Thread by @MagnaCarpira

@nytimes Thread:
There's a few things ppl in the comments seem to be unclear on, and it's leading them to say very disrespectful things, intentionally or not.
1: Actors are NOT supposed to check the gun. In fact, they're not supposed to do ANYTHING with the gun unless directed to.

@nytimes Would you rather have an actor with literally 0 firearms experience check the gun, or a firearms expert? Thought so.

2: This was likely supposed to be a closeup in which Baldwin would fire just to the side of the camera, which would be where the DP and Director would be sitting.

@nytimes That's how you get "fire into the camera" shots.

3: Blanks ARE DANGEROUS. Prop guns ARE GUNS. ANYTHING with that much explosive powder is dangerous. If any tiny pieces of shrapnel get in or are left in the chamber, those effectively become bullets, and they do NOT fly straight.

@nytimes These are blanks. As you can see, they're literally just bullets without the tip. They can leave shrapnel in the barrel. They should only be handled with extreme care, however, most actors don't have the knowhow to judge if the gun is safe, and therefore that's left up to experts

@nytimes 4: Safety measures are to be taken to make fatalities impossible, and they were not followed. That is NOT Baldwin's responsibility, he did what he was told. Who IS responsible is the prop and weapons experts AND the production safety coordinator. They may all be the same person.

@nytimes The gun is supposed to be checked for any shrapnel, live ammunition, or defects before being handed to the actor. The crew is never supposed to be in the line of fire, and are usually supposed to be behind shields that protect them even from diagonally traveling shrapnel.

@nytimes Unless it comes out otherwise (which, judging from the information we have, it probably won't), this is entirely on the fault of the safety coordinators and weapons experts who were, for lack of a better term, slacking on the job on this one.

@nytimes Accidents like this should be impossible. That's why we HAVE experts.
Baldwin was handed a gun and told what to do. That's not his fault unless there's evidence it was (no, a light criminal record that makes most 15 year olds look like gangbangers is NOT evidence it was.)

@nytimes I hate that bad journalism makes distinctions like this necessary. It turns what should be a time to exclusively give condolences to all those affected into a time to go on a technical explainy rant about safety.
This all should have been THOROUGHLY explained by the NYT.

@nytimes The deceased was the director of photography (cinematographer), whose job is as important as the director
Her name was Halyna Hutchins, and my heart goes out to her, her family, and her friends
My heart also goes out to the injured director, Joel Souza, and his family and friends

@nytimes And, of course, my heart goes out to Alec Baldwin, who had no reason to believe his actions weren't completely safe, as they were all cleared by professionals who were supposed to prevent things like this. Living with this isn't going to be easy on anyone involved.

@nytimes Yes, it's important to hold judgements until after all the facts come out, but don't you think it's more important to NOT label people as murderers for something that clearly wasn't their fault?
All evidence points to this being a genuine accident. "Murder" is a heavy accusation

@nytimes Oh lovely "Manslaughter" is trending because ppl seriously believe that Alec Baldwin is at fault here. Ppl are even making random shit up to try to make it look predetermined.
I wish the ppl acting in bad faith a very merry shut up.

@nytimes Okay so I'm confused, how do ya'll THINK ppl get shots of actors firing guns? Like, did you think the guns were CG'd in? Whaddu you think is happening here that you're under the impression it's unusual for an actor to be pointing a prop gun near someone during a shoot?

@nytimes Update: More information has come out since I wrote this.
Baldwin was shooting with inexperienced non-union staff, which was a shortcut he took after a strike.
This is a lesson in how you should NEVER cut corners with safety. EVER.
latimes.com/entertainment-…

@nytimes Baldwin himself wasn't entirely aware of the extent of the problem, and was being given false information. However, managers on set were told multiple times about issues, and if the information made it to Baldwin, he neglected it.
nytimes.com/2021/10/21/us/…

@nytimes Baldwin was thinking he could save time and money by cutting out the union staff during a strike. When gun safety is involved, decisions to cut corners are, quite literally, fatal, and he should NEVER have cut these corners. PERIOD. Do NOT cut gun safety corners.

@nytimes If he heard about the issues and didn't act, that's horrible on his part. If the information wasn't being given to him, that's horrible on, y'know, everyone else's part.
We know where the blame lies, we just don't know to what extent the blame is shared between everyone.

@nytimes We're not the ones who get to decide between criminal neglect and manslaughter in cases like this, and commentating further on that is disrespectful to everyone involved.

@nytimes It was a preventable, tragic accident caused by mistakes that frankly can only be made by bad people, but still an accident.
Let the families deal with this and support their decisions. Don't go on a crusade on their behalf, they have enough to deal with and you aren't helping.

@nytimes

https://twitter.com/MagnaCarpira/status/1451708891260203013

@nytimes

https://twitter.com/MagnaCarpira/status/1451708891260203013