B.C.’s tight-knit film community in shock after fatal New Mexico set shooting
Posted October 22, 2021 7:12 pm.
Last Updated October 22, 2021 7:40 pm.
Those in B.C.’s tight-knit film community are in shock after hearing about the deadly misfire of a gun, shot by Alec Baldwin, on the set of a western Thursday.
Baldwin was handed a loaded weapon by an assistant director who indicated it was safe to use in the moments before the actor fatally shot a cinematographer, court records released Friday show. The assistant director did not know the prop gun was loaded with live rounds, according to a search warrant filed in a Santa Fe court. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died after being shot in the chest Director Joel Souza was wounded.
RELATED: Alec Baldwin fires prop gun on movie set, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins killed
The tragedy has sent shockwaves through Hollywood and beyond, with many questioning how something like this could happen.
Dean Goodine has worked as a motion picture property master for 36 years.
“It hits all of it’s hard. The film industry, although a worldwide industry is pretty small,” he says.
“We all know people who work on the sets I know a few people who are on that set. I didn’t sleep much last night.”
"The term prop gun is a false term in some ways, because these are real firearms."
B.C.'s film community is in shock after the deadly shooting on set of a western film in New Mexico.
Tonight on @CityNewsVAN we look at what exactly happens when a firearm comes to a film set. pic.twitter.com/PnHMyqTDDQ— Ashley Burr (@AshleyBurr_) October 22, 2021
Goodine has worked on countless films where firearms were present on set, and he’s the one whose job it is to make sure they are used safely.
Safety protocols have changed over time, with Goodine saying what is in place in B.C. makes it “one of the safest filming jurisdictions I’ve ever worked in.”
First, he explains, the gun is checked before it is brought onto the set.
“We know it’s empty. We show the first assistant director that it is safe, we show the camera people that it is safe, we show the cast that it is safe,” he says.
‘My job is to send you home safe’: property master
When a decision is made about how many shots are to be fired, a range of things are done to minimize danger, Goodine says. People who don’t need to be there are told to leave, protective barriers are put up between camera operators and the actor firing the weapon, kevlar bulletproof vests are occasionally supplied if Goodine feels like they are “pushing the envelope” in a particular scene, live ammunition is never allowed on set, and remote control operation of cameras is encouraged.
Anytime there is a scene where shots are being fired, Goodine convenes a safety meeting.
“My opening line is always ‘My job is to send you home safe at the end of every day, and for that to happen, you have to listen to me. I have the final say on safety, not the director, not the first assistant director — nobody. I have the final say, as a property master,'” he says.
RELATED: Alec Baldwin didn’t know prop gun loaded with live round: warrant
Prop guns fire blanks, gunpowder charges that produce a flash and a bang but not a hard projectile. But when the trigger is pulled, the paper or plastic wadding is ejected from the barrel with enough force that it can be lethal at close range, as proved to be the case in the death of an actor in 1984. In another on-set accident in 1993, the actor son of martial arts star Bruce Lee was killed after a bullet was left in a prop gun.
Goodine says the term prop gun itself is misleading.
“These are real firearms.”
The advancement of CGI, he says, means muzzle flashes and smoke can be added in post-production, which decreases the need to fire blanks.
“CGI has changed all that there is no need to put an operator or anybody in harm’s way anymore with a firearm,” Goodine says.
“So, it’s made our jobs so much safer. When this happened we were all shocked. It’s a shock, that’s all I can say.”
Actor Jacqueline Samuda has been in the industry for over 30 years and is very familiar with handling weapons on set having appeared in many police dramas throughout her career.
“In my experience, I’ve never been on set where firearms were used, where the armer didn’t present the weapon to everybody involved, and open the chamber, discharge everything and then make sure that the chambers are clear and what’s being used is what’s supposed to be used. It’s hard to imagine that not happening on any set,” she says, adding that this makes the news out of New Mexico even more upsetting.
“It was absolutely devastating. It was absolutely devastating. Clearly, it’s not the first time that this kind of thing has happened, and the fact that it’s happened when the industry has experienced this type of accident in the past, it just makes it even more shocking.”
With files from The Associated Press
