At the moment, Alec Baldwin is facing charges for involuntary manslaughter for the incident that occurred on the set of “Rust” in October 2021.
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On Tuesday, Michael Shannon provided an actor’s perspective of how the shoot should have been handled.
Michael Shannon – Says Some People On The Set Of “Rust” Were Not Qualified
On Tuesday, Jan. 25, the “Bullet Train” actor spoke to The Chicago Tribune and addressed the onset accident that could see Alec Baldwin doing time behind bars.
During the chat, he made it clear that there were proper regulations on how firearms should be handled on set that was ignored. “If you have guns in your movie, that’s no place to cut corners. The person on Rust clearly was not qualified for the job.”
“She should not have been there,” Shannon, 48, said referencing “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who is also facing two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the October 2021 on-set death of Halyna Hutchins.
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Shannon then revealed that he stands with SAG-AFTRA’s recent statement that “an actor’s job is not to be a firearms or weapons expert” on set, noting that “if it were up to the actor to determine whether a firearm is safe or not, you wouldn’t need an armorer in the first place.”
“Being an armorer is a hard job, a demanding job, and I have nothing but respect for them,” he told the Tribune.
Michael Shannon – Feels “Terrible” For Everyone On The Set Of “Rust” Production
Shannon clarified that the most deadly mistake was Baldwin not checking the firearm to make sure there was no bullet in it.
“With Rust, before that gun went into his hand, [Baldwin] should have seen with his own eyes there was nothing in it,” Shannon said, explaining that it was typical procedure, though it’s yet unclear whether Badlwin himself had prior knowledge of these procedures.
Shannon then said that it was the armorer’s job to tell actors on set whether the firearm they are handing over is empty, or has decoy or dummy rounds in it.
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“You never settle for walking up to an actor and handing the gun over without showing them what’s inside of it,” he told the outlet. “Ever.”
“I’m not condemning Alec. I feel horrible for the guy,” Shannon, who wasn’t in any way involved with “Rust’s” production, added. “It’s a nightmare. I feel terrible for everyone on that production.”
“But this is what happens when you lowball and cut corners and hire people that may not be qualified, and pay them next to nothing, and make the movie on the cheap,” he wondered.
Elsewhere in the interview, the Oscar nominee made it clear that actors should never “put [their] finger in the trigger hole” of a firearm “unless you’re going for a take.”
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