Alec Baldwin Sued Over Fatal Shooting

Now it begins.

Actor and producer of the film Rust Alec Baldwin is being sued over the on-set shooting that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza.

Japan Today reported:

Los Angeles - U.S. actor Alec Baldwin is being sued by a "Rust" crew member over the fatal on-set shooting of a cinematographer last month, lawyers said Wednesday.

The negligence suit also names armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who claimed through her legal representatives that she was being "framed" for the death of Halyna Hutchins.

The low-budget movie's chief lighting technician Serge Svetnoy says in the lawsuit that the accidental killing "was caused by the negligent acts and omissions" of lead actor and producer Baldwin and others.

"Simply put, there was no reason for a live bullet to be placed in that .45 Colt revolver or to be present anywhere on the 'Rust' set, and the presence of a bullet in a revolver posed a lethal threat to everyone in its vicinity," the suit, submitted to a Los Angeles court, says.

Baldwin, assistant director Dave Halls and Gutierrez-Reed did not follow film industry practice on the handling of weapons and "allowed a revolver loaded with live ammunition to be pointed at living persons," the suit alleges.

Cinematographer Hutchins was shot and killed as Baldwin rehearsed a scene on the 19th-century western in which he fires a gun at the camera.

To read more, go here. 

Criminal Charges ‘On the Table’ in Alec Baldwin Shooting

Above, Alec Baldwin at the 2016 Comic Con. Photo by Gage Skidmore.

Alec Baldwin and others on the set of Rust may be charged criminally for the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and the wounding of director Joel Souza.

According to an article in The Epoch Times:

The shooting on the set for the film “Rust” may result in criminal charges, said a New Mexico district attorney.

District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies told the New York Times that officials are still investigating and “haven’t ruled out anything” on whether charges could be filed.

Last week, actor Alec Baldwin was rehearsing a scene on the set of the Western film near Santa Fe when he discharged a loaded gun, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin, who is also the film’s executive producer, hasn’t been charged in the incident.

“Everything at this point, including criminal charges, is on the table,” Carmack-Altwies told the NY Times. “There were an enormous amount of bullets on this set, and we need to find out what kinds they were,” she added.

To read more, go here. 

Alec Baldwin Should Have Practiced Jeff Cooper's "Rules of Gun Safety"

Above, John Dean "Jeff" Cooper was a United States Marine, the creator of
 the "modern technique" of handgun shooting, and an expert on the use and
 history of small arms.

More reports are coming out involving Alec Baldwin's shooting incident that killed a cinematographer and wounded a director.

He was told that the gun was "cold", yet that "prop" gun was used earlier for some plinking. Once someone hands over a gun to another, the recipient has the responsibility to check it before anything is done with it.

The late Jeff Cooper, who founded Gunsite Academy in Arizona, had "Rules of Gun Safety". Baldwin would never be in his current predicament had he studied and lived by Cooper's Rule 1.

RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED

There are no exceptions. Do not pretend that this is true. Some people and organizations take this rule and weaken it; e.g. "Treat all guns as if they were loaded." Unfortunately, the "as if" compromises the directness of the statement by implying that they are unloaded, but we will treat them as though they are loaded. No good! Safety rules must be worded forcefully so that they are never treated lightly or reduced to partial compliance.

All guns are always loaded - period!

This must be your mind-set. If someone hands you a firearm and says, "Don't worry, it's not loaded," you do not dare believe him. You need not be impolite, but check it yourself. Remember, there are no accidents, only negligent acts. Check it. Do not let yourself fall prey to a situation where you might feel compelled to squeal, "I didn't know it was loaded!"

This is a good opportunity for everyone, gun enthusiasts/owners or not, to review and save.

To read all of Jeff Cooper's "Rules of Gun Safety", go here.

Live Rounds In "Prop" Baldwin Gun That Killed Cinematographer

Above, actor Alec Baldwin.

Details on the movie set fatal shooting that killed a cinematographer and wounded a director are coming out.

The New York Times reported:

SANTA FE — On a ranch in northern New Mexico, where the cottonwoods and the dusty foothills have formed the backdrop of Westerns since the 1950s, Alec Baldwin was filming a new movie on Thursday afternoon when his character, an outlaw, needed a gun.

An assistant director grabbed one of three prop guns that the film’s armorer had set up outside on a gray cart, handed it to Mr. Baldwin, and, according to an affidavit signed by Detective Joel Cano of the Santa Fe County sheriff’s office,  yelled “Cold Gun!” — which was supposed to indicate that the gun did not have any live rounds in it.

When Mr. Baldwin fired the gun, law enforcement officials said, it struck and killed the film’s cinematographer and wounded its director — and raised new questions about firearms safety on film sets.

The assistant director “did not know live rounds were in the prop-gun” when he gave it to Mr. Baldwin, according to the affidavit, which was made as part of a search warrant application. The affidavit did not specify what kind of ammunition the gun had been loaded with.    

The results were deadly: Halyna Hutchins, 42, the film’s director of photography, was struck in the chest and flown to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, where she died, officials said. Joel Souza, 48, the film’s director, was shot in the shoulder area and wounded; he was taken to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe and later released.

I find it incredible that live rounds were even at the movie location and that they found their way into a "prop" gun. Talk about gross negligence.

To read more, go here. 

