re: Alex Baldwin likely to face charges in shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins

all of those examples are of real guns in real life ....

not a fake gun on a make believe movie set using a prop as part of a scene.

and again ... it's not the actor's responsibility to check the gun. It's the first AD and the armorer.

And didn't the actual director instruct him to point the gun toward the camera?

This is the bi-product of a young kid serving as an armorer (who are mostly ex-military / law enforcement grown ups) ... she had little to no experience and was a pawn in trying to save money.

It's a terrible tragedy and will heighten awareness on future productions, which in the end is a good thing.

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im curious what legal requirement California has for said handling of onset firearms. if it is solely the responsibility of the armorer and their department then they wouldnt have any grounds to charge Baldwin.

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Well, California doesn't have jurisdiction in New Mexico where this happened so...

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not a fake gun on a make believe movie set using a prop as part of a scene.

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The gun wasn't fake, though.

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It was a replica with dummy rounds and apparently a lead bullet.

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No, it was a real handgun that was used to shoot earlier.

And, you clearly know nothing about firearms.

I can buy and shoot lead ammo if I want.

That isn’t abnormal.

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For a rehearsal it should have been a rubber dummy.

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He should have checked the firearm before he pointed it at another human.

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I said he deliberately pointed a loaded weapon at her and pulled the trigger.

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He unknowingly pointed a loaded weapon. Big difference. He deliberately pointed what he thought was a prop weapon.

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Brandon Lee was also killed with a blank

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He was actually killed by a squib load

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In the film shoot preceding the fatal scene, the gun that was used as a prop (a real revolver) was loaded with improperly made dummy rounds, improvised from live cartridges that had the powder charges removed by the special effects crew, so in close-ups the revolver would show normal-looking ammunition. However, the crew neglected to remove the primers from the cartridges, and at some point before the fatal event, one of the rounds had been fired. Although there were no powder charges, the energy from the ignited primer was enough to separate the bullet from the casing and push it part-way into the gun barrel, where it got stuck—a dangerous condition known as a squib load.

During the fatal scene, which called for the revolver to be fired at Lee from a distance of 3.6–4.5 meters (12–15 ft), the dummy cartridges were replaced with blank rounds, which contained a powder charge and the primer, but no solid bullet, allowing the gun to be fired with sound and flash effects without the risk of an actual projectile. However, the gun was not properly checked and cleared before the blank was fired, and the dummy bullet previously lodged in the barrel was then propelled forward by the blank's propellant and shot out the muzzle with almost the same force as if the round were live, striking Lee in the abdomen

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His was a 1 in a-million accident. A lot different than pointing a gun at someone during rehearsal and pulling the trigger.

The fact that Baldwin didn't double-check a gun handed to him makes him more liable than the armorer IMO. You ALWAYS double-check the gun if you are the one handling it. Again, that is one of the first lessons in any gun safety class.

certainly not hero worship on my end. I work with bigger (and nicer) actors/directors regularly.

to be clear:

- it is NOT the Actor's responsibility to physically clear a weapon. That is a liability issue in its own right ... this is done in front of the actor and 1st AD by a trained, licensed armorer when using real guns.
- a dummy prop should have been used during rehearsal
- the producers in this case will get the blame including Baldwin for lack of production control and questionable money saving tactics.
- all on set safety rules are generated by union and studio guidelines regardless of what state you are working in. Criminal laws of course relative to where you are filming.

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to be clear:

- it is NOT the Actor's responsibility to physically clear a weapon

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To be clear, actors don't get to live by a special set of laws.