Has a list of the names of the chain-of-command that resulted in the hire of the not-so-qualified armorer been made public?
Have they been placed on leave, and all of their interactions with the movie/TV industry frozen pending the investigation into the death of the woman on the movie set?
If a full investigation of the event reveals that the armorer played a major role in the death, will they be permanently black-listed in Hollywood and the mainstream media industry?
Of course the industry wants one, neat scapegoat to hang all of the responsibility on but the armorer did not hire herself.
My impression of Hollywood is that it is primarily motivated by factors other than competence. Physical appearance, whose your daddy, intersectional victimology score, where you went to school and so on. This event is a reminder that competence matters. It should also be a reminder that management is also responsible for outcomes that result from not making competence their foremost criterion.
It is called "An Object Lesson"
The Armorer does bear some responsibility for what happened. If they had done their job correctly nobody COULD have been harmed.
ReplyDeleteThat in NO WAY relieves Alec Baldwin of his culpability nor the need for the DA to charge him for Involuntary Manslaughter. He violated multiple rules of safe firearm use and that resulted in a needless death. He should have verified the status of the weapon....if he didn't know how it was incumbent upon him to ASK how to do so. He pointed that weapon directly at the victim...the ONLY way she could have been struck. Another violation of the rules of safety. And he PULLED THE TRIGGER....why would he feel it necessary to discharge the firearm if they weren't ACTIVELY FILMING A SCENE.
So while the Armorer and perhaps the AD who handed Baldwin the weapon should be held accountable it was HIS willful act of pulling back the hammer, pointing the weapon and pulling the trigger that was the DIRECT cause of a death. And INTENT is irrelevant when it comes to Involuntary Manslaughter. If you or I or any other mere mundane had done this we would already be behind bars staring at charges. That is where Alec Baldwin NEEDS to be.
Blame lays at the feet of more than one.
ReplyDeleteNone of the blame the armorer bears diminishes the blame Baldwin bears.
I really would like to know why a live round was even on the property. Why would it be within miles of the set?
I'd sure like to see that armorer load that pistol.
I do NOT dispute either comment.
ReplyDeleteI want to point out that the industry will attempt to firewall the damage by taking out the "least important" person as an attempt to appease the public and Congress.
I also want to point out that Alex Baldwin is the PRODUCER of the movie and is in the aforementioned chain-of-command.
The key is to not let the armorer go down alone. If she is incompetent, then the people instrumental in putting her in that position are also criminally incompetent and are also culpable.
He's a producer, not necessarily the producer.
DeleteThe Unit Production Manager hires armorers, sometimes in consultation with the Prop Master, sometimes not.
The Four Rules, as such, mean dick on a movie set, per se.
When you film Saving Private Ryan scenes in your back yard, we can talk.
The only person entirely responsible for weapon safety on set is the prop master or armorer, by custom, practice, and industry black-letter requirement.
It would literally be illegal for Baldwin to take responsibility in any way, for any number of reasons most nitwits cannot or will not, comprehend.
Actors act.
Armorers check weapons.
Period.
End of discussion.
Anyone trying to argue that point is psychotically deranged, or being deliberately retarded.
Does anyone hoot and holler "special rules" when a surgeon takes a knife and cuts you open like a fish?
Of course not.
There are "special rules" for "special places", and a movie set is one of them.
You walk into bank in a costume, with a machine gun, you get 25 years in federal prison.
Heath Ledger does it, and he gets an Academy Award nomination.
Case closed.
There are certainly other people in the production with culpability, but Baldwin's is minimal, and civil only, not criminal, no matter how many scalded monkeys shriek and howl about that reality.
Get over it.
He was handed a weapon not supposed to be loaded, not supposed to hold a live round, that was neither.
If I hand you a potato, and you put it in the microwave, and it turns out to be a bomb, and it detonates, is that your fault, or mine?
Duh.
This isn't about "getting away with it" it's called someone had a job to do, and she failed at it in about 7 specific ways, and she alone got someone killed.
Unless you have video of the UPM, or Baldwin, telling her to be an incompetent twit and kill people, she owns this, at about 100% of the bundle.
Anything to the contrary is simply psychosis, and refusal to face the facts.
Comments duly noted.
DeleteThanks for reading and thanks for commenting.
Rumor has it that your name in real-life is bin-Dare Doondat and your wife's maiden name is Gretta deShirt
Wrong.
DeleteEvery shooter is always responsible for the triggers they pull.
Always.
How is this even debatable, and how in the world do people get this way?
This is Hollywood, if you're not Actor, or Money, then you're 'little people'. Therefore, disposable.
ReplyDeleteLook at how long Weinstein (Money) was bangin' the young pop tarts and got away with it. People knew.
Even with a good sacrificial lamb AB is not going to get off this one. Criminal charges, probably not*, but guaranteed lawyers are already spooling up for the civil suits. Plural
*no doubt there's political pressure from the state to local, reminding them of all the hollywood filming $$ that come in.
p.s. I'm awaiting the conspiracy theory that a disgruntled crew member slipped a live round into the weapon.
Since the Producer was aware that several cast members walked off the job because of an unsafe work environment, the Producer is at fault for NOT following industry standards.
ReplyDeletePrior to AB committing manslaughter, there were 3 negligent discharges that show the pattern of poor weapons control on this low budget shit show.
Several obvious violations of the Four Gun Safety RULES. Flaunt them at your peril.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't read Aesop's comments on the whole mess, you might want to. You may or may not be persuaded but I eventually was. I think the end result will be that the armorer will do some time in prison and Baldwin will be sued into poverty.
ReplyDeleteOpie Odd
I've read Aesop's comments, and his post over at his blog. I appreciate his expertise and his opinion on the industry.
ReplyDeleteBut...
The industry set up standards for safety in such matters. Shot-em-up westerns are a staple of the industry. Certainly the armorer and the production crew screwed up. That will all me interesting testimony at the civil suits that are sure to follow.
I'm no lawyer, but I am a retired cop with tons of experience in such maters. I have reviewed the applicable criminal statutes. I have not found anything in those statutes that says, "except on a movie set." That is Baldwin's problem. The industry has standards to keep people safe, when those standards break down, the cops look to the law. A woman is dead, we know who pulled the trigger.
Were I the lead investigator in this case, Baldwin would have been Mirandized, and would probably be in jail pending bond.
Ever notice that when someone says "end of discussion" they only mean "end of your side of the discussion" and then invariably drone on in their monologue that we are not allowed to criticise.
ReplyDeleteWhy would the term "hot gun" be used on a movie set?
ReplyDelete