Alec Baldwin Shoots Two, Kills One On Movie Set

Above, actor Alec Baldwin.

Shades of Brandon Lee!

Yahoo! News reported:

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities are investigating after confirming that a prop firearm discharged by actor Alec Baldwin, while producing and starring in a Western movie, killed the cinematographer and wounded the director.

Santa Fe County Sheriff’s officials said Halyna Hutchins, cinematographer on the movie “Rust,” and director Joel Souza were shot Thursday on the rustic film set in the desert on the southern outskirts of Santa Fe.

Hutchins, 42, was airlifted to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where she was pronounced dead by medical personnel, the sheriff's department said.

How in hell does one shoot the director and the cinematographer on a set with a gun loaded with blanks unless at very close range and fooling around? I can see one person getting accidentally killed or wounded, but two? I can't imagine any other scenario for this. It will be interesting to see what the investigation uncovers of the circumstances of this tragedy. 

To read more, go here.

Also from Yahoo! News:

The term “blank’ is a shorthand version of the full term, blank cartridge. Notice I said cartridge and not bullet. A cartridge is a unit of ammunition fed into the barrel of a gun comprised of several parts: The casing (sometimes called a shell); propellant material (gunpowder) inside the shell; a primer on the bottom of the cartridge; and at the tip of the cartridge, the actual projectile (bullet) itself.

When you pull the trigger, the firing pin strikes the primer, igniting the gunpowder, causing an explosion of superhot gasses that propels the bullet out of the barrel. The shell casing is then expelled from the gun as a new cartridge is loaded into the chamber,

A blank is a cartridge that has all of that except for the projectile at the tip. Instead the tip is crimped or otherwise sealed with paper wadding or wax to hold in the gunpowder. Which means, theoretically, when you pull the trigger, you’ll get the bang, recoil, muzzle flash, and an ejected shell, without the deadly supersonic bullet ending whatever you pointed the gun at.

But, remember when we mentioned muzzle flash and superheated gas? That is still very much being expelled from the gun. And bullet or no bullet, that means anything near the end of that barrel is in danger.

 To read more, go here.

Angie Harmon Is Not A Racist For Opposing Obama

Actress Angie Harmon has been attacked by Obama supporters (or drones) for not supporting Obama. Many have accused her of being 'racist'.

Pop Tarts over at FoxNews.com reported:

"Here's my problem with this, I'm just going to come out and say it. If I have anything to say against Obama it's not because I'm a racist, it's because I don't like what he's doing as President and anybody should be able to feel that way, but what I find now is that if you say anything against him you're called a racist," Harmon said at last Thursday’s Los Angeles launch of a new eyelash-growing formula, Latisse.

"But it has nothing to do with it, I don’t care what color he is. I’m just not crazy about what he's doing and I heard all about this, and he’s gonna do that and change and change, so okay … I'm still dressing for a recession over here buddy and we've got unemployment at an all-time high and that was his number one thing and that's the thing I really don't appreciate. If I'm going to disagree with my President, that doesn't make me a racist. If I was to disagree with W, that doesn't make me racist. It has nothing to do with it, it is ridiculous."

It is a rare thing these days for Hollywood celebrities to come out politically with positions that are opposite of that the prevailing political thinking is, especially by someone of a new generation of celebrity. It is grossly unfair to disagree with someone and be labeled a racist for doing so.

Hollywood has long been a hotbed of liberal/leftist politics. There are some liberals who do, on occasion, tell the truth. Last year, Hollywood liberal Alec Baldwin hit the ceiling when Wall Street melted down. Only he directed his ire at the Democrats in Congress, particularly at Rep. Barney Frank and Sen. Christopher Dodd for being instrumental in the problems of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with their subprime mortgage loans.

In my view, celebrities' political views shouldn't carry any more weight than does the political positions of the boxgirls at the local supermarket. But due to their celebrity status and easy access to the media, they spout their political views as their first amendment right. It doesn't really matter that some of these celebrities don't know what in blazes they're talking about. They are simply taking advantage of an audience.

Really, who cares what Hollywood libs Debra Messing or Mandy Moore think? (Except, maybe, for a good laugh, perhaps.) Or even Angie Harmon? Despite disagreements, each has the right to express their opinions.

But it takes real political courage for someone to go against the Hollywood grain. Many have had their careers suffer as a result. So a big kudos to Angie Harmon!

Alec Baldwin Blames Democrats For Wall Street Mess

Actor Alec Baldwin, a noted liberal activist, finally got something right for a change.

He appeared on HBO's "Real Time" and said this about the Wall Street debacle:

The, the thing we have to remember, a friend of mine who is very close to the financial community in New York pointed out that Democrats have a lot of the responsibility for this as well. I mean, it was Clinton who killed the Glass-Steagall, and it happened under a Democratic president. Barney Frank and his committee, they, they kept propping up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saying everything's fine, everything's fine, everything's good. And it was his job to know everything wasn't fine. And Barney Frank let you down and let us down as well. And so, but I want to say there's blame to go both ways. But I will say, I want to, I maybe keep beating this to death, but I still think anyone in this Congress who voted to add $140 billion to that bill, they should be ashamed of themselves. That is a disgrace. It's a disgrace. This Congress is a disgrace, Democrat and Republican.

If a guy like Alec Baldwin can recognize the Democrats' culpability, then why can't the MSM?