That’s how a single action should work. The armorer should have tested dropping the hammer (with a blank) before bringing it onto the set. I would certainly expect all the weapons are thoroughly tested before they are ever brought to the set.
I agree that Baldwin didn’t do anything wrong. He said (in tonight’s interview) the DP gave him directions while they framed the shot. Getting the right camera angle. It was a routine rehearsal.
Years ago, my father used to host a monthly black powder rendezvous at which muzzleloading firearm enthusiasts would target-shoot. I have seen a cap and ball revolver chain-fire when an insufficient amount of grease was used to seal off all the chambers in a cylinder. All six bullets fired off near-simultaneously, making a big craka-craka-boom noise, producing a big cloud of smoke, bursting apart the cylinder and trigger assembly of the pistol, and leaving the shooter with a slightly singed hand and a very surprised expression. No one was really injured, luckily.
I’d need to change my underwear afterwards.
Maybe his finger slipped before it quite reached the half-cocked position.
He’s an actor. While he could well be sincere and compassionate he could also easily fake it.
I also took it to mean reloading but thought it strange that the armorer didn’t have a supply ready for the rehearsal. Doesn’t sound like the armorer was very organized.
Yes, but if he doesn’t want people to talk about his tweets and interviews there’s a way around that.
If Baldwin talks and tweets people will talk about him and make judgements.
If Baldwin doesn’t talk or tweet people will talk about him and make judgements.
It’s part of being a celebrity.
I don’t see where it says she was making blanks or dummies on set. I see it says she was reloading the gun on set, and I see talk of bullets being “assembled from parts” in general, but not on set.
Ok. Maybe not slipping, but this appears to be what happened according to transcripts of Baldwin’s interview.
“[I pulled] the hammer as far back as I could without cocking the actual gun,”
“I’m just showing. I go, ‘How ‘bout that? Does that work? You see that? Do you see that?’ and then she goes, ’ Yeah, that’s good.’ I let go of the hammer, bang! The gun goes off.”
If you assume the news media doesn’t understand what they’re reporting on then it’s about reloading the blanks. the assumption is based on the idea that she wouldn’t have a problem loading a round into the gun but might have problems with the cartridge reloading process which she previously professed concern over in the last movie she worked on.
If they were videoing the shot for later reference then it will show where Baldwin’s finger was. If it was on the trigger then it’s likely it was depressed enough to allow the trigger to snap forward and fire the gun.
They weren’t filming yet.
No trigger needed for this old style of gun. There is nothing preventing the hammer from hitting the primer even without a trigger pull.
This guy (youtube) has to hold the trigger down while he slaps the hammer, but that’s just so the cylinder will advance
ETA: That’s not to say this takes away all liability from Baldwin. By his own words, he admits to letting the hammer drop on a freakin’ gun while it was pointed towards someone. Sure, a more modern firearm requires a trigger pull and he can claim ignorance regarding this old style single action revolver, but still…
You were replying to a quote about “assembly from parts”, this phrase has nothing to do with what happened on set that day, it was a quote from a supplier of firearms and ammunition to the film.
I think they are investigating if the ammo got mixed at the supplier.
Seems very unlikely but he did say there was a left over box from a different film.
I’d expect that Kenney stores prop ammo completely away from live rounds. I wouldn’t allow them in the same warehouse. Who knows what Seth Kenny did.
He seems focused on safety.
For those of you who don’t understand how that gun works:
I don’t think that guy likes Alec Baldwin very much.
Baldwin says he pulled it back as far as he could without cocking the gun. As in, he didn’t get to the half-cock position. The guy in the video didn’t address what would happen if you pull back the hammer a little bit without reaching the half-cock position and then let go which is what Alec Baldwin is describing. (Spoiler: that kind of gun can fire)
But would that produce enough energy to ignite the bullet?
Well, I know people routinely kept the chamber underneath the firing pin empty so the gun wouldn’t go off unexpectedly while being dropped or even just handled.
So, maybe not 100% of the time, but a lot of unlikely things had to happen for this tragedy to occur.
I’m not convinced it changes Baldwin’s culpability much if his finger was outside the trigger guard the whole time or whether it was holding the trigger down the whole time so he could manipulate the hammer while checking camera angles.
Jim Beaver, who’s been in everything, had this to say:
I know nothing about the Rust shooting and what blame is to be placed, as I was not there and do not have access to evidence. But as to the mocking of Alec Baldwin’s claim that the gun went off without his pulling the trigger, I offer this:
I shot myself in the leg with a blank on a show due to a worn sear in the hammer mechanism. I cocked it as I drew it from my holster and it went off in the holster before my finger got anywhere near the trigger. It’s not at all uncommon with old single-action revolvers.
I won’t judge @AlecBaldwln____ for this statement. I still carry the scar from it happening to me.
I also won’t further argue the shooting with people who weren’t there or who don’t have access to the evidence. Nor should anyone, in my humble opinion.
Beaver’s been in everything and I believe he also served in the Marines.