapons for Independent Studio Services in Los Angeles, told NPR camera techniques are often used to avoid pointing prop guns at actual people, even if it appears that way in the final production.
He adds, however, these safety tips are just recommendations that are not binding by law.
How can we avoid prop gun accidents in the future?
The incident that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins led big names in the industry to question how this happened and call for alternatives to guns being fired on set.
"Everyone who has witnessed the safety protocols/safety meetings/barrel checks that go into a prop gun being used in a production is screaming HOW in the f*** did this happen," actress and writer, June Diane Raphael said in a tweet.
Director Craig Zobel, whose works include Mare of Easttown and Westworld, suggested guns with loaded blanks should be outlawed and gunshots should instead be recreated digitally.
TV writer David Slack, who has worked on Magnum PI and Law & Order, echoed this sentiment, adding "Having live blanks on your set is not worth it. No show or shot is worth risking people’s lives."