Halyna Hutchins’ tragic death on the set of ‘Rust’ sparks conversation on film safety protocols

Halyna Hutchins was accidentally shot and killed when actor and producer Alec Baldwin accidentally discharged a prop gun on the set of “Rust.” Unsplash

Trigger warning: gun violence

Tragedy struck the film industry last Monday Oct. 21 when Halyna Hutchins, the director of photography on an indie western film “Rust,” was shot and killed by a prop gun that was accidentally discharged by actor and producer Alec Baldwin.

Hutchins, 42, is survived by her husband and son. She graduated with a master of fine arts degree from American Film Institute (AFI) and worked on films such as “Archenemy,” “Darlin’” and “The Mad Hatter.” In 2019, she was honored as a rising star of cinematography by American Cinematographer magazine.

Edward Lavelle, a producing professor for Dodge College of Film and Media Arts who also studied at AFI, expressed sympathy for Hutchins. He teaches a required introductory course on set management for production students, which entails a lengthy discussion on set safety within the first few days of class.

Halyna Hutchins was only 42-years-old at the time of her passing and had an expansive career in cinematography. WikiCommons

“I don’t know (Hutchins) personally, but it just makes me sad, because I know where she came from, and I know that her training would say that she probably saw that things were going on,” Lavelle said. “But because she’s one of the key members of the team, maybe she just wanted to power through and just do her best to keep things rolling.”

The news came just under a week after Hollywood crew members struck a tentative deal between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTF) and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), a union for film industry professionals that called for safer and fairer working conditions. The crew on “Rust” is currently being scrutinized for their mishandling of the situation, which is being echoed by the camera team — who walked off set days before the shooting because of alleged disregard of safety protocols.

The film’s first assistant director, who handed the loaded gun to Baldwin, and the armorer, who is responsible for firearms on set, could face potential charges for Hutchins’ death. 

“It is so terrible, it is so bad, and specifically, it is so timely,” said Dan Counihan, a senior film production major at Chapman who has had many experiences as a first assistant director — a position that entails being head of safety on a film set. “Everyone’s talking about how (they’ve) ‘been in such terrible, unsafe situations on set,’ but there was no real concrete, sensationalized example of that. And then as soon as (IATSE) reached an agreement (with AMPTF), that’s when (the Oct. 21 incident) happened.”

Hutchins’ death is not an isolated incident. Brandon Lee, Bruce Lee’s son, was also killed by a prop gun on the set of “The Crow” in 1993. In Lavelle’s set management course, students learn about an incident closer to home — a student from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts who was electrocuted and killed while shooting a student project in 2009.

“You just have to mitigate as many big screw-ups as possible and really assure that people will be as safe as they possibly can be; that’s all you can do,” Counihan said when asked about his assistant directing experience. “Because film, at large, is a dangerous and super intensive career as it is, and nobody is doing film because it’s an easy job at all.”

In order for a prop gun to be used in a Dodge film, students must get approval from both the production manager and the campus fire and safety manager, Mark Davis. Unlike the gun from “Rust,” operable prop guns are not permitted on Chapman’s student films.

“We’ve turned people away because a lot of times they like to bring in air rifles or pistols because they look so authentic now,” Davis said. “But we won’t allow even a BB (gun). We won’t allow anything that can fire a projectile, so they have to come back with something else.”

The Fire and Life Safety Division at Chapman was created specifically for the film school and works closely with SAFFE, the Safety Advisory for Fire and FX in Entertainment. Davis said the Fire and Life Safety Division works in conjunction with SAFFE to closely evaluate injuries and deaths, like Hutchins’, in order to understand what went wrong and how to better handle similar situations in the future.

“Everyone should be aware of any issues on set, whether it’s a stunt, some type of weapons usage (or) whatever it may be, you have to make sure these things are in place even if they appear so small,” Lavelle said. “You always have to do what you can to take care of everyone on your set.”

Despite the recent tragedy, Lavelle and Counihan both expressed continued trust in the safety protocols that Dodge has in place for its film production students. Lavelle went as far as to say he believes the majority of the industry observes and respects productions in a proper manner. However, he also concedes there is still room for improvement.

“I think, through the years, it’s gotten way better — even unscripted programming,” Lavelle said. “I think we’ve come a long way since the early 2000s. But I think it’s up to us to go even further.”