Guns and Hollywood

 The fatal shooting last Thursday on the set of actor, Alec Baldwin's movie, Rust has brought up questions about guns and Hollywood. Specifically, is there a need for actual, real guns on set? 

On October 21st, production was underway on location in Santa Fe, New Mexico on the western film, and actor Alec Baldwin was handed what he thought was a "cold gun." A "cold gun" is a term used in Hollywood when a firearm being worked with on set is not loaded with live ammunition. Sadly, this was not the case and the weapon was in fact loaded. When Baldwin pulled the trigger, it went off resulting in the death of Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and injuring director, Joel Souza. An investigation is now underway by both law enforcement as well as the production company to find out what went wrong.

Accidents like this raise the question of if live guns should still be permitted on set. With advancements in technology regarding effects and CGI, there is much that can be accomplished in post-production. While it may add to a project's budget and time, it removes risks of injury and death during filming. 

This isn't of course the only gun-related accident on a set. Back in March 1993, actor Brandon Lee was killed when he was shot in the abdomen while filming a scene for the movie, The Crow. A makeshift bullet was erroneously left in a gun used from a previous scene, which then struck Lee. He later died after six hours of surgery. And, in 1984, actor Jon-Erik Hexum fatally shot himself in the head with a gun loaded with blanks on the set of the TV series, Cover Up.

That's not to mention a number of other accidents on movie and TV sets through the years, including one of the worst in history during the filming of The Twilight Zone movie. A helicopter crash killed actor Vic Morrow and two child actors in 1982 after explosions staged during the scene damaged the copters rotor. The aircraft fell into the water, decapitating Morrow and the two children instantly. Director John Landis and four others were acquitted of involuntary manslaughter and federal agencies enacted new rules for filming with helicopters.

With all the accidents, especially deaths occurring on sets of movies and television shows, there needs to be more safety measures in effect. Just like the new rules after the fatal Twilight Zone helicopter disaster, the use of firearms needs to be changed. No one should lose their life on while filming something that is meant for entertainment.

What do you think?

Are new safety measures needed for the use of firearms on set? Should live weapons be banned from being used during filming?