'Rust' Production Staffer Made T-Shirts To Ridicule Camera Crew Before Halyna Hutchins Was Killed In Accidental Shooting
New details have emerged regarding the unsettling atmosphere on the Rust set in the weeks before the Director of Photography was shot dead with a prop gun.
Halyna Hutchins, 42, was working on the set when Alec Baldwin accidentally fired a fatal shot to her chest with a prop gun that was supposed to be loaded with blank rounds. The film’s director, Joel Souza, was also injured during the incident.
Baldwin, 63, along with other production members involved with handling the prop weapons, are now being investigated by Santa Fe law enforcement to determine who is responsible for the deadly mixup.
While it is currently unclear what exactly went wrong on the scene, new details regarding the tension on set of the Western film have since come to light following the October 21 shooting.
According to a report from The Los Angeles Times, members of the camera crew were mocked after making complaints about the conditions of the movie set. One production staffer even went as far as to make custom T-shirts to further make a joke about the issue.
According to an assistant camerawoman, Lane Luper, crew members reportedly became unhappy after they were told by production that they would be put up near the filming location in Santa Fe. However, the hotel location was later switched to Albuquerque, giving the crew nearly an hour-long commute every day.
The outlet also reported that the production officer not only laughed off the complaints, but one staffer even ordered T-shirts to ridicule the crew members that read: “Error 404: Housing Not Found” and “ABQ is an hour away.”
As OK! previously reported, a group of camera crew members walked out weeks before Hutchins was fatally shot to protest against the working conditions on the New Mexico set.
- Santa Fe Sheriff Believes Nobody Is 'Off The Hook' For 'Rust' Shooting After Alec Baldwin Claims To Be 'Exonerated'
- Santa Fe Sheriff Admits Alec Baldwin, Assistant Director David Halls & Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Are 'The Focus Of Investigation' In 'Rust' Shooting
- 'Rust' Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's Attorney Addresses 'Some Untruths,' States The 'Set Would Never Have Been Compromised If Live Ammo Were Not Introduced'
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“Corners were being cut,” a source spilled at the time. “And they brought in nonunion people so they could continue shooting.”
Another source previously told People that some crew members “didn’t feel safe” while filming due to an apparent lack of safety precautions on the movie set.
The new details regarding the safety of the set have been raising eyebrows, as the mishap with the prop gun that killed Hutchins seemed to be caused by a breach in safety regulations.
The Santa Fe Sheriff’s department recently revealed that the investigation is being focused around Baldwin, who fired the prop gun, as well as assistant director David Halls and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who also handled the firearm that day.
A source previously spilled that Halls had a “flippant” attitude towards practicing firearm safety, and that he has a history of not taking safety seriously while on set.
It later came to light that Halls was also fired from a film in the past after a crew member was injured by a discharged gun.
Halls was the person who handed Baldwin the gun on the Rust set when he falsely told the actor that the gun was not loaded with live bullets.
Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s lead armorer who set up the prop gun, later insisted that there was never live ammunition anywhere near the set, which the Santa Fe County Sheriff claimed was clearly not true.
It has not yet been determined who is responsible for the deadly mistake which caused Hutchins, a wife and mother, to lose her life.
